Upscale Shopping on Chicago's Magnificent Mile

Pampered Pursuit of Elegance Defines Shopping on Chicago's Special Mile

There are thousands of places to shop in Chicago. Just as there would be in any city of similar size, anywhere in the world. But just as Beverly Hills has Rodeo Drive, Chicago has the Magnificent Mile. Arguably the most important upscale shopping strip in the city the Mile goes from the Chicago river to Oak Street as it runs along North Michigan Avenue.

There are many great well known places to shop such as Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Lord& Taylor. There are also home furnishing stores like Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. Some very serious shopping is done in Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpel Jewelers. For ladies looking for the very best there is a host of high end boutiques and specialty shops. The Mile also features some indoor shopping malls; 900 North Michigan and Water Tower Place are the biggest.

Favorite high end shops include the Chanel Boutique, Louis Vuitton, St John Boutique, Malo, Bugari and Fratelli Rossetti. The Maximillian Fur Salon still pulls in the ladies even though fur is not as much in fashion as in days gone past. There also is Gucci and Latique with MaxMara nearby. All waiting to please your spouse and empty your wallet or credit card credit line.

So you can see that to pick out just five from such a line up as we have given you so far, is not an easy task. Never the less, here are what the ladies in our family say are the "best of the Mile."

For Department stores, Neiman Marcus is our choice. Always special and always in season with its displays it is just a pleasure to visit anytime. As always you need to be very careful when shopping at Neimans because they have a habit of doing things like putting a $600 Hermes scarf in the middle of a group of $35 dollar scarves. More than one lady has been shocked to see her total rocket into the stratosphere in front of her shopping friends. We love Christmas at Neimans with all the seasonal cheer and that very special annual Christmas Catalog with the his and hers suprise gifts; unique for each year.