Shopping with Mother in Chicago
by Jamee Gregory
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| Hopping on the Chicago Trolley for a day of shopping. |
| “Mother, I’m coming to visit!” “Don’t,” she said. “It’s thirty below zero with a wind chill of fifty!” Heeding her sage advice, I stayed away from Chicago until this past week, waiting for winter’s thaw. Like the ground hog, mother had not ventured out for weeks, waiting for the Ides of March. Accompanied by me, she missed her shadow, but was thrilled by the sight of spring bulbs poking their heads promisingly through the bare cracked earth. We were not alone. Throngs of Windy City dwellers took to the streets, tempted by rising temperatures and sunshine. Face-painters, magicians, and tap dancers entertained the crowds along Michigan Avenue. |
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| View towards East Lake shore Drive and Michigan avenue, anchored by the famous Drake Hotel; Views down Michigan Avenue, Chicago's premiere shopping street (above & below). |
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| Facade of the 900 N. Michigan Avenue building; Inside the building which contains a mall anchored by Bloomingdale's. |
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| Clockwise from top: Lethu’s inviting front windows; My mother, Arlene Tucker, admiring the displays in the crisp, beautifully designed store; Celadon tableware made the cut! I chose the rounded handles. The brilliant selection will suit everyone’s taste and leave them wanting more. How about a different color for each day of the week? |
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| With ice cream cups, multi-colored spoons and a rainbow of scoopers so bright and cheerful, who needs ice cream? The candy-striped cloth, scalloped white tray and bright linen napkins scream summer. |
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| Candles in rainbow colors and myriad shapes will brighten any starry night. I bought hot pink and lime green, perfect for Southampton summers; An array of orange and turquoise coordinating products. |
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| A selection of original Genevieve Lethu designs. |
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| Nadja, the adorable and talented store manager and window designer, responsible for the magnificent and artistic displays of merchandise. She is helpful and organized, aiding shoppers; These knives beat out the basic Boy Scout variety. Colors and shapes in every shade would make great gifts for the hostess who has everything. |
| We made our first stop at Genevieve Lethu’s outpost; open just fifteen months in the 800 N. Michigan building. This North American outpost of the 35 year old company boasts 100 locations in France. Brought to Chicago by a local attorney and his wife because they fell in love with the product, unlike anything they had seen at home. The bright colors and exclusive designs just pop with life. Not bland or boring, they will brighten any table and certainly put an end to dreary winter doldrums. I loved the colorful handles on the silverware, especially the celadon green as well as the brightly patterned napkins and rings, hot pink candles, flower-painted glassware and polka-dotted votive candle holders. I sent myself a care package filled with all of the above, including a small rug in pink and green with knives and forks dancing across its center. Nadja, the charming and efficient manager, made shopping a pleasure, wrapping each gift beautifully and providing chic orange shopping bags. |
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| Water Tower Place the new home of American Girl. |
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| Bunny plates in Williams Sonoma appeal to the child in all us. What a terrific way to dazzle your children on Easter Sunday; J. Crew shows that coral is hot for spring! |
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| My mother falls for yellow and turquoise button down cotton shirts. |
| Bright spring green predominates at familiar outposts of tempting summer wares like Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma and Anthropologie. Leaf shapes, bunnies, wicker, enameled iron garden furniture covered in floral cushions lure any frost-bitten shopper. Kits for Easter eggs, molds for Jello rabbits, Peter Rabbit tea sets and aprons, arrays of China chickens, grass-filled baskets and planters covered pink and yellow table tops. Porcelain Easter eggs filled miniature crates and jelly beans were everywhere. Cupcake holders in powder blue, pink and lime green were irresistible, even to those who haven’t set foot in a kitchen for months. Shoppers streamed into the stores, leaving their cares and woes behind, drawn by the displays. They seemed to be buying. |
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| The famous Water Tower, the only building that survived the Chicago Fire started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. |
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| Carriages waiting for passengers. |
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| Michigan Avenue’s charming pocket park, its boxwood borders still wrapped for protection; Masses of shoppers passing Nike’s fabulous store. |
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| Chic sneakers that beg to be taken for a run! Especially the yellow patent! |
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| Exotic workout wear for men; Trendy wear for women. |
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| Trying on a tee shirt at Nike’s terrific Chicago outpost; Inside the very trendy Puma Shop on Rush. |
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| The dazzling fitting room at Puma, just like a stroll in the park; The colorful red bench in the fitting room. |
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| Puma’s for trendy males, very hip! |
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| Bright tee shirts. I bought one for my husband. |
| The clothes in J.Crew, Puma, Gap and Nike echoed the colors of the home wares. Turquoise, aqua, coral and yellow made tee shirts, sneakers and hoodies look new. Trying them on was so much fun, promising early morning runs in spring sunshine. Everyone will want to walk miles in these cheerful clothes that looked so new in sorbet colors. Sneakers striped with pastel patent leather looked new. I chose Puma’s with pale blue stripes and found matching socks at J.Crew, sea foam with yellow polka dots! |
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| Entering the Gap. |
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| The Gap’s twist on spring colors: V necks. |
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| Crate and Barrel’s Fiesta, bright stripes for summer; How about a bunny tureen, just right for green asparagus soup? |
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| Crate and Barrel’s green spring temptations; Green planters, perfect for displaying. |
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| My mother in front of Anthropolgies charming wooden doors, as original as their selections. |
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| My mother studying the planters; Garden chairs that tempted my mother at Antrhopologie. Tough to decide which color was best. |
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| Anthropolgies delicate planters, some covered with white porcelain blossom. |
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| Everyone will want to dry the dishes with these towels! |
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| A very useful book for our troubled times, straight from the Fifties. |
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| More Anthroplogie goodies. |
| In between stores we strolled past budding trees and horse-drawn carriages waiting for riders. A bright right red tourist bus paused, looking for passengers. Jackets were unzipped and walking on Michigan Avenue was a challenge as more and more people stopped to admire the windows. My mother and I pause for lunch at the new café from Italy in the Drake Hotel, Expression Lavazza, and meet my father. We love the delicious Panini, especially the smoked salmon. We sample artichoke salad and my father tries the pizza. We share gelati and finish with a macchiato. Instant fans, we plan a repeat visit! Shoppers need energy. |
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| The façade of Bistro Zinc, a terrific French restaurant on Rush Street. |
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| The entrance to Expresson Lavazza from inside the Drake. Inset: My father, so happy after a delicious lunch! |
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| View of the lake front from parents’ terrace. |
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