Style + Beauty

Made to Remember

Nicole Pink transforms couture, heirlooms and everyday garments into wearable stories that honor the past while embracing the future. Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Thomas Tobin Fashion is often celebrated for what's new. Nicole Pink has built her career around what deserves to be remembered. A mother's wedding gown carefully preserved for decades. A grandmother's handmade lace. A favorite concert T-shirt too worn to wear but too meaningful to discard. Even a well-loved denim jacket...

Shopping

Shopping the Shore

Fresh looks from North Shore's favorite boutiques Article and Photography by Juliann Brown The first cool mornings of September always change the way we get dressed. Linen gives way to knitwear, jackets move back to the front of the closet, and suddenly richer colors feel right again. Fall style is rarely about one dramatic purchase. It's the season of layering, adding texture, deeper color and a few thoughtful additions that make everything already hanging in the closet feel new again. ...

Home + Design

Step Inside Melissa Carter's World

A Highland Park native built Kameo Vintage into a curated world of style and belonging. Article by Dominique Bejarano | Photography by Momo Justo "Have fun. This is the best place to shop," a woman says, brushing past me toward Kameo Vintage's colorful racks. She's not wrong. Roberto Cavalli jeans hang beside Chanel belts, a printed Zara blouse and a Juicy Couture purse from the early 2000s. Every rack feels like a treasure hunt, with pieces from different decades, cities and versions of the...

Shopping

Wearing Your Inner Spark

Chicago designer Jude Abboud creates jewelry inspired by heritage, intention and effortless style. Article and Photography by Cat Rolfes When Jude Abboud designs a new piece of jewelry, she rarely begins with a sketch. Instead, she starts with a feeling. The 28-year-old Oak Brook Township designer has built her emerging collection around a simple idea: jewelry should do more than complete an outfit. It should remind the person wearing it who they are. Drawing from spirituality, Middle Eastern...

Arts + Culture

Lit & Local

Indie and local books that are bound to inspire Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Provided Illinois Through Wright's Vision Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote, "We create our buildings and then they create us." More than perhaps any other state, Illinois tells that story. In Frank Lloyd Wright's Illinois: Explore His Most Prolific State, From Prairie to Usonian , author Kristine Hansen invites readers to experience the state through the work of America's most influential architect. Rather...

Home + Design

Experience Highwood Through the Lens of Great Design

Four evenings celebrate creativity, craftsmanship and community across the city. Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Provided For four evenings this September, Highwood will transform into one of the North Shore's most inspiring destinations, where beautifully designed spaces become gathering places and creativity extends far beyond architecture and interiors. Returning Sept. 15-18, Highwood Design Week invites homeowners, architects, designers, builders, real estate professionals and...

Arts + Culture

A Place to Belong

Where movement builds confidence and community Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Provided As childhood becomes increasingly tethered to screens, many parents are searching for something harder to define but easy to recognize when they find it: a place where kids can move, connect and simply be present. Not just another activity. Something deeper. For many North Shore families, NorthShore Elite Talent has become exactly that. And with its move to a larger Glenview home at 1708 Glenview...

Arts + Culture

'Human Raised' in an AI World

Indie and local books that are bound to inspire Article by Cat Rolfes Dr. Dana Suskind on the surprising science of parenting, the illusions of AI and protecting our children's analog world In the sticky humidity of a 1980s New Orleans afternoon, long before smartphones and algorithms rearranged daily life, Dana Suskind and I were two public high school girls getting ready for senior prom. We were crammed into a downtown hotel room amid a chaotic mess of hairspray, borrowed accessories and...

Life + Culture

North Shore’s Next Gen Innovators

Meet the five student-led ventures that reached the Quarterfinals of the 2026 INCubatoredu National Pitch. Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Provided The North Shore has long been known for academic excellence, but increasingly, it’s also becoming a launchpad for young entrepreneurs. That spirit is reflected in INCubatoredu, a national entrepreneurship program that gives high school students the opportunity to build and launch real businesses while still in the classroom. Over the course...

Arts + Culture

Raising the Curtain

Citadel Theatre helps North Shore kids build confidence, creativity and connection Article by Cat Rolfes | Photography by Provided At Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, the magic starts long before opening night. It begins in rehearsal rooms filled with nervous energy and growing confidence. A child quietly reading lines suddenly speaks up. A hesitant performer finds their voice. Older students help younger ones with choreography, costumes and cues. Somewhere between the first audition and final...