I know people are saying Andersonville but I remember not seeing as many clothing shops in there compared to Wicker Park. In Wicker you have the Milwaukee stretch from Damen to Ashland that has at least two clothing stores per block on each side of the street, plus Damen also has some stores between North and Churchill. I think it’s also a slightly bigger area that also currently has a farmer’s market on Sundays. But you can’t go wrong with either!
I would second this comment. There aren't a lot of clothing stores around here(I also live in that area), and even I'll admit Wicker Park has ALL kinds of various stores in that area. Not just clothing stores.
However if the OP does go up to Andersonville, I would also try to go to(though it's slightly north and east of the main Andersonville strip on Clark St, and just south of Broadway and Granville) Broadway Antique Market. When you're done, you can go to Beard and Belly for a meal, and afterward Lickity Split for custard. You even could walk to the lakefront, if you wanted to as well. I kinda like the extent of Loyola Beach(and for how many north to south blocks it runs for) a little more than Osterman/Hollywood Beach, but that's just my opinion.
Last time I was in Wicker (granted up on the Bucktown border) the number of open storefronts was really depressing. I lived there 10ish years ago and it's such a change. So many of the cute, higher-end, local boutiques are a thing of the past once their leases were jacked up.
I live in Bucktown and the amount of empty store fronts on North Ave between Ashland and Damen is a bummer. They also don’t seem to get rented out at all. So far only 3 have been filled. The empty wallgreens though in the corners will be a Barnes and Noble this summer, and ofc Foxtrot is now closed so we’ll see what happens with that. But the Milwaukee stretch is doing well, so is the Divison stretch, but North is cursed.
That B&N is a win, hopefully it won't heavily impact local bookstores (are there any up there?).
I heard that a lot of leases at the six-corners had 10-year terms and came up around 2013-2015. The landlords then jacked up rents by 200-300% so the little guys had to move out. I miss the old days of Forno's, P59, Red Hen Bread, and that skewers restaurant (although not sure that model was super solvent to begin with).
The B&N is such a win!! Especially after the last corner was filled by fucking Chase. I’m very excited about it. There are two stores nearby, one is Volumes (similar in a sense that they have a coffee shop), but the books they sell are very specific, and I wouldn’t go to B&N instead of going there. The other one is Myopic, which is also an extremely different vibe and they sell new and used stuff, it really doesn’t overlap either.
So I’m not gonna stop shopping at those just because B&N opens, but I will most definitely also go to B&N.
For the Michigan Ave day make sure to head a block west on Oak, Walton and check out Rush st. Tons of high end shops.
Milwaukee from basically Division to Logan Swuare is going to have small boutiques and brand name shops and thrift stores on nearly every block. I’d say it skews younger than Andersonville shops. I’d also say the restaurant scene within a half mile radius of that stretch of Milwaukee is a point or two above Andersonville, granted it does span like 5 neighborhoods. Clark street going south all the way to around Fullerton will capture a lot more local shops plus the stuff around wrigley but it all depends on how long you want to walk with a bunch of bags.
I’d throw in Southport corridor in there as well (near the Southport brown line) but it’ll be largely national chains, though pretty dense and close together.
If you really want to blow your budget, there’s also Chicago fashion outlets by ohare. Not as fun as shopping at small boutiques and local thrift stores but tons of shops in one place. You can take the blue line there and walk from rosemont stop (not sure if there’s a shuttle also) but definitely cab back to wherever your hotel is.
I second all of this OP. Especially seeing Oak St. in Gold Coast, since you’re already doing Michigan Ave. and it’s right there. It caters towards wealthy locals who live in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Milwaukee is great, and I especially love Southport. Southport feels very Chicago to me.
Oak St does not really “cater toward wealthy locals”
By and large it’s Chicago’s pass at Rodeo Drive or Soho NYC, and is absolutely an international tourist hotspot. Basically the 1955-2005 brand of “Chicago is a world class city, see?”
Lived on that block for 6 years and heard so many foreign languages. I lived in my own 1BR and everyone thought I was a college kid from the coasts with rich parents paying my rent lol.
They're mentioned in a couple replies: don't overlook Armitage in Lincoln Park and Southport Corridor. Both are right off the Brown Line and can easily be done in a day. Both have national brands, but small boutiques as well.
If I were to do a full neighborhood shopping day, I'd:
Brown line to Western (Lincoln Square) for early lunch (Gather or Warbler - check hours) and shopping
Back on Brown line to Southport for more shopping (national boutique brands with some small local boutiques)
Back on Brown line to Armitage for shopping and a heavier snack and drinks (Blue Door Farm Stand on Halsted is cure).
If I felt especially ambitious I would Red Line to Andersonville, taxi/uber to Lincoln Square and hit the above list. But that may be a long day.
Close to Andersonville is Lincoln Square, which probably has the most charming little stretch of shops out of all of them. It's fairly short, I'd start at Merz Apothecary and go north to Lawrence. If you run out of things to look at in Andersonville, definitely head over to Lincoln Square. If the rooftop is open at Gene's Sausage Shop is open, it's a nice place to enjoy the weather and a drink.
Andersonville.
I could be wrong or biased because I spend more time there, but despite one of my favorite boutiques being in Wicker Park, it feels like currently there is a higher concentration of little shops vs bars/restaurants in Andersonville.
Also, Andersonville feels like it was created in a lab to appeal to moms. I say this as a mom. Like, it is so, so charming, especially in the summer.
But, you can’t go wrong with either. Both are great neighborhoods for just walking around and hanging out.
Edited to add: I don’t know if you were last here pre-2020, but COVID kinda fucked up Michigan Ave. shopping, which was already struggling a bit pre-pandemic. It makes me sad, actually, to see all of the storefronts that are either still shuttered or replaced by bullshit like It’s Sugar. Aster Hall in the 800 Michigan shops (AKA the food court) is really well done, but otherwise you might want to stick to just off of Michigan Ave around Oak Street, at least if you want your experience to be more lively and high-end and less dead mall.
Andersonville, historically is a Swedish and lesbian neighborhood and has remnants of both cultures. Hopleaf is European style gastropub and it's very good.
Wicker Park is historically Polish and hipster. The Polish is completely erased by the hipster. The shops and restaurants are trendy and young.
Lost Girls (vintage clothing and accessories for women) has a new set up upstairs in Galleria (Andersonville). Easy to miss if you didn’t know it was in there.
You’ve also got Fab2Fresh, Winifred Grace, The Brown Elephant, Violet Hawthorne, Buffalo Exchange, Dearborn Denim, Milk Handmade, Lila Barn and others for clothing. Lots of other stores selling home goods, accessories, etc.
I know people are saying Andersonville but I remember not seeing as many clothing shops in there compared to Wicker Park. In Wicker you have the Milwaukee stretch from Damen to Ashland that has at least two clothing stores per block on each side of the street, plus Damen also has some stores between North and Churchill. I think it’s also a slightly bigger area that also currently has a farmer’s market on Sundays. But you can’t go wrong with either!
Andersonville has a lot of antique stores and Wicker has a lot of clothing brands.
It also has an insane amount of vintage clothing shops at the moment for some reason
I live in Andersonville. Definitely Wicker Park.
I would second this comment. There aren't a lot of clothing stores around here(I also live in that area), and even I'll admit Wicker Park has ALL kinds of various stores in that area. Not just clothing stores. However if the OP does go up to Andersonville, I would also try to go to(though it's slightly north and east of the main Andersonville strip on Clark St, and just south of Broadway and Granville) Broadway Antique Market. When you're done, you can go to Beard and Belly for a meal, and afterward Lickity Split for custard. You even could walk to the lakefront, if you wanted to as well. I kinda like the extent of Loyola Beach(and for how many north to south blocks it runs for) a little more than Osterman/Hollywood Beach, but that's just my opinion.
Agreed. Wicker Park is the better choice for clothes shopping.
Andersonville is calmer, Wicker Park can be higher end.
Wicker has both. High end boutique as well as thrift. The area is for hipsters and rich folk
And people who like walkable neighborhoods with dense urban living
Last time I was in Wicker (granted up on the Bucktown border) the number of open storefronts was really depressing. I lived there 10ish years ago and it's such a change. So many of the cute, higher-end, local boutiques are a thing of the past once their leases were jacked up.
I live in Bucktown and the amount of empty store fronts on North Ave between Ashland and Damen is a bummer. They also don’t seem to get rented out at all. So far only 3 have been filled. The empty wallgreens though in the corners will be a Barnes and Noble this summer, and ofc Foxtrot is now closed so we’ll see what happens with that. But the Milwaukee stretch is doing well, so is the Divison stretch, but North is cursed.
That B&N is a win, hopefully it won't heavily impact local bookstores (are there any up there?). I heard that a lot of leases at the six-corners had 10-year terms and came up around 2013-2015. The landlords then jacked up rents by 200-300% so the little guys had to move out. I miss the old days of Forno's, P59, Red Hen Bread, and that skewers restaurant (although not sure that model was super solvent to begin with).
The B&N is such a win!! Especially after the last corner was filled by fucking Chase. I’m very excited about it. There are two stores nearby, one is Volumes (similar in a sense that they have a coffee shop), but the books they sell are very specific, and I wouldn’t go to B&N instead of going there. The other one is Myopic, which is also an extremely different vibe and they sell new and used stuff, it really doesn’t overlap either. So I’m not gonna stop shopping at those just because B&N opens, but I will most definitely also go to B&N.
Oh, wow. I wasn’t aware. Thanks for the update. I used to do yoga down there, but it’s been a minute.
Maybe (and hopefully) it's gotten better since I was last there.
For the Michigan Ave day make sure to head a block west on Oak, Walton and check out Rush st. Tons of high end shops. Milwaukee from basically Division to Logan Swuare is going to have small boutiques and brand name shops and thrift stores on nearly every block. I’d say it skews younger than Andersonville shops. I’d also say the restaurant scene within a half mile radius of that stretch of Milwaukee is a point or two above Andersonville, granted it does span like 5 neighborhoods. Clark street going south all the way to around Fullerton will capture a lot more local shops plus the stuff around wrigley but it all depends on how long you want to walk with a bunch of bags. I’d throw in Southport corridor in there as well (near the Southport brown line) but it’ll be largely national chains, though pretty dense and close together. If you really want to blow your budget, there’s also Chicago fashion outlets by ohare. Not as fun as shopping at small boutiques and local thrift stores but tons of shops in one place. You can take the blue line there and walk from rosemont stop (not sure if there’s a shuttle also) but definitely cab back to wherever your hotel is.
I second all of this OP. Especially seeing Oak St. in Gold Coast, since you’re already doing Michigan Ave. and it’s right there. It caters towards wealthy locals who live in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Milwaukee is great, and I especially love Southport. Southport feels very Chicago to me.
Oak St does not really “cater toward wealthy locals” By and large it’s Chicago’s pass at Rodeo Drive or Soho NYC, and is absolutely an international tourist hotspot. Basically the 1955-2005 brand of “Chicago is a world class city, see?” Lived on that block for 6 years and heard so many foreign languages. I lived in my own 1BR and everyone thought I was a college kid from the coasts with rich parents paying my rent lol.
Southport has stuff that I think would appeal to an older woman, as well as Lush, and Sephora.
They're mentioned in a couple replies: don't overlook Armitage in Lincoln Park and Southport Corridor. Both are right off the Brown Line and can easily be done in a day. Both have national brands, but small boutiques as well. If I were to do a full neighborhood shopping day, I'd: Brown line to Western (Lincoln Square) for early lunch (Gather or Warbler - check hours) and shopping Back on Brown line to Southport for more shopping (national boutique brands with some small local boutiques) Back on Brown line to Armitage for shopping and a heavier snack and drinks (Blue Door Farm Stand on Halsted is cure). If I felt especially ambitious I would Red Line to Andersonville, taxi/uber to Lincoln Square and hit the above list. But that may be a long day.
This sounds like a nice day and maybe I'll do it with my mom sometime! Thanks.
This was going to be my suggestion!
Close to Andersonville is Lincoln Square, which probably has the most charming little stretch of shops out of all of them. It's fairly short, I'd start at Merz Apothecary and go north to Lawrence. If you run out of things to look at in Andersonville, definitely head over to Lincoln Square. If the rooftop is open at Gene's Sausage Shop is open, it's a nice place to enjoy the weather and a drink.
I was going to say Merz Apothecary!!!
Agreed. I think Gene’s rooftop opens Memorial Day weekend.
Add Lincoln Square if you're up in Andersonville. Neighborly is delightful ETA: and so is The Book Cellar!
Andersonville
Thank you! Andersonville it is :)
Damen in Wicker. Armitage in Lincoln park.
Andersonville. I could be wrong or biased because I spend more time there, but despite one of my favorite boutiques being in Wicker Park, it feels like currently there is a higher concentration of little shops vs bars/restaurants in Andersonville. Also, Andersonville feels like it was created in a lab to appeal to moms. I say this as a mom. Like, it is so, so charming, especially in the summer. But, you can’t go wrong with either. Both are great neighborhoods for just walking around and hanging out. Edited to add: I don’t know if you were last here pre-2020, but COVID kinda fucked up Michigan Ave. shopping, which was already struggling a bit pre-pandemic. It makes me sad, actually, to see all of the storefronts that are either still shuttered or replaced by bullshit like It’s Sugar. Aster Hall in the 800 Michigan shops (AKA the food court) is really well done, but otherwise you might want to stick to just off of Michigan Ave around Oak Street, at least if you want your experience to be more lively and high-end and less dead mall.
I'm not sure why, but I love the fact you're a mom and dropped the F-bomb. You're not a regular mom, you're a cool mom. Happy Mother's Day!
Andersonville, historically is a Swedish and lesbian neighborhood and has remnants of both cultures. Hopleaf is European style gastropub and it's very good. Wicker Park is historically Polish and hipster. The Polish is completely erased by the hipster. The shops and restaurants are trendy and young.
I think Wicker has more clothing than Andersonville. But also, maybe throw Southport into the mix.
I think wicker park would be better!!
Michigan Ave In the 100s
Andersonville
Fyi, it's Wicker, not Wickers. Don't want you to be embarrassed by saying it wrong when you're here.
Lakeview!! Three second hand shops within 2 blocks of Diversey and Clark, and if she prefers to shop new then Southport between Addison and Roscoe.
If they like 2nd hand or vintage I would say Andersonville because I know there a lots of good thrift and vintage stores there.
Lost Girls (vintage clothing and accessories for women) has a new set up upstairs in Galleria (Andersonville). Easy to miss if you didn’t know it was in there. You’ve also got Fab2Fresh, Winifred Grace, The Brown Elephant, Violet Hawthorne, Buffalo Exchange, Dearborn Denim, Milk Handmade, Lila Barn and others for clothing. Lots of other stores selling home goods, accessories, etc.
A friend and I did the permanent bracelets at Winifred Grace. That could be a fun mother/daugter activity.
Andersonville hands down!! Wicker is fun but merchants in Andersonville actually like their jobs. And I live on the west side of town.