Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters

The late University of Chicago professor Norman Maclean’s masterful semi-autobiographical novella depicted a spiritual euphoria in fly fishing the waters of the West, almost enough to make you want to pick up and head out there. Except you’d have to live in Montana. But you don’t need to, thanks to Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, a large store selling apparel, tackle, flies and all the other gear needed to hit the waters. Plus they arrange destination travel, either nearby or far off, and even offer lessons in how to tie a fly. “In my family, there was no clear division between religion and fly fishing,” Maclean wrote. And now there’s no excuse not to go to “church.”

1279 North Clybourn
(312)944-3474
www.chifly.com

Best of Chicago 2009

Dilly Lily
Rose petals strewn about the entranceway. The floating music of Bebel Gilberto. “When people walk in, we like to put a smile on their face, to change their outlook for the day,” says Christine Gorman, who has co-owned Lincoln Park’s Dilly Lily flower shop with her sister Melissa for the last eleven years. Arrangements are girlish and whimsical with unexpected accents: a curlicue of fiddlehead fern, a palm-sized burst of escheveria, woodcut gift cards, jewelry crafted by neighborhood artists. Upon leaving this dreamy little shop, customers are sent off with a jovial, “Have a Dilly Lily day!”

742 W. Fullerton
(773)404-0602
dillylily.com

Audience choice: (Tie)
Fleur
3149 W. Logan
(773)395-2770

A New Leaf
1645 N Wells
(312)649-7008

Stems
850 N. Ashland
(312)243-4470

Best of Chicago 2008

Haberdash

One look at owner Adam Beltzman and you’ll see why Haberdash has quickly become one of the premier men’s boutiques in Chicago. Sophisticated but not overstated, confident but not pretentious and perfectly accessorized at all times, Beltzman quit his day job as a lawyer a few years ago and has never looked back. Haberdash is a store with a Midwestern practicality for regular guys who just want cool clothes that fit well. Is it really so much to ask? The answer here is no, where collections by Donald J. Pliner, Nicholas K. and Loomstate abound…to the delight of fashionistos citywide.

1350 N. Wells
(312)440-1300

Audience choice
p+L boutique
2956 N. Clark
(773)248-3758

Best of Chicago 2008

Jumbalia

From feather lamps to “Princess Parking” signs, Jumbalia has everything pink a girl could want. You’ll scream for pale pink Hello Kitty makeup bags, light pink watches, fuchsia sequined top hats and shocking pink Maddie Powers greeting cards. The boutique carries magenta cordial glasses, salmon fringed scarves and rose crystal frames. Non-pink items include dangly earrings, a Marilyn Monroe bust and a white poodle in
a red tutu.

1429 N. Wells
(312)335-9082
jumbalia.com

Best of Chicago 2008

Henry Gerber House

Go to cities like New Orleans, Memphis and even Pittsburgh, and the streets of the older neighborhoods are filled with paddle-sized bronze signs declaring that a former Vice President, famous singer, Indian scout or explorer lived here. While places like Bronzeville and the Blues District have helped a little, Chicago is still lagging when it comes to promoting landmarks as tourist attractions. One such location is 1710 Crilly Court. Built in 1885, the grey stone house was home to the man who many call the “father of the gay movement.” Not just the Chicago-area gay movement either. As president of the Society for Human Rights, Gerber’s organization was the first openly gay organization which had a public charter, semi-public meetings, and whose newsletter, Friendship and Freedom, was the first documented gay civil rights publication in the United States. A veteran of the United States Army that occupied Germany after World War I, Gerber learned about gay activism in what was then an emerging gay civil rights movement in postwar Germany (think “Cabaret”). Gerber lived at the Crilly Court home from 1924-1925. He and his organization functioned without incident until he decided to move to an apartment on Oak Street. This new dwelling was raided, Gerber was arrested and the documents and literature that he had created were destroyed. Today, the Gerber/Hart Library, which specializes in gay, lesbian and transgender literature, is named in his honor. Gerber’s former home, which features arched leaded windows, a long, wide staircase and petite garden is part of the Old Town Triangle Chicago Landmark District, and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2001. Yet it still goes unrecognized by most Chicagoans and visitors alike, rather than a regular stop for educators who are teaching diversity and a mecca of inspiration for those who are part of the gay, lesbian and transgender communities.
1710 Crilly Court

Best of Chicago 2008