At her maximum five years ago, Kathleen McGuire weighed 305 pounds. She knew she was knocking on the door of diabetes and also endured horrible sleep apnea. In addition, her knees, ankles and back were always hurting.
"It was time," McGuire said in early November, now proud to boast that she's lost 180 pounds.
"[Before the weight loss,] I was very introverted; I was very shy, very quiet. I was hiding behind the weight. I rarely did public events, even the Pride Parade, which I always enjoyed. I just didn't want to run into anyone."
As the weight dropped, McGuire grew out of her oversized clothes and, thus, was forced to buy new items—which, in reality, wasn't much of a force for her.
"Fashion is a passion of mine. I've been a budding diva since I was, oh, 2 years old. I was one of those lesbians who would never wear a pair of jeans, just dresses.
I've always been fashion-driven and passionate about it," said McGuire, known to most as Kat.
She first started buying all her new clothes at retail stores, and then eventually found the value in thrift and resale stores.
Over the five years, she went through about 15 new wardrobes.
Consequently, she ended up with more clothes "than I could wear in seven lifetimes," she said, laughing.
Pat Ciara, her partner of 14 years, added with a smile: "We were getting to the point where we likely would have been on the next episode of Hoarders."
So the two turned to eBay and found a successful marketplace for no-longer-needed clothing, some still with their original price tags still attached.
McGuire has gone through literally thousands of garments over the past five years, she admits, and spent countless dollars. "It would be [the amount for] a decent car," McGuire said, laughing.
"[Shopping for clothes] is like a sport for me; it's so much fun."
And now it's also her profession, truly a dream come true. The two opened Chick*A*Boom Resale Boutique, 5653 N. Ashland Ave., in October—an 1,800-square-foot store with about 75 percent of its inventory for women and 25 percent for men. There are shirts, sweaters, pants, dresses, shoes, handmade hats and more. There's just no baby clothing.
"We want to bring really high-end labels at a very reasonable price," McGuire said. "What's very important to me is the quality of the clothing. We want to sell people the clothing that they'd have to go to a really high-end store to get, at less than what they're going to pay for it at Target; that's our goal."
The men's dress shirts (most for $15) have been among the hottest sellers to date, they said. There are goods from such retailers as J.Crew, Banana Republic, Pierre Cardin, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Patagonia, Brooks Brothers, Jos. A. Bank and others.
The store also offers a buy-sell-trade-consign program, with items priced for sale from $1 to $500. (When this reporter visited the two for this story, someone purchased a $500 fur coat.)
"Andersonville is one of the hottest areas in Chicago," said McGuire, who has worked as an accountant and also is a registered nurse.
"We just decided to give [this store] a shot. I don't want to be 80 years-old wondering, what if."
In addition to Ciara and McGuire, they have three part-time employees.
"I have learned a lot from Kathleen regarding clothing, [including] brand names, what's good, what's not good, what's in, what's out, etc.," Ciara said. "When Kathleen came up with the idea of looking for some [store] space, we went out on a hunt. We looked in Wicker Park, Oak Park and elsewhere. Kathleen always wanted to be in Andersonville."
Ciara, 64, was the highest-ranking out lesbian in the history of the Chicago Fire Department, not to mention the highest-ranking female officer in the United States.
Ciara left the department in 2007 after 32 years on occupational disability for heart and lung issues.
"My final impetus for doing for actually going ahead with [this store] came from, believe it or not, Kim Kardashian," McGuire said. "I saw an interview with her and she told about the best advice she ever got from her dad; it was, 'Do what you love doing, and find a way to get paid for it.'
"I knew I had to find a way to get paid to shop."
Ciara added, "We're just hoping this can be a successful venture for us and an asset to the community."
