Forever Young

It’s the plight of the fashionable twenty-something: You’ve outgrown the junior’s department, but are not quite ready to pay for big girl pants. The recently opened Piper Boutique (2136 N. Halsted St., 312-373-9230; piperboutique.com) in Lincoln Park has you young guns in mind, and is filled with mid-priced, on-trend brands like BB Dakota, Urban Expressions, and Ark & Co. Already successful on the East Coast, owner Alessandra Coffenberg expanded to Chicago after opening Piper Boutiques in New York and Philadelphia last year. Drawing from a degree in finance and a work history with Goldman Sachs, Coffenberg has a simple plan: open affordable, fashion-forward boutiques near a college campus. Though the store may be targeting the DePaul crowd, we give you permission to milk these budget buys well into your thirties.

Deal alert: Shop at Piper Boutique now through January 1 and for every $100 you spend, you’ll receive a $20 gift card to use January 1 through February 15.

 

Top Sales This Week

Four-month old West Town boutique Study Hall (912 N. Ashland Ave., 312-733-4255; shopstudyhall.com) hosts its first in-store event on Friday, from 5 to 9 p.m. Along with a jewelry trunk show with Cursive Designs, the shop will offer progressive discounts: take 10 percent off when you spend up to $50, 15 percent off when you spend $50-$100, and 20 percent off purchases totaling over $100.

Receive 40 percent off and a complimentary gym bag (while supplies last) when your purchase totals $100 or more at Original Penguin (901 N. Rush St., 312-475-0792; originalpenguin.com) on Saturday. Cocktails and snacks will be served from 4 to 6 p.m.

 

The Best of the Rest

  • Roscoe Village women’s boutique Hubba-Hubba (2040 W. Roscoe St., 773-477-1414; hubbahubbachicago.com) discounts all merchandise 15 to 75 percent off from Thursday through Sunday. As an early bird special from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturday (as well as on Saturday, December 22), everything in the store will be at least 30 percent off.
  • The shops in the Grand Avenue Design District (on Grand Ave. between Ashland Ave. and Western Ave.) invite you to a Cookies & Shopping Night (grandavedesigndistrict.com) on Thursday, from 6 to 9 p.m. Participating stores, such as Urban Remains (1850 W. Grand Ave.) and The Find (1819 W. Grand Ave.), will offer exclusive deals along with complimentary cookies and hot cocoa.
  • Handle with Care (1706 N. Wells St., 312-751-2929; handlewithcareboutique.com) celebrates 12/12/12 with a party and 12 percent off purchases tomorrow, from 6 to 9 p.m. Nail techs will treat guests to party-worthy digits (free of charge), and champagne, cocktails, and appetizers will be passed. Plus, spend $200 during the month of December and receive a $25 bonus gift card to use in January or February.
  • Vintage kitchenware shop Martyn George (1855 W. Grand Ave., 312-340-4666; martyngeorge.com) hosts a British-themed holiday party on Saturday, from 4 to 8 p.m. Partake in mulled wine and a savory pie from Pleasant House Bakery, plus draw a traditional English Christmas cracker containing a dollar-amount discount good for purchases through the end of January.
  • West Loop spa Exfole8 (1308 W. Madison St., 312-492-8050; exfole8.com) offers three specials through the end of December: a Brazilian wax for $35 (normally $60), the “Gleam and Go” facial for $75 (normally $110), and the “Hurry Up I’ve Got to Glow” facial for $50 (normally $85).
  • Akira makes shopping online for stocking stuffers completely painless, thanks to a new section of its website (shopakira.com/5-10-15) that’s dedicated to items priced at $5, $10, and $15.

Openings

Small-batch design showroom ODLCO (1136 W. Randolph St., 312-927-6467; odlco.com) opens its doors to the public for the holiday season. The studio’s unique items (which are created by independent designers) will be for sale now through December 19. By “unique,” we mean: a butter dish shaped like the Capitol building ($50), a candle that looks like a giant pencil ($25), and a dollhouse-shaped waffle maker ($25). The store is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 12 to 7 p.m.