CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — This week’s Made in Chicago puts the spotlight on ChiBoys, a longtime local clothing line that was founded to fill a hole in how the city was represented through fashion.
“DeShawn wanted to create a brand that was geared around the city but didn’t want you to look like the traditional tourist,” said Marvin McCowan, a joint venture creator and business operations manager.
The ChiBoys brand was created by DeShawn Murry nearly 20 years ago, McCowan said as he spoke with WBBM from a ChiBoys kiosk inside O'Hare Airport’s Terminal 3.
“Playing cards, stickers, magnets, key chains, wristbands, organic soy candles, water bottles, headphones, teddy bears and a bunch of dopeness — that’s all,” he said.
For Chicagoans who are no longer bound by cheap and unoriginal gift store apparel, ChiBoys offers stylish, high-quality clothing that includes: hoodies, hats, beanies, jackets and T-shirts at affordable prices that definitely represent some of the city’s greatest attributes. The T-shirts host a wide range of popular and even lesser-known Chicago lore.
“We did a ‘Chi to the Future,’ which pretty much gives a nod to the ‘Back to the Future’ movie; a lot of people didn’t know the co-star in the movie of ‘Back to the Future’ is actually from Chicago,” he said “A lot of people didn’t know the first ten-speed bike that was created in the United States was created in Chicago by … Schwinn.”
In a riff on the Chicago flag, McCowan said ChiBoys decided to make a “unity piece” featuring one Chicago star, instead of the usual four.
“If we’re out of town — in Florida, Texas, Tokyo or London — we represent Chicago,” he said. “We don’t say we’re from the North, South, East or West. Therefore the one star represents Chicago as a unity thing as a whole, versus being separate or segregated.”
Shoppers can find ChiBoys clothing online or at five locations.
“Not just Chicago, we’re pretty much global,” he said. “From the U.K. to Australia, to China, to Germany, there’s no place we haven’t been.”
ChiBoys, Made in Chicago.
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok