A Seattle Girl's Guide to Vintage in Chicago
a handful of shops that I saw ( loved ) and think you might too!
This is Part Two of my Chicago trip, and I’m going to share a handful of shops that I found, explored ( and loved! ) as a Seattle girl visiting the Windy City.
be sure to check out Part One for my favorite food stops + our Airbnb recommendation!
Chicago!
I just returned from a week in Chicago where I had the absolute best time celebrating my birthday, eating, exploring and walking our way through the city. Previous to this trip I have spent approximately a total of 12 hours in this city - but have been smitten and been dying for the chance to come back and explore ever since!
As EVERY fashion girlie does, I did a deep dive on Instagram and Google prior to my trip to seek out shops that I wanted to visit when I was in Chicago. I created a list on my Google Maps with tags ( and notes ) of shops that looked promising before hand, so while there I could see what was around us in real time.
My biggest goal was to find shops that would be a good fit to carry my Beanies this winter - as well as find the best vintage possible and maybe bring home a new vintage tee to add to my collection?
located in / near Wicker Park neighborhood, this was an easy walk from our Airbnb in Bucktown on our way to each lunch in Palmer Square. I found this shop because randomly I was on a search for Carta perfume - and they are a stockist, and upon further research had seen Rawson do a pop-up here, so I quickly added it to my must visit list. The shop is beautifully curated, welcoming and has a lovely selection of clothing from brands I recognized like James Street and Le Bon Shoppe - as well as some new to me brands. Owner Emma has such fun style - be sure to follow her on IG for some daily wardrobe inspiration!
I had fun trying on denim from James Street ( finally nice to see it in person! ) and ended up purchasing mineral sunscreen and a little chocolate bar for our picnic in the park. Emma recommened we stop at Lardon for a sandwich - and it was 10/10 the best local recommendation for lunch we had on this trip!
Honorable Mention - next door to The Sunday Standard is a curated vintage boutique, Sacrosanct which carried a few different vintage curators, and appeared to appeal to the Y2K vintage shopper. Prices looked reasonable, and everything was well-organized!
The Center of Order and Experimentation
This shop was TOP of my list to visit - but located further from where we were staying, and I was worried we wouldn’t have an opportunity to make it. Joke is on me because I’m not used to a city being so flat and walkable - that we ended up nearby on our way to PIZZ’AMICI and got a chance to swing in right before they closed.
located in West Town, this was definitely my favorite shop we checked out. It offers coffee, an amazing selection of paper goods, cute and unique gifts, as well as my main goal - a pop-up from Rawson in the back. Sadly we only had about 15 minutes to explore before they closed, but I got a really cute tank top by Rawson and some yummy potato chips. Their branding is the cutest! I will be back next time I’m in town for coffee, a new journal, and probably more.
Honorable Mention on our walk from Wicker Park to Division street, down to West Town we stopped in Pep Club Vintage - which had lots of home decor, gen z vibes and great prices
wow - I really haven’t talked a lot about vintage yet - but on our last day in the city, we found the mecca of vintage shops condensed into an area of Wicker Park - but first just a few minutes walk from our AirBnb in Bucktown we found the best spot….
located in Bucktown, I almost missed this spot - but luckily my boyfriend pointed out the sign out front, and we wandered down some stairs into The Pop-up , which is a really cool spot for Vintage Tees, selected second-hand designer, and sneakers. I LOVE a good vintage tee, and there was a great selection of vintage for Chicago sports fans ( as well as some other great cities sprinkled in ). The owner lives just up the street with his family and was absolutely so friendly and welcoming - I would recommend stopping in just to meet him and his staff for great conversation and to see what he’s up to with his shop & brand.
All around great vibes - and exactly the type of experience I wanted to have as a customer in a new city looking for the best shopping, eating and things to do. I didn’t make a purchase, but there were a few Chicago Bears tees I was eyeing and would maybe add to my collection sometime in the future! I did walk away with some good suggestions on what to eat and what to do on our last day in town.
located in Wicker Park, this was FINALLY the vintage store I was looking for. On the first level there are a lot of sneakers and sports jerseys, tees and sweatshirts, but upstairs there is a ton more tees, pants and a small section of women’s vintage. The prices were great and there was SO much to look at. I tried on a few tees, but didn’t find “the one” I wanted, so I left empty-handed, however there were some close-contenders that I tried on for fun!
By this point I was shopped out - so we did not make any more stops in the neighborhood, however there were at least 3-4 more curated vintage/thrift shops around us, as well as a Buffalo Exchange and more to explore. I would definitely stop by this store often if I lived in Chicago - or spend a day at all the nearby shops to get a full second-hand & vintage experience.
A list of other places I had saved - but did not make it to,
Tell me - have you been to any of these spots? What did I miss?
Have a suggestion for a cute boutique that would be a good fit for my Beanies? Please email me or comment ( we pay comission for new accounts opened! )
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xx M
Michelle Moore is a Seattle-based creative, vintage curator, photographer, writer and educator. You can catch her at an up-coming pop-up, swing by on a night she’s hosting at the restaurant in Ballard, order one of her hand-knit Beanies, or hire her to host & plan your next event.
connecting you with good clothes + good people.