Top Sales This Week

The once-monthly After Hours on Chicago Avenue (facebook.com/afterhourschicagoave) promises a “nighttime odyssey” through West Town, where local boutiques along West Chicago Avenue stay open late and offer drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and plenty of indie goodies. This time around, the event coincides with Small Business Saturday, and more than 25 local spots will prop open their doors until about 9 p.m.

Additionally, local boutique Paperish Mess (1955 W. Chicago Ave., paperishmess.com) throws an Etsy trunk show from 6 to 10 p.m. to celebrate the shop’s two-year anniversary. The soiree will include a show by artists Katie Vota and Heather Beardsley called “Cut Away: an aesthetic dissection of scientific methods” and a lot of quirky goodness—think chalkboard skulls—by local crafter iamhome.

The Best of the Rest

  • Until Sunday, all three ENAZ locations (enaz.com) offer 25 percent off all clothing, 15 percent off jewelry and handbags, and an additional 25 percent off the sale rack—and complimentary holiday gift wrapping to boot.
  • Online boutique Zamrie (zamrie.com) gifts shoppers 25 percent off all items on the website during Cyber Monday. The first 30 people to spend over $250 receive a complimentary striped scarf.
  • Pagoda Red (1714 N. Damen Ave., #2S, pagodared.com), Chicago’s source for high-end Chinese home furnishings, hosts its first-ever pop-up shop, now through Christmas Eve. Tastemaker June Baker curated the pop-up, which is inspired by the “whimsy of the natural world” and focuses on items that are small and precious enough to make great gifts.
  • Q Brothers (4718 N. Lincoln Ave.), the new men’s store from Merz Apothecary, throws an opening party on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. Enjoy cocktails made with Letherbee gin and goodies from the Q Brothers’ amazing supply of small batch fragrances and men’s grooming products. RSVP to alysia@no-small-plans.com.
  • Luxury Garage Sale (1658 N Wells St., luxurygaragesale.com) holds a Black Box Black Friday sale from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, during which all shoppers receive a black box containing a mysterious discount, ranging from $10 off to 15 percent off their entire purchase.
  • If you’re in the mood to go shopping post-turkey consumption, the Fashion Outlets of Chicago (5220 Fashion Outlets Way, Rosemont, fashionoutletsofchicago.com) throw a Fashionably Late Black Friday Shopping Event, starting at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. DJ Lani Love will spin tunes, and stores will offer various doorbuster sales, ranging from “cheap” to “really cheap”—and all the shades of gray in between.
  • Chicago Premium Outlets (1650 Premium Outlet Blvd., Aurora, premiumoutlets.com/chicago) are, naturally, awash with Black Friday sales, including 30 percent off storewide at Adidas, 40 percent off storewide at Eddie Bauer, and 50 percent off storewide at Puma. Gym membership, anyone?
  • Erin Gallagher Jewelry (1013 W. Webster Ave., egjewelry.com) throws its huge annual sale Black Friday through Cyber Monday, where each piece of handmade local jewelry is 40 percent off (with certain exclusions).
  • Would you rather spend your Black Friday allowance on immaterial things, like fitness? For $25, you can take a 9 a.m. heated class at The Barre Code in Lake View (959 W. Belmont Ave., thebarrecode.com), at which instructors will help nurture, restore, and detox your body for 75 minutes.
  • If bold shoppers shout “Gobble Gobble!” at the staff of Wolfbait & B-Girls (3131 W. Logan Blvd., wolfbaitchicago.com), they’ll receive a 50 percent discount on any garment, now until the end of the month. Emphasis on “shout.”
  • On Black Friday, skip the early morning lines and head to The Late Late Craft Show (Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro, 3905 N. Lincoln Ave., thelatelatecraftshow.com) from 5 to 11 p.m. You’ll find local artists selling everything from soaps to letterpress creations.
  • Hit up one of the downtown Bloomingdale’s with a best friend on Friday, then bring your receipt over to Sprinkles Cupcakes (50 E. Walton St., sprinkles.com) for a BOGO cupcake or scoop of ice cream. It’s the sweetest way to say, “Thanks for shopping with me on this craziest of days, old sport.”