Gold Coast fashion boutique burglarized

BY GEORGE SLEFO AND MITCHELL ARMENTROUT

A high-end fashion boutique was burglarized in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side early Monday.

Officers on patrol heard alarms sounding from Moncler, 33 E. Oak, about 3:50 a.m., police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.

The front doors of the shop had been smashed, possibly by a vehicle, Greer said. Several racks of coats were taken, but police didn’t have an estimate on the value of the stolen goods.

Just outside the store, two jackets and parts of a mannequin were on the sidewalk and street.

Pamela Butler, a doorwoman at 40 E. Condominiums, which is across the street from Moncler, said she heard a loud boom that sounded like a car crash about 3:45 a.m.

“I leaned out and looked and saw the front end of a car with its lights on,” she said. “I saw clothing and debris on the floor.”

Butler said she saw three dark-colored vehicles — two cars and a “family type van” — leave the scene and drive east on Oak before heading south on Lake Shore Drive.

An officer at the scene said a vehicle was likely used to break into the store, adding that the burglary was similar to one that occurred in west suburban Oak Brook, where $120,000 in merchandise was stolen from a Louis Vuitton store on Sept. 7.

In that instance, a minivan drove through the front entrance of the store at about 4 a.m., and nine people wearing masks and gloves looted some 50 items, Oak Brook police said at the time.

Moncler is a Milan-based clothing brand, according to the company’s official website.