Shop till you drop
Move over New York – Chicago is America’s new shopping mecca
SHOP TILL YOU DROP
Bypass New York and head to Chicago for a superior shopping experience
WHILE YOUR EVERYDAY
tourist is battling the crowds on Fifth Avenue and Madison in the annual New York pre-Christmas shopping crush, savvier shoppers are picking up the same stuff – plus a whole hoard of unique merchandise – on the broad, breezy boulevards of America’s Second City.
You don’t have to be a culture vulture to love Chicago, but if you are, you’ll get a real kick out of present-hunting here. This is a city of so many aesthetic delights: fabulous architecture ranging from art deco to the futuristic, and world-class museums, which have excellent shops. Plus, there’s the broad expanse of lake shore running parallel to the main shopping area, which keeps downtown feeling clean, bright and open compared to Manhattan’s sometimes narrow streets. And then, of course, there are some of the best restaurants, blues bars and jazz clubs on the continent in which to recharge when the retailers close their doors.
First, I’d recommend getting a map to plot your route. Weekenders will barely manage to squeeze in the great shopping to be done on Michigan Avenue and State Street, but even a brief three or four-day trip will allow you to explore neighbourhoods such as Bucktown (near downtown) and Lincoln Park (a nearby suburb), which are dotted with eclectic boutiques.
North Michigan Avenue in the centre of the city would probably be known as the Magnificent Mile even without its shops. This broad boulevard runs parallel to Lake Michigan and is a delight to stroll down.
Shopping is made easy by the many vertical malls – famously Water Tower Place and 900 North Michigan. These are convenient, as well as eye-popping, venues in which to visit the great American chains that have retained their cachet by not crossing the Pond, for the most part. Cool young men will be thrilled to find a signature t-shirt by Abercrombie and Fitch (which opens in London this winter) in their Christmas stocking, while women of all ages will revel in the lingerie from Victoria’s Secret. Fashionable young professionals have long made Banana Republic, the grown-up sister-company of Gap, their first stop for Stateside retail therapy, and all three chains are in the fabulous eight-storey atrium of Water Tower Place.
Although the 900 North Michigan mall across the street is more of a thrill for locals, with European brands like Gucci and L’Occitane that are old hat to Brits, it’s worth visiting if only for that great American kitchen store, Williams-Sonoma. A set of their melamine mixing bowls, which come in new colours every season with matching spatulas, would be an inexpensive but elegant present for whoever is making your Christmas dinner this year.
Westfield North Bridge has a branch of Tommy Bahamas – a great place for tropical-print shirts, scented candles and other homewares – as well as a whole floor devoted to children’s stores to make shopping easier. The deco-style Chicago Place mall, meanwhile, makes an attempt to be uniquely Chicagoan, despite being anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and packed with chain stores. It has Love from Chicago, for example, which features city-inspired gifts, while Chiaroscuro is a colourful homegrown emporium of wacky, colourful art, homewares and jewellery. Also not to be missed is A New Leaf, where vases, candles and great gifts for gardeners are to be found.
Originally launched in Chicago is the shop unmissable by anyone with a little girl to shop for: American Girl Place, which was set up 20 years ago by top toy-maker Mattel to entertain three to 12-year-olds beyond their wildest dreams. Here, any little princesses in tow can create their own dolls, take etiquette lessons and buy matching outfits for themselves and their dolls.
On the other side of North Michigan, visit Tails in the City, where pets are catered for with every kind of doggie daywear and accessories. “Poochy Guccis” and “Chewy Vuittons” are the name of the game here.
The cross-streets link Michigan Avenue with State Street, the traditional heart of Chicago shopping, and home of what many consider the world’s greatest department store, Marshall Fields. Second-largest in the world, and the inspiration for Selfridges in London, the store, which opened in 1852, has just become a Macy’s. It’s a cause of civic mourning that it has lost its name identity in the takeover. So get in quick to see the magnificent art nouveau fixtures, lest the new owners harbour any intentions of ripping them out in coming years.
Don’t leave the Magnificent Mile without exploring Oak Street, where you can check out Barney’s before the first branch of this fantastic department store opens in the UK – and also Eia’s, the bespoke milliner who displays her wares in the Drake Hotel, close to the Museum of Contemporary Art and its own great gift shop. World-class museum shops are something of a Chicago phenomenon, each offering a satisfying, self-contained culture capsule to break up the retail therapy. Some, like the Symphony Centre shop, are on the Magnificent Mile itself, while others, like the Chicago Architecture Foundation shop, are worth going further down the avenue to explore, as are the Art Institute and the Field Museum of Natural History.
Also check out the Jazz Record Mart at 25 East Illinois if there’s a music-lover in the family. Chicago is considered the home of both blues and jazz, and the Mart has music from every era, as well as terrific posters and other memorabilia. Incidentally, jazz-lovers will want to check out the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase after dark, respectively the oldest and second-oldest jazz clubs in the US. The equivalent mecca for blues-lovers is Blues Chicago.
Once you’ve done the town, it’s time for eclectic neighbourhoods like edgy, urban Bucktown, where Language (clothing and jewellery), The Silver Room (jewellery), Hejfina (clothes, furniture, books), Jade (women’s boutique), Saint Alfred (menswear) and G-Star Chicago (menswear), all on Milwaukee Avenue, are worth a major browse. North Damen Avenue, where the snappy, only-in-Chicago designer boutique P45 is located, is another good shopping street. Also check out Stitch, a boutique that sells gifts and bags, on the next block.
Bucktown segues into funky, younger Lincoln Park, where in addition to North Damen (check out Raizy for bath and beauty products), the street on which to shop till you drop is Armitage Avenue, notably Entendré Couture (his and hers fashion), Active Endeavours (designer womenswear), Mint Julep (women’s fashion), Lori’s Shoes (shoes and bags), Frivolity (homeware), Celeste Turner (upmarket women’s boutique), Art Effect (unusual gifts) and Isis on Armitage (women’s fashion). As you cross Halstead Street, it’s well worth hiking several blocks north to the Blues Jean Bar, where top-end denims are dished out by salespeople with all the care of a barman preparing a bespoke cocktail.
If you haven’t had enough of neighbourhoods, head to Wicker Street and tramp Division Street till your feet fall off.
If all this edgy retail therapy seems rather un-Christmaslike, the Christkindlmarket, on Daley Plaza for the month preceding Christmas, will put that right, with a wide range of traditional Germanic gifts, tree decorations and seasonal refreshments.
YOUR AT-A-GLANCE SHOP GUIDE
WATER TOWER PLACE
835 North Michigan
900 NORTH MICHIGAN
900 North Michigan
WESTFIELD NORTH BRIDGE
520 North Michigan
CHICAGO PLACE
700 North Michigan
AMERICAN GIRL PLACE
111 East Chicago
MACY’S (FORMERLY MARSHALL FIELDS)
111 North State
TAILS IN THE CITY
1 Delaware Place
JAZZ RECORD MART
25 East Illinois
LANGUAGE
1537 North Milwaukee
THE SILVER ROOM
1442 North Milwaukee
HEJFINA
1529 North Milwaukee
JADE
1557 North Milwaukee
SAINT ALFRED
1531 North Milwaukee
G-STAR CHICAGO
1525 North Milwaukee
P45
1643 North Damen
STITCH
1723 North Damen
RAIZY
1944 North Damen
ENTENDRE COUTURE
1022a West Armitage
ACTIVE ENDEAVOURS
853 West Armitage
MINT JULEP
1013 West Armitage
LORI’S SHOES
824 West Armitage
FRIVOLITY
1013 West Armitage
CELESTE TURNER
859 West Armitage
ART EFFECT
934 West Armitage
ISIS ON ARMITAGE
823 West Armitage
THE ART INSTITUTE
111 South Michigan
THE FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
1400 Lake Shore Drive
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
220 East Chicago
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information on shopping, dining and accommodation in Chicago, visit www.gochicago.com or call the Chicago and Illinois UK Tourist Office’s Brochure Line on +44 (0)8700 503 410.
