Women of all ages, from teenagers to senior citizens, have found their way into the Dressing Room, a gem of a shop at 4635 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Square, and they keep coming back for the stylish clothes, sparkling jewelry, cute accessories and employees’ welcoming vibe. The shop turns one year old in August, and customers and sales have been good to owner Barbara Ruiz and her friend Sarah Sanchez. In fact, only one month after Ruiz and Sanchez opened the shop, they sold merchandise so quickly that they had to double their orders from some designers. Ruiz, 35, and Sanchez, 33, also plan to open a children’s clothes and shoes boutique, called City Mouse, a few blocks up the street in August.

On a recent afternoon Ruiz sits on a barstool at a high table in a back room of the Dressing Room, and she is wearing a black, short-sleeved shirt and sea green capri pants paired with wedge sandals, which have lace-up ribbons. Ruiz and Sanchez have been great friends since they were in high school together in Holland, Michigan, and Ruiz says that they dreamed about opening a shop a long time before they opened the Dressing Room.

They knew that they would open a shop sometime, but they just didn’t know when, Ruiz says. Then when the space opened, they knew that it was the right time, she says. Both Ruiz and Sanchez live in Lincoln Square, and they both wanted to open their business in the neighborhood. The Dressing Room, which used to be a doctors’ office, was built and opened just three months after the doctors’ office closed.

Part of the initial charm of Lincoln Square for Ruiz was that her family could have a single-family house with an actual yard there. Also, Ruiz says that after she, her husband and her three boys moved to the area five years ago, she has seen many businesses open, and she likes that she can walk to a grocery store, restaurants and a movie theater. Still, she and Sanchez noticed that the neighborhood didn’t have a women’s clothing shop, so they wanted to add the Dressing Room to Lincoln Square.

Ruiz and Sanchez spent a couple of years brainstorming and planning before they opened the Dressing Room. They worked part-time at some clothing shops to get hands-on experience, which helped them figure out what they did and did not want at the store, and they also thought a lot about the women they hoped to attract.

The Dressing Room carries some clothes that are fashionable enough to make you feel a boost in confidence and formal enough to work in if you are part of the cubicle massive. Also, many of the shop’s other clothes, like tank tops, summery shorts and dainty skirts, are pretty and comfy but more for leisure activities, like exploring the city and going out at night. Accessories include colorful bandana headbands and Paul Frank watches and bags, and employees are friendly and helpful in a relaxed kind of way.

As a mother of three children, Ruiz wanted the shop to welcome moms who are unable to navigate their strollers into many boutiques and who often are ignored by snooty, not helpful sales associates. At the same time, Ruiz says that she and Sanchez wanted the shop to carry clothes, jewelry and accessories that are “fashionable but not over the top” or overly trendy. The Dressing Room doesn’t tend to carry “suit-y clothes,” as Ruiz says, but she says the Dressing Room also tries to appeal to women who are working and still want to be fashionable. The shop has a decent selection of denim, which Ruiz says is like a uniform for many women these days, and the shop also carries “going out clothes.” Also, items come in a range of prices.

The Dressing Room attracts many regulars. “We have great customers,” including many Lincoln Square residents, Ruiz says.

Popular items include jewelry made by Deana Rose (who lives within walking distance of the shop and routinely stops by to drop off more jewelry), Joe’s Jeans, Christopher Blue jeans and T-shirts.

Not only Deana Rose’s jewelry but also other local designers’ items sell well. Unique accessories made by Sojourn Bags, a local company, include petite purses ($39), which have bright colored, sparkly handles—or, if one prefers, a handle can be detached and used as a bracelet. The shop also carries Sojourn Bags’ large messenger bags ($115) featuring a Chicago flag, which has two blue stripes and a white stripe with red stars.

Ruiz says that her husband travels a lot and that whenever he carries the messenger bag, he always gets asked about it; she says that it is a definite conversation-starter because many folks recognize the Chicago flag, and many people also want to know where to get the bag.

Besides carrying Deana Rose’s jewelry and Sojourn Bags, the Dressing Room also carries these locals’ goods, too: Eli Diaz Jewelry, MAKA Jewelry Designs, Sarah B. Aldridge Accessories, Neesh Clothing and Be6 Clothing.

So, what is the best part about running the shop? Ruiz says that she and Sanchez are “innate shoppers,” so the best part about their work, she says with a laugh, is that “We get to shop for a living.” Ruiz and Sanchez find their merchandise from attending trade shows in New York City and Las Vegas.

Back in the front area of the Dressing Room, Meri Vallin, 36, of Lincoln Square, takes a break from browsing through racks of clothes and says that she has been shopping at the Dressing Room for the last six months. Vallin says it is “fun to pick up something small, like a necklace or a pair of earrings” during visits to the shop. Then she holds up a necklace, made from a few strands of aqua and gold colored beads, that she plans to buy for $22. Although Vallin says that she buys more jewelry than clothes from the boutique, she says that she would buy more clothes if she hadn’t just had a baby. She says that she likes the Dressing Room’s clothes because she says she can’t find the clothes anywhere else.