Chicago’s Southport Corridor is adding another fashion retailer to its growing lineup, with Bobbles & Lace preparing to open a new boutique at 3501 N. Southport Avenue, at the corner of Southport and Cornelia in Lakeview.
The women’s fashion boutique will take over the prominent corner storefront formerly occupied by The UPS Store, bringing a retail use back to the space along one of the busiest stretches of the Southport Corridor.
The Southport location has not yet been added to Bobbles & Lace’s official store directory, and an opening date has not been announced.
About Bobbles & Lace
Founded in Massachusetts, Bobbles & Lace describes its concept as “high fashion at an affordable price,” with stores offering a curated assortment of women’s clothing, shoes and accessories. The company emphasizes personal styling and frequently changing collections designed to combine everyday wardrobe pieces with more distinctive fashion.
The retailer has expanded significantly through a combination of corporate and franchised boutiques. Bobbles & Lace says it now operates 27 locations across the country, including stores in Boston, Boulder, Charleston, Cincinnati, Houston, Miami, Newport, Portland, Savannah, Scottsdale, Westport and Fort Lauderdale.
Southport will become the brand’s second Chicago location. Its existing Bobbles & Lace boutique is located at 1018 W. Randolph Street in Fulton Market.
The choice of Southport also follows a pattern visible across the company’s portfolio. Many Bobbles & Lace boutiques are located along established walkable shopping streets, including Newbury Street in Boston, King Street in Charleston, Pearl Street in Boulder, Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale and Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
Southport Continues to Attract Fashion and Lifestyle Retail
The arrival of Bobbles & Lace adds to a Southport retail mix that has increasingly attracted national fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.
The corridor already includes retailers such as Lululemon, Vuori, Arc’teryx, Sephora, Free People, J.Crew and Athleta, alongside Anthropologie, Buck Mason and a collection of independent boutiques. Reformation also opened at 3452 N. Southport Avenue in 2026.
Southport’s strength is increasingly attracting attention beyond the neighborhood. Axios recently highlighted both Southport and Fulton Market as Chicago shopping districts where visitors can combine retail with dining and simply spending time in the neighborhood.
Commercial real estate data has told a similar story. Colliers previously reported that retail vacancy between Addison and Roscoe had fallen to 0%, while soft-goods retailers accounted for nearly 59% of the retail mix, surpassing comparable neighborhood corridors such as Damen and Armitage.
More retail space is also on the way. The redevelopment of 3600 N. Southport Avenue, at the northwest corner of Southport and Addison, is expected to deliver approximately 6,250 square feet of new ground-floor retail space in 2027. Leasing materials for the project specifically target national lifestyle retailers looking to join Southport’s existing concentration of brands.
From Shipping Store to Fashion Boutique
Bobbles & Lace’s move into 3501 N. Southport is another example of the corridor’s continuing evolution toward fashion and lifestyle retail.
The storefront occupies a highly visible corner at Southport and Cornelia, directly within the corridor’s main shopping district. Replacing a service-oriented business with a women’s fashion boutique adds another traditional retail storefront to a block already surrounded by national brands, independent shops, restaurants and neighborhood businesses.
For Bobbles & Lace, Southport also provides a markedly different Chicago setting from its existing Fulton Market store: a densely residential, walkable neighborhood shopping district with substantial year-round foot traffic.
And for Southport, the opening continues a trend that has become increasingly clear over the past several years: the corridor is emerging as one of Chicago’s most sought-after neighborhood retail destinations, particularly for fashion and lifestyle brands.
An opening date for Bobbles & Lace at 3501 N. Southport Avenue has not yet been announced.
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