Truth be told, I have class on Saturday afternoon, and with discretionary spending on lockdown, I might not be able to do much shopping at this weekend's Wicker Park Bucktown Sidewalk Sale, but that won't stop me from trying to help spread the word of the sale. It takes place this Saturday, and Sunday, from 11 am until 6 p.m. Links to the web sites of all of the aforementioned stores can be found in this newsletter, where the A-Z story initially appeared.
Following is an A-Z breakdown of all of the participants, and some photos of either the merchants, and/or their products (see tagged labels at bottom). Please note: Vintage Underground, and Hollywood Cleaners will also be participating in the sale.
If all of these stores were hypothetically programmed into a phone, there'd be a lot of pocket dials to Affordable Furniture (1314 Milw.), which is first on the queue. I met Affordable's owner a few months ago, and recall seeing fun pieces on display, like a child's lampshade shaped like a basketball. American Apparel (1563 N. Milw.) needs no introduction, though it serves as our nation's shiny tights HQ, and place to find comfortable, solid colored clothing, or at least according to the five different shades of black American Apparel shirts a woman that wishes to remain anonymous and writes this newsletter reportedly owns.
Belmont Army (1318 N. Milw.) has a bargain basement that is worth a pop in. Beta Boutique (2016 W. Concord, near Silver Cloud on Damen) has not-so-secret-super sales, but its location is a bit off the beaten path, and for a good reason: if it were easier to find I suspect it would be even more crowded. Bonnie and Clyde's (1751 W. Division) reminds me of another era, and recently held a party with sales up to 60% that will hopefully be extended to the sidewalk racks this weekend, too. The leather purse with the "handgun" embedded in its design, pictured, is from B and C. I think it costs like half my rent, so I shall stalk this purse from afar...
Cat and Mouse (2218 W. Armitage) is the place to find a board game, though you might want to save it for the last stop in case you end up staying a while, and playing it. Clothes Minded (1735 N. Damen) always seems to offer cozy sweaters, jeans that actually fit actual women's bodies, and baubles at the register perfect for tugging at the inner impulse buyer's pocketbook, not like I know by experience, or anything...
Elevenzees (1901 W. Division) got its name from the English custom of elevenses, involving a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea, which was a relaxing, and inspiring time of day for the store owner's father, if I recall correctly from a brief conversation long ago. Eskell (1509 N. Milwaukee) does a great job of mixing vintage, and new fashions, and partnered with Beta Boutique on its sample sale this past weekend. Eskell also carries quirky items like socks with cats on them, such as a pair recently given to me as a gift from a neighbor, and which I am looking forward to wearing on the next cold day, though I hope that day never comes. Wouldn't it be nice if summer lasted forever?
Findables (1643 N. Milw.) is an all around perfect spot for holiday gifts, housewares, eclectic pieces, topsy turvy dolls, vintage items, and much more. Previously written about in Street Scene, Findables will be closing soon, and consolidating some of its bestselling inventory to sister store, StoreB (1472 N. Milw.)
g Boutique (2131 N. Damen) was full of men on a recent pop in, presumably purchasing lingerie for women, something I wasn't aware of happening in real life, but for the sake of g Boutique I'm glad it is occurring in full force on a random Tuesday afternoon. Grasshopper 510 (1944 N. Damen) was featured in Chicago Reader's Boutique of the Week column. Greenheart Shop (1911 W. Division) offers eco-friendly treasures, and unique gifts like a clutch made of bottle tabs. For more photos, go inside Greenheart via Streets of Wicker.
Habit (1951 W. Division) is just a lot of fun to pop in, and out of, and if my memory serves correct there's still a few one-size-fits most colorful dresses on its circular display. One of those said dresses became my sole big ticket splurge of the summer, though the next morning I got a towing ticket for roughly the same amount spent on the dress, which reminded me to be careful with splurging, and parking, though I love the dress, and have received many a compliment on it, so no regrets, and thanks, Habit! Hunny Boutique (2027 N. Damen), Hejfina (1529 N. Milwaukee), and Helen Yi (1645 N. Damen) are mysteries, though I guess that means I need to check them out. For now, though, take a virtual tour of Hunny Boutique.
Joe's Jeans (1715 N. Damen) uses alliteration in its name, and I'm assuming sells jeans. Le Dress (1741 W. Division) recently won a 'Battle of the Boutiques' award. Lenny and Me (1459 N. Milwaukee) also won a 'Best Of' award. p.45 (1643 N. Damen) recenty hosted a spa night, per p.45's Facebook page. There's no doubt that Pour Vous (1750 W. Division) will probably find a way to make the sidewalk outside of its storefront smell good during the al fresco shopping bonanza. Psychobaby (1630 N. Damen) is a magical place for hipster moms, and doting aunts.
Ragstock (1433 N. Milw.) also has a bargain basement, and walls full of merchandise you can stare at for five minutes and still miss seeing at least three things. Spoil Me (1533 N. Milw.) and its owner, Caitin, will offer up deals at the sale in celebration of Spoil Me's recent three year anniversary! Stitch (1723 N. Damen) for some reason was heavily photographed one day when I was early for a meeting at Stitch's neighbor, caffe De Luca, so click here to go inside Stitch via de luca's neighborhood album on Facebook. Threadless Kids (1905 W. Division) and Urban Outfitters (1521 N. Milw.) are also participating in the sale.
vive la femme (2048 N. Damen) recently celebrated its seventh anniversary, and specializes in fuller figured fashions from a variety of designers like Kingley, and Posh, click here for a recent press release. Virtu (2034 N. Damen) carries Letterpress stationary, which I just found out about via its site. Veruca Salt (1921 N. Damen), Wicker Park Fitness (1735 W. Division), and Wow & Zen (1912 N. Damen) are all also participating.
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