Legendary Men’s Clothier Comes Home to Deerfield

After 40 years of catering to Chicagoland’s upscale men’s fashion market, Deerfield’s Jack Shniderman thinks his hometown of Deerfield is the right place to put his store, Robert Vance, Ltd.

If all goes according to plan, the new men’s clothier will open in September in Deerfield Square. The lease is signed and final approvals with the Village are moving along.

“It’s got a great customer base,” Shniderman said of Deerfield and surrounding North Shore communities. “When I looked at where to be it fit out needs and it’s home to me.”

With other men’s stores fleeing the North Shore—Brooks Brothers closed its Northbrook Court location over a year ago and Mark Shale went out of business this year—Shniderman feels he is ready to reinvent Robert Vance.

Not long after Mark Shale closed, Shniderman saw his first opportunity and took it by hiring Phil Borntrager, the company’s senior men’s buyer. “Mark Shale customers are looking for a home,” Shniderman said. Borntrager was with that company for more than 30 years.

Robert Vance will also slim down by eliminating women’s clothing from its mix, add lines to appeal to men between 30 and 50 years old as well as make sure its long standing customers feel comfortable.

“We’re keeping a lot of our core lines,” Shniderman said. “That’s what we want to do first.” That includes clothing from Robert Talbot, Joseph Abboud, Samuelsohn and Bill’s Khakis. The store will also carry more denim than it did before.

“We’re looking at younger lines,” Shniderman said. “We want to have more for all of our customers. We’re going to stock a lot of what the community needs.”

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