Shop around the corner

Out on Armitage

Perusing a trio of the street’s many quaint stores

By Brenna Ehrlich

Armitage Avenue, in Lincoln Park, has gone through some pretty drastic changes over the years. Once called home by Germans fleeing religious persecution, and by the first Puerto Rican immigrants in Chicago (including human rights activists, the Young Lords), Armitage now houses trendy, young professionals.

On this stretch you’ll find the usual fare: American Apparel, United Colors of Benetton, Starbucks etc. You might also find a posh girl in Lolita sunglasses wearing a jacket emblazoned with wings, chatting about how she knows how to pass an upcoming drug test.

This is Chicago at its youngest and richest.

I took a trip down to the avenue to locate some stores that might be of interest. What I found was a spectrum of diverse to mundane — a representation of the changing face of the city.

Art Effect
934 W. Armitage Avenue
(773) 929-3600

Art Effect calls itself a “modern-day general store,” a claim I’ll verify. Offering everything from automatic ice cream cone spinners to designer clothing, this store pretty much has it covered. You want a baby shower gift? Done. Need a book about Chicago? They have it. Any desire for a pair of clogs? Wish granted. That’s pretty much the M.O. of Art Effect — they’ve got everything.

In addition to selling anything under the sun and moon, Art Effect also hawks an array of ethnic goods like Day of the Dead decorations, Asian art and Judaica. Each product is accompanied by a card describing its history and meaning. So while you pick up a finely milled bar of French soap, you can also learn a little something about Milagros, small tin that talismans used in Latin America to petition saints. At first glace, Art Effect seems like just another trendy shop obsessed with toile and wedding gifts, but in reality, it’s a unique and intriguing mix of different cultures.

Moonlight Graham
854 W. Armitage
(773) 929-3939

Now here’s where we start getting into the whole alteration-of-the-city thing. Moonlight Graham is a California chain, and the Armitage location is its first shop in the Midwest. The West Coast invasion begins.

When you walk into this shop, it’s like you’re entering a rather specific picture of the American dream. They’ve got penny candy (not really sold for a penny, of course), nostalgic lunchboxes and pictures and, the main attraction — rehabbed sports apparel. They’ve taken vintage-esque shirts, cut them up and sewn them back together. If this Dr. Frankenstein inspired clothing isn’t a metaphor for the city, I don’t know what is.

Deeper meanings aside, these shirts are great. They’re made from soft, t-shirt material, and they would make a great gift for any sports fan, Rockwell fanatic or fashionista. It’s just a shame that anyone from Sacramento Avenue to Sacramento could have the same shirt.

All She Wrote
825 W. Armitage Ave.
(773) 529-0100

All She Wrote — a stationary shop with locations in Lincoln Park, downtown Chicago, and Winnetka — is a good store for someone, but not so much for me. Although it has a hint of individualism with its custom monogramming service, and their cards are admittedly cute, this store might as well be anywhere.

Yes, they carry the ubiquitous Lilly Pulitzer brand, and yes, they carry an array of wedding albums (a scary object for anyone whose friends have started walking down the aisle). And yes, they also carry the various tomes of the Barefoot Contessa — who is apparently very popular among the card shop crowds (I saw her products in at least three other stores). I mean, if you want something to wear while sailing on your honeymoon and a recipe for chicken, you’re set.

Still, it’s not a unique store. We have one just like it in my hometown of Mystic, Connecticut. All She Wrote lacks that Chicago feel, that acknowledgement that we do not live in a beachside tourist community. If you need something monogrammed, sure, give it a visit. But if you want a Chicago experience, that’s all she wrote.

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