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Chicago Shopping Guide

Old Town/Gold Coast/River North
download a handy printable map.

by Gigi Guerra
illustrator Alex Reardon

These posh, center-of-it-all neighborhoods, which make up the retail core of downtown, support a diverse batch of boutiques.

1

Barneys New York

Flush with Chloé boots, Fetty necklaces, and Goyard totes.
25 E. Oak St., 312-587-1700, barneys.com

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

Blake

Two years ago, this Chicago icon quietly moved from its Lincoln Park home to a stark new space—a renovated former post office—in River North's gallery district. Things are as understated as ever: There's no sign outside, and the pieces on the racks are equally dramatic and somber—Dries Van Noten gray patent wedges, Marni gunmetal taffeta tunics, Balenciaga schoolboy jackets.
212 W. Chicago Ave., 312-202-0047

Products: Women's Clothing, ShoesWomen's Clothing, Shoes
Type of Store: Boutique
3

Greer

This paper goods shop has the intimate ambience of an eccentric professor's study: Letterpress invitations spill from an ancient card catalog, fancy pens are displayed in an antique glass case, and amusingly retro etiquette books (like George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior) rest atop an old dental cabinet.
1657 N. Wells St., 312-337-8000, greerchicago.com

Products: Books/Stationery
Type of Store: Boutique
4

Handle With Care

Originally a small gift shop, this 25-year-old neighborhood favorite now occupies two enormous attached storefronts, and each has a distinct identity. The original space sells prettily packaged grooming products and feminine clothing; the lofty second chamber adopts a modern exoticism as its theme, with Turkish glass lanterns and color-splashed garments.
1706 N. Wells St., 312-751-2929

Products: Women's Clothing, Decorative, Lighting, Gifts, Design
Type of Store: Boutique
5

Ikram

With its artfully elegant interior—curved archways, filigree screens, mushroom-like Murano discs suspended from the ceiling—this upscale standard has long been known as the place to zero in on high-end-but-experimental talents like Viktor & Rolf and Rick Owens. Our favorite reason to visit Ikram is its wait-list-worthy selection of shoes (particularly styles by Lanvin, Martin Margiela, and Azzedine Alaäa).
873 N. Rush St., 312-587-1000

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

Intermix

The largest Chicago branch, this citified space boasts big names like Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson.
40 E. Delaware St., 312-640-2922, intermixonline.com

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique
7

Jake

With three outposts now in the Chicago area, this rapidly expanding boutique empire has made it easy to secure formerly hard-to-find labels like Willow and Riser Goodwin. The Rush Street location is our go-to: It?s ambitious in scope, healthily stocked, and has an infinitely inspiring environment (vintage Knoll chairs, brushed-steel fixtures, and an enormous ballroom brass chandelier).
939 N. Rush St., 312-664-5553, shopjake.com

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

Josephine

Headed up by identical twins Danielle Rego and Nicole Shockley, this refined footwear and handbag purveyor sells luxe styles by hard-to-find lines (many of them European). Top picks this season are Tania Spinelli?s over-the-knee boots, Laurence Dacade?s hidden-platform Mary Janes, and Marc Marmel?s cracked-leather doctor satchels.
1405 N. Wells St., 312-274-0359, josephineonline..com

Products: Women's Clothing, Bags, Jewelry
Type of Store: Boutique
P.O.S.H.
9

P.O.S.H.

When he was working as a flight attendant, Karl Sorensen regularly got marooned on European layovers; to pass the time, he poked around flea markets. Eventually he fell in with the antique trade, and with the help of partner Steve Weigel, P.O.S.H. was born. The initial focus was on hotel silver and restaurant china; today the store brims with unusual, surprisingly affordable finds like coronation dishware, colorful seltzer bottles, and elaborate brass candelabras—all procured in spots ranging from Prague to Buenos Aires.
613 N. State St., 312-280-1602, poshchicago.com

Products: Antique, Tabletop
Type of Store: Boutique
10

Samantha Chicago

Done up with chiffon pink shag carpets, milk-glass lamps, and a circular faux-ostrich couch, this boudoir-influenced spot presents clothing as unabashedly feminine as the decor. Missouri native Samantha Mittelman has long been a fan of traditional glamour, and over the past three years she has put a modern-day stamp on the aesthetic through her classically flattering picks, which currently include Catherine Malandrino high-waisted wool pants and Smythe portrait-collared swing jackets.
64 E. Walton St., 312-951-5383, samanthachicago.com

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

Sugar Magnolia

Years before highbrow boutiques started colonizing the posh Oak Street retail strip, this low-profile shop was already a respected local presence. This season, husband-and-wife owners Jeffrey and Leslie Gersten are sticking to what they do best: offering the kind of clothes that you can spend all weekend in yet still wear straight to work on Monday, like Kate & Kass gathered-yoke dresses and Rory Beca jewel-toned silk caftans.
34 E. Oak St., 312-944-0885

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique
12

Uri Boutique

Located in a narrow and whitewashed space, this newcomer concentrates on little-known labels with a subdued, citified aesthetic: Heike Jarick's eelskin-belted kimono dress, for example, or Ardistia New York's bishop-sleeved jacket. There's even a bit of athletic wear mixed in, like J2's fitted jackets, selected for their stealth, street-ready sensibility.
1445 N. Wells St., 312-475-9002

Products: Women's Clothing
Type of Store: Boutique

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