Michigan Avenue’s longest shopping line?
fashion? Fear of freezing to death?
I stopped by to ask those in line what brought them out to wait for as long as 50 minutes to spend this kind of money.
Christine Jeng, a 19-yearold Glenview resident and student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says she had to stand in line. This was the only place that had the jacket she wanted.
“I checked every single retail store. Then I called this Canada Goose flagship store, and they’re the only ones that had this specific jacket I wanted. It’s called Canada Goose Trillium.” The cost: $950.
“Yeah, I think it’s definitely overpriced,”Jeng admits. “But I paid $600 for my North Face jacket, and it doesn’t keep me as warm as a Canada Goose would have.”
Kristin Merk, of Wilmette, stood in line for 30 minutes with her daughter, who goes to school in Maine. She finds the whole thing — the lines, the price — just a little much.
“I am a little bit disappointed with myself that I actually did this,” she says, shaking her head at the line behind her. “But she goes to school in Maine ... where it’s very cold, which is why I made this trip to this crazy name-brand expensive place.”
And it’s not just millennials, Gen Z and parents spending on their kids who are attracted to this brand. The parents want it as well.
“We came all the way downtown for this one reason … to come here,” says Brian Johnson, 54, of south suburban Frankfort, who made the trek to the store with his family.
“It’s like buying a nice watch or a nice car,” he says of the price. “If you buy something that holds its value and is worth it in your mind, then it’s worth spending that money”
His kids are split. Hanging on the perimeter of the line next to dad, daughter Amanda Johnson, 26, is visiting from Boston. She says she’s just happy to get the time with her parents. “We’re coming downtown to experience this city. I wouldn’t personally buy this jacket. But I support them if that’s what they want.”
Son Joe, 34, of Orland Park, is less reserved. “I encourage them to spend their money. They have been hoarders with their money. They’ve saved. And saved and saved. And they’ve given to us. And now it’s time for them to splurge on themselves.”