CHANNELING A LEGACY

If you are bold enough to open a boutique named after two of the most iconic socialites of their time, nothing should stand in your way.

Not fear. Not competition. And certainly not a global pandemic.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that in the three years since Peyton Merrill unveiled her Bunny & Babe in Winnetka that the same question always came to mind—what would Bunny Mellon and Babe Paley do?

“Every day we strive to live up to what Bunny and Babe would have wanted to see in the boutiques and salons that they frequented back in their time,” explains Merrill, whose chic ready-towear boutique in the heart of downtown Winnetka put the finishing touch on what many now call the Oak Street of the North Shore. “When we had to close our doors during the pandemic, we pivoted to developing and launching our Instagram.”

It went like this. Ann Witkowski (originally store manager/employee no. 1/now takes on many other roles) and Merrill shot new product as it came in, posting it on Instagram to a skyrocketing number of faithful followers.

“We actually developed a big following pretty quickly and generated some really great business from our postings,” explains Merrill, who opened Bunny & Babe in 2020, just as the world was shutting down. “Currently, our Instagram is the main and largest feeder to our e-commerce business. We wouldn’t be doing half the business we are doing on E-comm if it wasn’t for our Instagram!”

From the very first days that the boutique began offering its women’s ready-towear lines, fun shoes, accessories, sophisticated gifts, and home couture, Merrill stayed focused on the legends who inspired her.

First there was the notorious gardener with royal ties, the one and only Bunny Mellon. Tastemaker extraordinaire, confidante to none other than Jacqueline “Jackie O” Kennedy, and designer of the White House Rose Garden, Mellon lived by the mantra that “nothing should be noticed,” the hallmark of true elegance.

Then there’s Babe Paley—American socialite and wife to William S. Paley, a man who singlehandedly built CBS into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the U.S.

Naturally both Bunny and Babe were included in the prestigious International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame in 1958—joining such high society pals as Frank Sinatra, Lee Radziwill, Rose Kennedy, Lynda Bird Johnson, Norman Mailer, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr., all in attendance at Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball.

“Our most important focus in the stores is customer service,” says Merrill, a Winnetka native who credits her mother as her original design and color inspiration. Harkening back to an age where fashionable women were greeted at boutiques with bespoke service, the Bunny & Babe team aspires to help each client find precisely what they need—whether it be a single outfit or an entire spring wardrobe.

“We also focus on keeping our stores visually exciting and well merchandised with classic pieces,” she adds. “We are always looking for the newest, fun designers to add to our collections.”

Now that normal retail business has returned, Bunny & Babe has solidified a place of provenance among its haute couture colleagues at the corner of Chestnut and Elm—neapolitan. Frances Heffernan, Valentina, and a t h e n e.

“Our team feels strongly that our business is good because of the other women’s retailers around us. We have become somewhat of a ‘shopping mecca’ on the North Shore so we all help each other by existing so closely and supporting each other,” says Merrill. “We send our clients to a t h e n e and neapolitan all the time if we don’t have what they are looking for.”

That style synchronicity has resulted in a client demographic that exceeds even her expectations—aging from 8th grade girls to women in their 70s—all flocking to the light, happy, and airy boutique that was modeled after Aerin Lauder’s boutiques in East Hampton and Palm Beach.

What now, you might ask? Where does one of Winnetka’s most successful businesses go from here?

Up and out, is the answer. It will go bigger and even bolder.

“On the horizon, we are excited to announce that we now are leasing the space in between our two stores and will be connecting all three locations for a better and more cohesive shopping experience,” says Merrill. “We hope to be open by Summer 2023!”

Bunny and Babe wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Bunny & Babe is located at 555 Chestnut Street in Winnetka. For more information, visit bunnyandbabe.com or call 847-999-3255.