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Chicago Shopping Guide

Bucktown/Wicker Park/Ukranian Village
download a handy printable map.

by Gigi Guerra
Illustrator Alex Reardon

Chicago's hipster epicenter is made up of these three adjacent communities, and their many indie shops are strong enough to stand up to their New York and L.A. counterparts.

1

Eskell

Accented with driftwood chunks and antique postcards touting obscure Midwest locales (the Kankakee County Courthouse, anyone?), this quirky shop—newly relocated from Lincoln Park to Bucktown—serves as a flagship for the popular house clothing line; garments by Judi Rosen and Preloved flesh out the stock.
1509 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-486-0837, eskell.com

Products: Women's Clothing, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
2

Gamma Player

In their global travels as musicians and owners of a dance music label, Jeff Mills and Yoko Uozumi also often come across promising young designers. To give these discoveries stateside exposure, the couple created Gamma Player—the cosmic-sounding name derives from one of Jeff's songs—and kitted it out with an all-black interior and theatrical lights. The darkly elegant garments, which include deconstructed jackets from Parisian Anne Valerie Hash and web-like knits by Copenhagen native Iben Hoj, are the ideal complement to the store's futuristic-catacomb feel.
2035 W. Division St., 773-235-0755

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique
3

Grace

This new upscale shoe emporium brims with dressed-up everyday styles by designers like Georgina Goodman, Constança Basto, and Jean-Michel Cazabat. The name of the shop is a nod to owner Kristi Ryan's childhood nickname—she was jokingly called Grace due to her persistent clumsiness—yet the quietly chic, birch-accented space is a faithful interpretation of the word.
1917 N. Damen Ave., 773-384-7223

Products: Shoes
Type of Store: Boutique
4

Hejfina

When Heiji Choy-Black opened her iconoclastic store—a Lucky favorite—back in 2004, there was nothing like it in town. She took a chance on esoteric, then-unknown lines, and her indie-centric focus has not wavered. This season, look for the debut of Grai, by a former Rick Owens designer, plus pieces from Rachel Comey, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Carin Wester, and Preen.
1529 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-772-0002, hejfina.com

Products: Women's Clothing, Furniture, Tabletop, Books/Stationery, Gifts/Design
Type of Store: Boutique
5

Helen Yi

This spot is the definition of understated—serene and gallery-like, with simple white walls and stainless steel racks that seem to float from the floor. The clothing consists of smartly curated modern classics: Sari Gueron midcalf pencil skirts, Nave silk moire shifts, Doo Ri strapless organza dresses, and Derek Lam oversize blazers.
1645 N. Damen Ave., 773-252-3838

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique
6

Jade

Emerald green walls, exotic foliage, and a giant oak pew endow this roomy boutique with a mystical, meditative atmosphere. But the goods add an air of playfulness: Mara Hoffman dresses, metallic Iisli tunics, and ingeniously cool bangle bracelets—each one encased in a tweedy knit—from book editor?turned-jeweler Elizabeth Yarborough.
1557 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-342-5233

Products: Women's Clothing, Bags, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
7

Language

This essential stop routinely stocks new designers with the talent to go the distance—Guy Baxter, Antipodium, Richard Ruiz—and recently launched a fully loaded e-commerce website. Every piece that's found in the store is also available online, from Debra Rodman linen dresses to Kristen Lee satin booties.
1537 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-772-5744, shoplanguage.com

Products: Denim, Women's Clothing, Bags, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
8

Marc by Marc Jacobs

The Midwest flagship for this wildly popular line just opened in the thick of the North Damen shopping drag.
1714 N. Damen Ave., marcjacobs.com

Products: Denim, Swimwear, Women's Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Jewelry, Beauty
Type of Store: Boutique
P.45
9

P.45

To mark its 10th year in business, this Bucktown fixture is planning a renovation to lend its industrial interior a dose of organic warmth. In addition to a physical transformation it's pushing to bring in new labels: Established indies Ya-Ya and Lyell are joined by rising names Lorun and Marlova.
1643 N. Damen Ave., 773-862-4523, p45.com

Products: Denim, Women's Clothing, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
Penelope's
10

Penelope's

Cheeky vintage-classroom decor—checkerboard tile floors, antique school maps—gives this Wicker Park favorite a certain Wonder Years nostalgia. The clothing is similarly retro-influenced: Classic cuts, clean lines, and quality tailoring turn up in A.P.C. smocks, Built by Wendy jackets, and Spring & Clifton crewneck sweaters.
1913 W. Division Ave., 773-395-2351

Products: Women's Clothing, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
11

Raizy

Owner Renee Gertzfeld has eschewed the vampy trappings often associated with lingerie emporiums in favor of a romantic, Old Hollywood atmosphere. Mirrored consoles and carnation pink settees accent the space, and every wispy Myla lace bra and La Perla silk camisole is suspended ever so delicately from velvet-covered hangers.
1944 N. Damen Ave., 773-227-2221

Products: Lingerie/Loungewear, Beauty, Gifts/Design
Type of Store: Boutique
12

Robin Richman

Former knitwear designer Robin Richman just reinvented her shop, and the incarnation has an appealing industrial-folkloric mood: Gauzy hand-dyed Gary Graham dresses rest on antique wrought-iron racks and chunky bead necklaces drape from antique glass knobs.
2108 N. Damen Ave., 773-278-6150

Products: Women's Clothing, Vintage, Shoes, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
13

Roslyn

With little fanfare, Roslyn Dulyapaibul debuted her exquisite parlor-like boutique last fall, and it has quickly and quietly become one of the city's most outstanding resources for inspirational, hard-to-find labels. Currently in the stable: Jovovich-Hawk, Louis de Gama, Ben Soni, Nicholas K, and Christensen & Sigersen.
2035 N. Damen Ave., 773-489-1311, roslynboutique.com

Products: Women's Clothing, Bags, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
14

RR#1

Located in a former pharmacy, this offbeat gift resource brims with odds and ends like old-fashioned aluminum thermoses, lemon-scented Greek lotion, and antique-inspired jewelry.
814 N. Ashland Ave., 312-421-9079

Products: Beauty, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
15

Scoop

The only Midwest branch of the trend-centric NYC-based boutique chain.
1702 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-227-9930, scoopnyc.com

Products: Denim, Lingerie/Loungewear, Swimwear, Women's Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Jewelry, Beauty
Type of Store: Boutique
16

Sprout Home

Dedicated to unusual foliage and well-designed accoutrements used to nurture them (curvy glazed vessels, minimalist steel watering cans); it also offers a range of outdoor-themed goods, like buried-wood platters and blown-glass bird feeders.
745 N. Damen Ave., 312-226-5950, sprouthome.com

Products: Decorative/Lighting, Furniture, Linens, Outdoor, Tabletop, Books/Stationery, Gifts/Design
Type of Store: Boutique
17

Tangerine

Lori, Keri, and Alex Mandarino, the mother-daughter owners of Tangerine, are investing heavily this season in high-waisted Jainesse jeans, Mint Jodi Arnold gemstone-encrusted blouses, and pearl-studded hoops by local jeweler Coqui.
1719 N. Damen Ave., 773-772-0505

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique
18

Willow

Housed in a refurbished neighborhood watering hole, Willow is warm, inviting, and full of decorative objects with a vintage undercurrent—handcarved-owl bookends, Sarah Cihat rehabilitated dishware, vases that resemble tiny motor homes, and crayon-bright melamine lunch trays.
908 N. Damen Ave., 773-772-0140

Products: Beauty, Tabletop, Books/Stationary, Gifts/Design
Type of Store: Boutique

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