Flower Power

Chicago’s odors can assault the senses in the best—and worst—possible ways. The smell of freshly-popped Garrett popcorn or the endorphin-inducing aroma of the Blommer Chocolate factory? Good. Certain whiffs of the Chicago River or the occasional stench of a CTA train: Not so good. Fortunately, when the Chicago-based perfume company Tru Fragrance decided to bottle the city’s essence in a perfume called Tru Blooms Chicago (trubloomschicago.com), they aimed only for the best. The fragrance is built around three floral scents—lavender, rose, and violet—extracted from flowers that were planted last spring in more than 22 plots across the city, such as a half-acre garden in Grant Park. Locals, employed through nonprofit organizations, were hired to cultivate the flowers—making it a Chicago product in more than name alone. The limited-edition perfume ($18 for a 15 ml roll-on; $65 for a 100 ml bottle) is available beginning Monday, October 15 in select local outlets, including Art Effect (934 W. Armitage Ave., 773-929-3600, shoparteffect.com) and Water Tower Place (845 N. Michigan Ave., 312-440-3166, shopwatertower.com), as well as online.

 

Top Sales This Week

On Saturday, October 13, the luxury consignment shop eDrop-Off (shopedropoff.com, 773-525-7467) hosts a charity warehouse sale at Plumber’s Hall (1340 W. Washington Blvd.). Shoppers can scavenge stockpiles of gently used designer clothing and accessories before filling small ($20) or large ($75) bags to schlep home (though there’s a two-bag limit). The sale, which benefits the Anti-Cruelty Society, begins at 9 a.m. But you’ll want to get there early if last year’s sale—featured on Vh1’s House of Consignment—was any indication. The racks were bare after just two hours.

Mallory Ulaszek, owner of the Chicago boutiques Cityblue Apparel & Denim and CB, and Christina Fan, designer of the local fashion label C/FAN (cfan-designs.com), collaborated to create C/FAN for CB. The limited-edition collection includes silk tunics, dresses, cardigans, vests, tank tops, and button downs priced from $170 to $205. Be the first to view—and purchase—the line at a launch party Monday, October 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Cityblue Apparel & Denim (1444 N. Wells St., 312-664-2222, shopcityblue.com).

 

The Best of the Rest

  • Latino Fashion Week kicks off Tuesday, October 9 with a runway show featuring national and local designers—including Noelia Cruz, Sadia Pattison, and Nelissa Carrillo—at Zhou B Art Center (1029 W. 35th St.). Tickets are $25 to $45; to purchase, or to see a list of the week’s remaining events, visit latinofashionwk.com.
  • Edith Hart (1917 N. Damen Ave., 773-252-3350, edithhart.com) celebrates its first birthday with a 15 percent off sale on any in-store purchase—or any online buy with the checkout code “BDAY”—through Saturday, October 13. Also peruse the store’s 50-percent-off rack, where recent additions include sweaters by Sass & Bide, dresses by Keepsake, and leather jackets by Bod & Christensen.
  • Established in 1988, the women’s boutique Hubba-Hubba (2040 W. Roscoe St., 773-477-1414, hubbahubbachicago.com) observes 24 years in business with an anniversary sale this weekend. Everything in the shop is 20 percent off Friday, October 12 through Sunday, October 14.
  • And another October birthday in retail land: Eskell (1509 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-486-0830, eskell.com) rings in year number seven on Saturday, October 13 with special discounts, anniversary ale, and tarot card readings from 6 to 8 p.m.
  • Dose Market (dosemarket.com) holds a fall shopping and food fête at the River East Art Center (435 E. Illinois St., 312-321-1001, rivereastartcenter.com) this Sunday, October 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the 20-plus vendors, shop selvage jeans from Detroit Denim Co. or ready-to-wear Halloween costumes from Silver Moon Vintage while sipping spiked apple cider from Journeyman Distillery or pumpkin ale by Greenbush Brewing.
  • If you’ve been longing to drape your home in Missoni’s iconic zigzag print, now’s your chance. This week, MissoniHome (missonihome.it) holds its annual sample sale, and the entire collection—including furniture, textiles, and accessories—is 15 percent off at Stitch (1723 N. Damen Ave., 773-782-1570, stitchchicago.com) Monday, October 15 through Wednesday, October 31.
  • The Red Balloon Co. (theredballoon.com) unloads excess children’s and infants’ clothing stock during a fall warehouse sale this Thursday, October 11 through Sunday, October 14 at 1960 North Damen Avenue. Expect to see brands including Little Traveler, Stella, and Wonderboy on sale from $5 to $60. Suburbanites can stock up next week, when the Red Balloon takes over a second warehouse space (999 Green Bay Rd., Glencoe) for a sale Thursday, October 18 through Saturday, October 20.