Chicago Shopping Day One...part one

Jetlagged October 2nd 2010 l Chicago

12am, 2am and 4am it seemed were appropriate hours in my mind to be up, read, play Angry Birds and program the work Blackberry.  By 6.30am it was just simply unbearable to lay horizontal any longer!

My second day in Chicago and I was feeling great.  Today was going to be a good day. 

A shopping day! 

Nothing makes you feel like alive like a good run of shopping.  In my opinion there should be more songs about shopping instead of love.  Shopping makes my heart race like romance anyway and i quite enjoy the four week honeymoon period.  It’s only the credit card bill at the end of the month that sours the relationship.  That’s when all the romance ends, and somehow you always feel cheated that you have to pay for it all. Shopping heart break, but luckily the first rolund of break ups never take!

The Magnificent Mile Chicago.  What a heart stopper.  One of the worlds top ten districts for hospitality, fine dining and retail they say. Just what I was after.  This could be on the verge of true love. >North Michigan Avenue is the street where it is all at, and if it really is a mile, that is 1.6km of door to door shopping. Calculate the two sides of the street and that makes it a work out.  A mental work out coordinating an outfit with my flat and very comfortable Country Road boots! 

After my free breakfast on level 2, a reconciliation through the latest 25^th Anniversary Edition of US ELLE (with LC on the cover), a stop by the corner Starbucks, I was off and running.  Well let’s just say I had a mighty spring in my step…

As I turn the corner from State Street and head down the short few blocks of Grand Avenue, right in front of me on each side of the street were the two G’s. No, one of them wasn’t Gucci (that’s further down). I am after all a sensible shopping romantic.  Why have one handbag when you can have 10 for the same investment! 

Back to the two G’s… Guess and GAP. How could I have hit a fork in the road already? Which one to choose? Which one to choose?  I can’t possibly be losing my mind already. But yes it was already starting to get my heart racing with a mild onset of a panic attack.  My head was back and forth like I was net side, front row middle at Wimbeldon. Which one to choose? I start feeling queasy, but ducked and weaved across the street regardless. Must… Push… On…

You would not believe it. Closed. Both stores were closed! I felt like Clark Griswold arriving at Wally World circa 1983.  Hang on isn’t it 10am already? Aren’t they supposed to be open? I look around in bewilderment.  Where is Marty Moose when you need to punch him in the face? Or a security guard to take hostage? Can this be really happening?  Everything is starting to spin. Mid spin, my eyes dart to ALDO for Shoes, OPEN! Crisis averted and I figure starting from the top of the alphabet is probably the best thing to do anyway.

My first pair of ALDO shoes was way in 1996 Oshawa Centre Canada, and thankfully ALDO finally arrived in Australia about 18 months ago.  This Chicago store was incredible and I am sure I looked like a crazy woman walking around with a smile on my face.  Two ladies asked if I was ok. I couldn’t talk, I just nodded back like Rain Man.

So many things were going through my head. Whilst I was calculating item totals, my Dad’s voice came booming down like I was Dorothy about to see the Wizard “WE HAVE GOT to talk about your financial future”.  Well those are very unkind words at a time like this and seriously burst my shopping romance bubble.  I figure for now I’ll succumb to that kind of talk, considering we are in shopping mode day one.  I hastily make a complete a mental reconciliation of items to purchase later however.  I feel like Rachel Zoe at Fashion Week in a parallel universe. Sort of.