TWICE THE WELCOME

With a second boutique newly opened in Hinsdale, Lauren Peters is betting that personalized style, warm welcomes, and old-fashioned in-store connection still matter.

The vibe starts before the clothes—it starts with the feeling. The music is upbeat. The energy is warm. Employees greet customers the way hosts greet guests stepping into a home for dinner. Nothing stiff. Nothing intimidating. Just style with a pulse.

“One of the most important elements of our shops has to be the vibe—fun, upbeat,” says Lauren Peters. “My employees read our vibe guide. They treat customers as if they’re welcoming them to their home.”

That atmosphere—equal parts polished and personal—is at the center of Peters’ growing fashion world, one that expanded in May with the opening of her second boutique, Winterfield Hinsdale. The two stores, Peters says, “will carry a similar brand matrix,” blending emerging designers with established luxury labels while emphasizing personalized styling and customer relationships.

“I’m excited about the new shop in Hinsdale,” Peters says. “It’ll be a lot of juggling, but that’s OK.”

Busy has never really scared her. Not when she was a distance freestyler at Benet Academy. Not when she graduated from University of Notre Dame. Not when she spent five years working in public relations and fundraising for Catholic Charities of Chicago. And especially not now as she makes her mark in the world of fashion—an industry that always had a pull on her. Peters’ relationship with clothing and style goes deeper than trends or labels. For her, it is tied to memory, family, and Lake Forest. Long before she owned a boutique there, Peters visited the town as a child with her mother, Carolyn.

“She was an Olympic shopper when I was growing up,” Peters recalls with a laugh. “We’d shop four times a year at Hansen’s in Lake Forest, where I found jeans and gymnastics leotards and other clothes I loved.”

Years later, life produced a meaningful full-circle turn: Hansen’s once occupied the same space where Lillie Alexander now stands on Westminster Avenue. So, while the Hinsdale opening represents growth, the Lake Forest store carries something else—roots, history, and home.

“I’m so lucky that I get to work with talented, nice people who are fun and warm and great at styling,” says Peters.

And that feeling—the warmth, the energy, the welcome—is ultimately what Peters hopes people remember after walking through the doors of either boutique. Not simply what they bought. But how they felt while buying it.

Lillie Alexander Lake Forest is located at 197 East Westminster Avenue in Lake Forest. Winterfield Hinsdale is at 18 West First Street in Hinsdale.