In my years in fashion, I have often been asked how I got started. My path swas fairly uncommon compared with the routes taken by other editors. After starting out in engineering school, I did a stint in computer graphics, but I have known since I was a child that I wanted to work in … Read more
What’s on Tap
Caroling is so anaerobic. You haven’t experienced “Winter Wonderland” until it’s been sweated out by a pack of hardcore hoofers. Case in point: Chicago Tap Theatre’s Tidings of Tap!, featuring choreography set to seasonal tunes from the Grinch theme to Hanukkah songs. Performances run 8 p.m. Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th, 3 p.m. Sunday the 14th at U.I.C. Theater (1044 W. Harrison St.; chicagotaptheatre.com). Tickets are $18 to $30. Across town, Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin leads his annual production The Nut Tapper (get those snickers out of the way now), a loose interpretation of, yes, The Nutcracker…
Ice, Ice, Baby
Jewelry is a personal business, and the new luxury Oakbrook boutique A. Marek Fine Jewelry (3021 Butterfield Rd., Ste. 108, Oakbrook; 630-954-2662, amarekfinejewelry.com) caters to just that notion. Opened in September, the store greets customers with bejeweled chandeliers, hand-painted wallpaper, and wrought iron gates, but the real star is its inventory of gorgeous jewels. Director Romana Malinowski says, “You’ll find things you never knew existed.” She may be talking about the titanium morning glory brooch encrusted…
If The Green Teaist can’t get us hooked on tea, nothing will
New Ayers book postponed by politics
What’s harder than crafting a scene out of nothing in front of a crowd of rowdy strangers? Doing it for 24 hours straight. The Second City (1608 N. Wells St.; 312-337-3992) presents its seventh annual 24-hour improv benefit The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa, stocked with enough ensemble members, alumni, and guest artists to guarantee the hilarity will increase as sleep deprivation sets in. The show kicks off 9 p.m. Tuesday the 9th and finishes up 9 p.m. Wednesday the 10th with the added bonus of live-music sets from the local alt-country hero Robbie Fulks (noon Wednesday) and pop icons The Breeders…
The former Channel 5 news reporter Amy Jacobson saw her career and personal life derailed after a video showed her in a bikini at the home of a man under investigation after his wife’s disappearance. Now she hopes her lawsuit against Channel 2—the rival station that turned that visit into a sensational news story—will win her a measure of redemption
Oprah Winfrey is said to be planning a Candlelight Ball for 1,000 glamorous guests as her inauguration-night fete in Washington, D.C., Chicago magazine’s Marcia Froelke Coburn reports. The talk-show host and Obama supporter has been entertaining bids from Washington-based caterers for the January 20th party at a venue yet to be determined. A spokeswoman for Winfrey said, “We have nothing to confirm at this point.”
Black Wednesday brought more parties than we could shake a turkey leg at, but smart barflies started off the long weekend at Sheffield’s, where Thanksgiving Eve festivities included a raffle (Opening day Cubs tickets! Fancy beer!) and enough shots to steel patrons for four days of family togetherness.
This week we give thanks for two new watering holes: Bar DeVille (701 N. Damen Ave.), the new Ukrainian Village tap from Matt Eisler (Angels & Kings, Empire Liquors, Victory Liquors) and Kevin Heisner, with drinks by master mixologist Bradley Bolt, formerly of The Violet Hour; and Wild Pug, Uptown’s long-delayed ode to pups and Oscar Wilde (we don’t quite get it either) from the same folks as the neighboring Crew Bar + Grill. We also give thanks for a day off: Nightspotting 2.0 is on holiday this Thursday; check back next Monday for shots from the biggest party night of the year, Black Wednesday.
