Shopping

Forget Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue -- Chicago is the country's original shopping center. As the United States expanded westward, catalogs from Chicago-based Sears and Montgomery Ward made clothes, books, and housewares accessible to even the most remote frontier towns. Department store magnate Marshall Field operated his namesake department store here, which opened in 1852, under the motto "Give the lady what she wants." Field pioneered many customer-service policies that are now standard, such as hassle-free returns.

Today Montgomery Ward is no more (and Marshall Field's has been taken over by Macy's), but downtown Chicago still draws hordes of shoppers (as anyone who's tried to walk quickly down Michigan Ave. on a busy summer Sat can attest to). From the fine furniture showrooms at the imposing Merchandise Mart to the who's who of designer boutiques lining Oak Street and Michigan Avenue, the quality of stores in Chicago is top-notch. Because so many of the best are concentrated in one easy-to-walk area, the convenience of shopping in Chicago is unmatched.

This section concentrates on the Magnificent Mile, State Street, and several trendy neighborhoods, where you'll find the sort of one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques that make shopping here such an adventure.

Shopping Hours -- As a general rule, store hours are 10am to 6 or 7pm Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6pm Sunday. Neighborhood stores tend to keep later hours, as do some of the stores along Michigan Avenue, which cater to after-work shoppers as well as tourists. Almost all stores have extended hours during the holiday season. Nearly all the stores in the Loop are open for daytime shopping only, generally from 9 or 10am to no later than 6pm Monday through Saturday. (The few remaining big downtown department stores have some selected evening hours.) Many Loop stores not on State Street are closed Saturday; on Sunday the Loop -- except for a few restaurants, theaters, and cultural attractions -- shuts down.

Sales Tax -- You might do a double take after checking the total on your purchase: At 10.25%, the local sales tax on nonfood items is one of the steepest in the country.

Shopping A to Z

Chicago has shops selling just about anything you could want or need, be it functional or ornamental, whimsical or exotic. Although the following list only scratches the surface, it gives you an idea of the range of merchandise available.

Antiques -- The greatest concentration of antiques businesses, from packed-to-the-rafters malls to idiosyncratic individual shops, can be found on Belmont Avenue west of Southport Avenue, or stretching north and south of Belmont Avenue along intersecting Lincoln Avenue. Here are a few others:

Art Galleries -- Most of the city's major art galleries are concentrated in two neighborhoods. The city's original gallery district is in River North, within easy walking distance of most downtown hotels. More recently, galleries have been opening in the converted loft buildings of the West Loop, which is best reached by taxi.

Clothing Boutiques -- In the not-so-distant past, local fashion addicts fled to the coasts to shop for cutting-edge designer duds. Those days are over. While over-the-top outrageousness doesn't sell here -- this is the practical Midwest, after all -- stylish Chicagoans now turn to local independent boutiques when they want to stay on top of the latest trends (without looking like fashion victims). Here are some of the best.

Shopping with the Pros -- Want to stay on top of the trends, but have limited time to scout out hip boutiques? A guided tour of Chicago's coolest clothing shops is a great way to fit some concentrated shopping into a busy schedule. (Plus, you'll hit the insider places only the locals know about and get discounts along the way.) Urban Shop Guide (tel. 312/533-1256; www.urbanshopguide.com) offers tours to Lincoln Park or Bucktown, visiting smaller, independent boutiques; tours cost $40-$125 per person. Shop Walk Chicago (tel. 773/255-7866; www.chicagoshopwalk.com) offers a number of different neighborhood tours (let them know the kinds of clothes you like, and they'll suggest where to go); there's also a "Made in Chicago" tour that focuses on local designers. Tours range from $40-$70 per person. Both companies can also arrange custom tours on request.

In Search of Specialty Foods -- Chicago's got a huge variety of ethnic grocery stores, where you can sample authentic specialties from around the world and stock up on unusual cooking-related gifts. Because most of the shops are in residential neighborhoods far from the usual tourist haunts, the best way to get an overview of them is by taking a culinary tour, led by a guide who knows the cuisine (and, best of all, can organize tastings along the way). Ethnic Grocery Tours (tel. 773/465-8064; www.ethnic-grocery-tours.com), run by Evelyn Thompson, organizes half-day excursions for up to 4 people that stop at a variety of shops, from Russian to Jamaican to Middle Eastern. Chef Rebecca Wheeler takes visitors to Southeast Asian and Indian stores and bakeries for her Ethnic Market Tours (tel. 773/368-1336; www.rebeccawheeler.com). She'll even share cooking tips, so you can arrive home with a few new recipes to try out.