J.Lo Hits Retail Mode, Opens Store At Field's

First, there was J. Lo the singer. Then J. Lo the perfume maker. Finally, J. Lo the clothes designer. But on Thursday, in front of thousands of screaming fans, Jennifer Lopez unveiled her newest incarnation: retailer.

The pop princess/fashion designer was in Chicago to open the first World of JLo boutique in the United States. Located on the second floor of the State Street Marshall Field's, the store is all things J. Lo -- from shoes to furs.

"To open in a major city with such great shopping is great," Lopez told the Sun-Times. "It's the perfect place."

And the place seems to love Lopez. People started lining up inside Marshall Field's hours before Lopez arrived. By the time she hit the four-level catwalk, thousands of people were chanting her name and cheering loudly from the multiple balconies overlooking the stage.

"I didn't expect a little in-store appearance to be this big," she said later. "I was really stunned -- I was, like, 'Wow.' "

Her line of clothes, which includes the Sweetface label, is a mix of "where I come from and what I've seen," Lopez said.

The clothes have been sold for a while in Field's, but this is the first time that all of Lopez's products will be in one place.

Lopez acknowledged that Field's has supported her line, and she doesn't expect that to change once Macy's takes over.

She had some advice for Chicagoans regarding the name change: Give Macy's a chance.

"I am a big fan of this store and I don't think a name change will mean that much," Lopez said. "I don't think the products or anything else will suffer. Just give it a chance. I think it will be OK."