"They've gotten a lot of attention from Oprah," says Naimowicz, while Harwell indicates a recent In Style article about the buzz surrounding the increasingly popular jammies. "There's a lot of things you can buy in Nordstrom's that you'll now be able to get in the neighborhood," Naimowicz says of the merchandise in her 9-month-old store. "And you don't have to pay fourteen dollars to park," Harwell dryly adds.

And that's at least part of the reason why, as the population of Wicker Park and Bucktown grows, buoyed by a nice proximity to downtown and the artistic pull of the area, retail expansion has followed. While it's nice to live near downtown, it's also nice to shop without getting in the car or on the El.

"We've had a lot of home-accessory stores in the last couple of years--resale stores and antique stores, but now there's a lot of boutiques moving in," says Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kara Hughes Salgado. "It's great to see. There's strength in numbers and the easier it is for people to go from store to store, walking, the easier it is to have an experience here. Before you could walk three blocks before you got to the next cool store, now it's more like a shopping district."

That shopping district now extends from the lower part of Milwaukee, and on Damen as far north as Webster, featuring everything from gardening accoutrements, to unique housewares, singular eyeglasses and clothes--with the latter increasing almost monthly. "Chicago is pushing Bucktown and Wicker Park as this real fashion center," says Naimowicz.

"Culturally we saw what was happening on the street and thought, 'Let's do the fashion store,'" says Tim McGwire, a ten-year Wicker Parker. Tim and brother Reggie have owned the Futurgarb space for five years, using it as a gallery, performance space and home for their graphic-design firm, Go Design, before setting up the store last year. Now the store encompasses the lower level and the design firm has moved upstairs. "It has started," Tim says of the increasing fashion presence in the area. "I've definitely noticed a lot more flowers budding this spring--there are three, four, five more clothing stores up the street. The city needs a new shopping district like this--it's not like Michigan Avenue or the Magnificent Mile. It's more for urbanites, for people a bit more culturally tapped into the city."

"The neighborhood has had a lot of press lately," Salgado says, referring to a recent major article in the New York Times, along with airline magazine features and other widespread notice. "I think a lot of it is due to the fact that it's a Cinderella story. Rents have gone up quite a bit--you have to be a successful business person in order to make it. It's kind of the way Soho was ten years ago. I hope we're not headed to the point where nobody can afford to be here anymore. But a lot of the building owners have owned here a long time and continue to have higher rents on the storefront level to let galleries, artists and others have the upstairs."

Still, the retail bug that has bitten the area shows no signs of stopping, and all the signs of spreading. It's likely Division Street will be the new frontier, Salgado says--with an influx of stores like Noir, Lilly Vallente and pCock. "Most of the reputation of Wicker Park and Bucktown has sprung from the intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee, and spread out from there," she says. "Now with the restaurants... Division Street has a natural potential--with wide sidewalks. I think that's the next place you'll see a lot of retail going. And rents are a little more reasonable over there."

In the meantime, the trick is to get the word out about the boutiques in the area. Salgado says the chamber of commerce is pushing to increase daytime foot traffic. "We've had evening and weekend traffic for five years," she says, "but things slow down during the day." They've had some success as downtown concierges have steered visitors to the area. "People don't always find their way up here," says Lisa Zschunke, manager of Robin Richman. "So it's nice to have the attention." But, says Amy Rigg Manager Chrissy Paszalek, things are clearly on the upswing. "We're definitely getting some notice," Paszalek says. "We had one last week, when she told the cab driver where she wanted to go, he told her 'You don't want to go there, that used to be a really bad neighborhood!' So we're getting some tourists and a lot of foot traffic. A lot of people who come in say they're happy they didn't have to go to a mall, they didn't have to park. They just walked down the street."

Here's a walking tour of some of the clothing boutiques in Wicker Park and Bucktown. For more information on area businesses visit the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce at www.wickerparkbucktown.com.

Damen Avenue: walking north from North Avenue

p.45, 1643 N. Damen, (773)862-4523, www.p45.com
With a focus on new designers, Jessica Darrow and Tricia Tunstall offer women's clothes for those "with an eye for artistry." The 4-and-a-half-year-old boutique specializes in hard-to-find styles from young designers and features original jewelry created by local designers.

Clothes Minded, 1649 N. Damen, (773)227-3402
Owner Sandy Horowitz moved her Lakeview store from Broadway into Bucktown and now occupies a sleek storefront space. Specializing in clothes for urban everygirls, Clothes Minded offers a host of comfortable, stylish and, best of all, affordable options for everything from true casual to business casual and beyond.

Tangerine, 1719 N. Damen, (773)772-0505
With its breezy interior and intriguing selection--including a nice amount of space devoted to Lacoste (aka Izod logo casual)--Tangerine specializes in feminine chic with fresh designs from Poleci, Laurie B and more.

Miss B. Haven, 1802 N. Damen, (773)862-9275
Say you've just bought a great new outfit at p.45, Tangerine or a host of local boutiques, and now you need some different underwear to go with it--do you have to haul it downtown? No, say Miss B. Haven owners Melissa Naimowicz and Tracy Harwell. The store stocks lingerie from Cosabella, along with their own designs, hand-sewn under the name Miss B. Haven. Starting out as a store with unscented bath products meant to be infused with personally selected scents, Miss B. Haven expanded into "a girl shop," Naimowicz says. Now they carry handcrafted soaps, lingerie, jewelry and handbags from local designer Janelle Dennis, who holds a trunk show at the store the weekend of May 3-5. The store hosts a shopping evening to introduce its new pajama parlor, featuring BedHead pajamas, May 2 from 5-9pm.

Apartment Number 9, 1804 N. Damen, (773)395-2999
Featuring classic duds for men, the new store carries the likes of Paul Smith and Andrew Dibben.

Saffron, 2064 N. Damen, (773)486-7753
A veteran on Damen, north of Armitage, Saffron is a shop of "lovely" gifts--cards, jewelry, candles, scarves--paired with owner Padmaja's own ready-to-wear clothing, teaming ultra retro looks with East Asian and Japanese accents.

Amy Rigg, 2101 N. Damen, (773)394-7444
Amy Rigg has designed clothing for fifteen years, opening her store in November 2000 to offer items unavailable to wholesalers. "It's a little bit vintage, but it's always very sculptural," says manager Chrissy Paszalek. Sizes are tailored to women, with on-site alterations available to fit a size zero, as well as options in the 8-18 size range. Paszalek says the store is working on more personal touches, adding handcrafted accents to different outfits. "We have an amazing range of clients," she says. "Some high school girls who are bigger sized who don't look good in junior clothing, but look absolutely fabulous in ours, a lot of alt bridal, bridesmaids dresses, even wedding gowns."

Robin Richman, 2108 N. Damen, (773)278-6150
Robin Richman has spent eighteen years producing handknit sweaters for wholesale distribution. But, she says, "stores would never buy the whole collection of sweaters," so she opened her store as a place to show the entire collection at once. Still featuring her own sweaters, Richman has expanded, continuing her long love affair with antiques, which fill the basement and are scattered throughout the store--check out the collection of antique hangers in the backroom--along with jewelry and bath and beauty products. Richman travels, hand-selecting designers to feature in the store, and frequently, she says, only buying one or two of an item in each size, so "it's not like you're going to look like everyone else."

vive la femme, 2115 N. Damen, (773)772-7429
Owner Stephanie Sack says that if "you want to say something bad abut your body in this store, we don't want to hear it." Her plus-size boutique features junior lines, offering young women the opportunity to buy "truly fashionable clothes" that fit. Vive la femme is also the only store in the Midwest to carry designs from Anna Scholtz, a London-based designer who specializes in plus sizes. The store also carries accessories, including a line of plus-size lingerie, larger towels, jewelry tailored to larger frames and handbags. "A big woman doesn't necessarily need a big purse, she needs a proportional purse," Sack says.

Milwaukee Avenue: starting from the Damen/North/Milwaukee intersection and heading south

City Soles, 2001 W. North; Niche, 1566 N. Damen, (773)489-2001
Two stores that overlap in space, Niche carries shoes from high-end international designers, while City Soles offers the best in names like Kenneth Cole and BCBG.

Xcito, 1557 N. Milwaukee, (773)278-5619
The Lakeview store (there's another location at 2828 N. Clark) branches out into Wicker Park, bringing its signature collection of urban casual clothing for men and women--featuring designers like Arkun, Barbara Bui and Veronica M.

John Fluevog, 1539-41 N. Milwaukee, (773)276-0585, www.fluevog.com
The ultimate in fab shoes, from urban casual to funky chic, Fluevog carries a range of shoes to match style and mood.

Fly Boutique, 1472 N. Milwaukee, (773)486-8967
Owner Jean-Marie, who also owns a store in Miami, combines the best of vintage, local and established designers to create a boutique filled with eclectic offerings for men and women. Specializing in the "now" of fashion, the year-plus-old store highlights new designers and carries a vibe both eccentric and bohemian.

CB, 1467 N. Milwaukee, (773)394-9887, www.christopherbradley.com
Streamlined, urban casual male attire presented in minimalist surroundings by designer Christopher Bradley.

Supreme, 1459 N. Milwaukee, (773)862-7047
Records on one side, the urban gear to go with them on the other--what more could you ask for?

Sass, 1456 N. Milwaukee, (773)342-7950
Sarah Kearns has moved her unique selection from Division Street onto the Milwaukee Avenue strip. Featuring local designers for clothes and jewelry and modestly priced items that are hip without being too trendy, Kearns frequently carries only one design per size to meet customer demand for individuality.

Una Mae's Freak Boutique, 1422 N. Milwaukee, (773)276-7002
The ultimate in boutique resale, Una Mae's offers eclectic vintage in a cozy atmosphere. With many classic styles and a fifty-fifty split between recycled and new urban wear, Una Mae's also offers a nice sized men's section.

Softcore, 1420 N. Milwaukee, (773)276-7616
Suenman Lam and Obi Nwazota offer multiple kinds of public service in their club kids' haven. Not only do they outfit you in everything you need to hit the clubs--from Diesel jeans to mind-blowing futuristic fashion--but the sales staff will educate you in current styles and trends to help make sure you don't leave until you're happy with your look.

Futurgarb, 1359 N. Milwaukee, (773)276-1450, www.futurgarb.com
"A lot of lines you see here are very difficult to find," Tim McGwire says of Futurgarb, his year-old clothing store. Under the theme "clothing for the new planet," Futurgarb offers a mixture of styles for men and women--the philosophy being that this is "no longer the old planet, that there's been a rebirth of our generation. Kind of like the world ended and this is a post-Apocalyptic new vision," says Reggie, McGwire's brother and business partner. Carrying everything from peasant styles, to urban cowgirl and cowboy, to modern Zen, Futurgarb features labels from around the world, from the "fun and kitschy" E.C. Star to the futuristic The People Have Spoken. "It's a great thing to be able to do, creating an entire vision," Tim says, noting that much of the store's décor is found-object art made by themselves, and that they also did the wall paintings, which are for sale. "We're just getting started. It's a great place to add to the culture here in Wicker Park and Bucktown."

Also by Elaine Richardson

TOTTERING TOWN
Like a bazaar gone wonderfully wrong, the grand ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Chicago bustles with activity as hundreds of people stroll from booth to booth, coming away not with trinkets, but with a nosing glass full of... whiskey.
(2002-04-25)

MEET AND GREET
The service, based on a similar program in New York City, allows people to schedule visits with individual Chicagoans to take a turn around a specific area--choices include more than twenty neighborhoods, from Logan Square to Pullman.
(2002-04-18)

HOT AIR
How do 844 people die in the Chicago River--not the Lake, but the River? The idea is almost mind-boggling, but on a misty July morning in 1915, the fully overloaded passenger steamer Eastland, sitting at the Clark Street dock, tipped over.
(2002-04-11)

MR. BEAN
Doug Zell discusses coffee the way others discuss wine. "This is a coffee from New Guinea, so it should have sort of like a nice hoppy kind of nose," he says, taking a healthy drink.
(2002-04-04)

STREET TEAM
(2002-03-21)

FEEDING FRENZY
(2002-03-21)

POLL POSITION
(2002-03-14)

AD BUSTERS
(2002-03-14)

BAD NEWS
(2002-02-28)

HOT AIR
(2002-02-28)

HAIL TO THE CHIEF
(2002-02-14)

DOMESTIC BLITZ
(2002-02-14)