Having an 80th birthday is always a milestone. Especially, nowadays, when the focus of the birthday is a retail business.

Merra Lee, a women’s clothing store located at the corner of Third and State streets in Geneva, will celebrate its 80th birthday May 15-24, and everyone is invited to join in the celebration.

Merra Lee, which offers casual fashions for women of every age and budget, was founded in 1929 by local merchant Sol Simon and his friend Rose Becker Kozberg. Simon’s father had owned a dry goods store in Geneva since 1895, but Simon decided to venture into a different retail market. Originally situated a few storefronts away, it was moved to its present location in 1941 and has happily served as the cornerstone for a collection of other women’s boutiques since that time.

How has it lasted all of these years?

“That’s a question we get a lot, especially these days,” admitted current owner Michael Simon, Sol’s son. “And the answer is that we’ve fit ourselves into specific niches and do them better than any other store.”

According to Simon, Merra-Lee and its adjoining shops have several distinct specializations, including Naot comfort shoes, breast prosthesis fittings, and special occasion dresses.

Made in Israel, Naot shoes are known world wide for their comfort and quality, especially by people who spend much of their days on their feet. “We have become the biggest Naot dealer in the Chicago area, with customers coming to us from adjoining states,” Simon said.

As a way to offer assistance women who have had mastectomies, lumpectomies or other breast surgeries, Merra Lee’s She She intimate apparel shop has developed a specialization in breast prostheses and other post-surgery products. “This is a case where we know we are really helping people,” he said. “In the past, when women needed these products they would have had to gone to a medical supply store or department store. Few specialty stores offer the products and the fitting assistance as we do. We have six certified fitters. The service is all done one-on-one—it’s really personalized. The women are fit properly and that means so much to them.”

Another area of expertise is being able to offer an expansive selection of special occasion dresses for mother and guests of the wedding, and providing expert tailoring of all dresses as well. “Our tailors want to make sure that every store that leaves this shop looks like it’s been custom fit for the woman who is going to wear it,” said Simon.

The shop has even opened its alterations services to dresses purchased from other stores.

“When we see an opportunity to provide something special to our customers, we strive to do it better than anyone,” he said.”

Being able to offer personalized, caring and professional service to every customer has also contributed to the store’s long lifespan. According to Simon, there are a lot of other stores out there that sell clothing to women, at inexpensive prices, but Merra Lee goes well beyond that.

“Our staff actually help our customers with selection, sizing, and accessorizing. Most have been in the fashion business for years. They go over and above what is found in other stores. And customers appreciate that,” he said.
Merra Lee buyer Leslie Waterson agreed. “It comes down to good service and having the right items for our customers,” she said. “Our buyers have good connections in the fashion markets in New York and they work hard bringing in just the right items for our customers in sizes 4-18. And the sales staff provides expert, honest service. They’ll say when something doesn’t look good on a customer and they’ll help find what does. We offer nice fashions at reasonable prices within a pleasant atmosphere.”

Sustaining itself through tough economic times is nothing new to Merra Lee, after all, it was founded during the Great Depression, Simon explained. “It’s during times like these that women will shop smart…they’ll look for the right item that will fit within their wardrobe. They want it to be something that is quality, affordable and perfect for them, so it will last. We’ll help them do that.”

In addition, it has survived the years by keeping up with the fashion industry and changing with the times. Also, over the years Merra Lee itself received structural face lifts, and even appeared in a major motion picture with Tom Hanks.
In celebration of this impressive milestone, Merra Lee has a variety of activities planned for the week of May 15-24.

The store-front windows at Merra Lee will be decorated highlighting its history, featuring many enlarged photos and advertisements from years’ past.
One item in particular that will be shown is an old photograph of the back of a woman’s bowling dress. The team’s name shown in the picture: Merra-Lee We Roll Along. It was the naming of the bowling leagues back in the depression that inspired Sol Simon and his partner to name their store Merra Lee. “My Dad knew that if these teams used that name on the back of their bowling dress, they would be advertising his store, plus the women on the teams would be coming into the stores to get their bowling dresses. That strategy helped get his business off the ground.”

For this anniversary, the shops themselves will be dress up for the fun with balloons and streamers. “It will be a birthday party, and we’ve invited all of our friends,” Waterson said, noting that staff knows many of their customers by name.
“Merra Lee still has the look and feel of a family-run, community store, not the look or feel of an overcrowded discount store.”

In spite of the ever-growing competition along the Randall Road corridor and within malls, Merra Lee still has a strong customer base, and part of that is the location of being in the city of Geneva which itself is a shopping destination for many.

“We’re very proud to have reached this point,” Simon said. “I’m sure my parents would be thrilled to know that we’re still doing what they started out doing so many years ago.”

Although having undergone transitions over the past eight decades, the Merra-Lee Fashion’s on Third group today consists of five distinctive boutiques: Merra Lee, The Meeting Place and Boutique 15, which have Chicagoland’s biggest selection of Naot Shoes and comfortable, casual sportswear in Misses and Large Sizes, The East Room with elegant designer fashions and mother-of-the-wedding dresses, and She She intimate apparel.

For information visit www.merralee.com  or call 630-232-2640.