With more boutiques opening every year and the city’s increasing awareness and support of the local design scene, Chicago’s style IQ is higher than ever.While that can translate into higher prices, savvy shoppers can always find a bargain. Here are some tips for working the retail system.
Neiman Marcus (aka Needless Markup; 737 N. Michigan, 312-642-5900) are the top of the heap, but if you stop in at the right moment you might be able to score a heavy discount on that top that caught your eye in Vogue last season. If you do go to Neiman’s, bring a wad of cash—they take AmEx and their own store card but not the dirty likes of Visa or Mastercard. For real fire-sale prices, head to Filene’s Basement (1 N. State, 312-553-1055) and Nordstrom Rack (24 N. State, 312-377-5500)—but you’ll have to sift through a lot of ill-conceived dreck to find a genuine good deal.
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If stuff that’s reasonably priced to begin with is your bag, there are plenty of good options. You’ll have to wade through racks of bohemian basics at Andersonville’s Presence(5216 N. Clark, 773-989-4420), but the reward is less-expensive versions of trends you don’t want to invest in too heavily. For jeans head down the street to Hip Fit (1513 W. Foster, 773-878-4447) for vintage and secondhand designer denim at significantly less than a couple hundred bucks a pair. The Mexican Shop (801 Dempster, Evanston, 847-475-8665) is worth the schlep for its extensive selection of ethnic-influenced jewelry and offbeat accessories. And Wicker Park’s Akira empire offers club-ready duds for men (1922 W. North, 773-276-5640) and women (1837 W. North, 773-489-0818, and 2347 N. Clark, 773-404-9826), plus shoes for both (1849 W. North, 773-342-8684, and 122 S. State, 312-346-3034).
MELISSA TURNER The first-ever director of fashion art and events in Chicago, Turner is charged with supporting and publicizing the city’s nascent fashion industry and acting as a liaison with designers. So far she’s had her hands full with Fashion Focus Chicago, now in its second year, but future projects reportedly include developing an online resource guide to help designers find materials and showcase their work and a “fashion incubator” at Macy’s for emerging talent.
