This Week’s Top Story

Chicago’s first Christian Dior (dior.com) boutique is now open at 931 North Rush Street. Inspired by Dior’s Peter Marino–designed flagship store in Paris, Chicago’s two-story boutique is crowned with a star. According to the brand, the whimsical fixture is “a symbol of good luck from Monsieur Dior.” (May all who pass under it get a Lady Dior Bag for the holidays.)

Inside, the sales floors are stocked with women’s goods including apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, fine jewelry, and timepieces. The handbags are on first floor, displayed on floating silver shelves. Upstairs, ready-to-wear clothing hangs against a gleaming white backdrop, and a seating area contains plush sofas by Parisian furniture maker Hamilton Conte.

Reps commissioned contemporary artist Julie Gauthron to design a piece of work exclusively for the Chicago boutique. Gauthron’s striking wrought-iron sculpture, called La Muse de Tim, hangs above a console on the second floor. Take a peek inside the boutique below.

Top Sales This Week

AllSaints (46 E. Walton St., us.allsaints.com) is offering 25 percent off all styles for a limited time. The discount applies to new arrivals such as a striped funnel sweater (reduced from $230 to $172.50), a wool-lined parka (reduced from $2,355 to $1,766.25), and a velvet coat (reduced from $540 to $405).

Get ready to stomp your boots. Alcala’s (1739 W. Chicago Ave., alcalasboutique.com), which specializes in Western wear, is offering 20 percent off any one item on Saturdays and Sundays in November. The shop will also offer drinks and snacks, as part of its “Early Holiday Shopping” event taking place throughout the month. Sale hours are from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Openings

Louis Vuitton’s (louisvuitton.com) revamped flagship is now open at 919 North Michigan Avenue. Designed by American architect Peter Marino, the store’s exterior is decked with a bronze fixture inspired by Louis Vuitton’s Damier checkerboard print. Inside, a foyer lined with French limestone leads to separate areas for men’s and women’s goods; the store also sells furniture, home décor, and two handbags that are exclusive to the Michigan Avenue shop. See photos of the flagship, and read more, here.

Headed to the slopes? After closing its Gold Coast flagship, Burton Chicago (burton.com) opens a store at 1563 North Milwaukee Avenue today. The brand partnered with Windward Boardshop (w82.com) on the new shop, which stocks snowboards, boots and bindings, apparel, bags, outerwear, and accessories.

Lululemon (shop.lululemon.com) opens its Fulton Market store on November 21. At 167 North Sangamon Street, the 1,200-square-foot shop stocks athletic gear for men and women.

Trunk Show

Sisters Gabriela and Teresita Artigas, who helm Gabriela Artigas (gabrielaartigas.com), will appear at Space519 (900 N. Michigan Ave., space519.com) for a custom-order event on Friday and Saturday. The sisters’ Los Angeles-based line specializes in fine and custom jewelry, including high-end hair accessories like rose-gold hairpins with pavé diamonds. The line also offers ear cuffs in 14-karat gold and a golden necklace with three diamond-flecked stars. At the two-day shopping event, customers will be able to pre-order custom pieces for guaranteed delivery by the holidays.

Pop-Up

Milworks (millworks.co), a men’s retailer based in Milwaukee, opens a pop-up at 2933 North Lincoln Avenue this week. The temporary shop is part of POP, an initiative from the Lakeview Chamber and SSA 27 that fills vacant storefronts with a rotating collection of pop-up spaces, from galleries to shops and experiential venues.

Market

The Randolph Street Holiday Market (randolphstreetmarket.com) takes place at Plumbers Hall (1340 W. Washington St.) November 18 and 19, and again on December 16 and 17. With more than 125 vendors, the market slings antique, vintage, and modern fashion, accessories, and host gifts. Free gift-wrapping is available onsite.

Health & Beauty

Salt (saltfit.com), has opened locations in Bucktown (1714 N. Damen Ave.), Northbrook (984 Willow Road), and the North Shore (410 Green Bay Road). The boutique fitness studio offers barre-based classes as well as indoor cycling and high-intensity interval training; it also offers kids’ care.

Ultimate Ninjas (ultimateninjas.com) has launched a new fitness program called UltiFit (ultifitonline.com). The group classes, taught at Ultimate Ninjas’ Chicago location (2915 W. Montrose Ave.) incorporate high-intensity interval training and moves inspired by obstacle-course training. The classes will launch at Ultimate Ninjas’ new Naperville outpost (2012 Corporate Ln., Naperville) on Friday.

Retail News of the Week

  • Cowboys and Astronauts, a men’s boutique, is now open in Andersonville. Read more.
  • Walmart.com will begin selling goods from Lord & Taylor. Read more.
  • A new online shopping platform called 11 Honoré offers high-end contemporary fashion in sizes 10 to 20. Read more.