Living in and attending school in Chicago comes with some great advantages. One of the world’s most prominent shopping districts is just a train ride away! State Street and Michigan Avenue have absolutely the best stores in retail. If you have been walking around The Magnificent Mile lately, you may notice a new feature. There is a large, space-age new store positioned above Topshop called Uniqlo and you definitely have to check it out! Chicago is the newest home for the fast fashion store based in Japan. The grand opening was last week on October 23rd and had massive crowds all weekend!
Uniqlo understands how to create a well-designed and modern store. The Chicago retail space is huge, with nearly 60,000 sq. ft. and 3 floors of clothing. They included wifi and even a Starbucks (!!) on the upper floor. The entirely glass building almost looks like a spaceship that landed on the corner of the street. I walked in and was blown away. Despite the merchandise being stacked from floor to ceiling and in every color, it was far from overwhelming. The floor was set up for you to know exactly where to walk to where you wanted to go from the fitting room to the register. Much improvement from other fast fashion stores, such as H&M or Forever 21.
The clothing is also impeccably made and reasonably priced. Get a high quality, soft t-shirt or sweater for less than $20! The brand also caters to the Chicago lifestyle because the store was filled with every basic you could possibly need to survive a winter in the city. Sweaters, jackets, and leggings filled the floor! Uniqlo has developed new technology for clothing called HEATTECH. It is supposed to keep you warmer than ever this winter. I wore a shirt from the line and can’t say I noticed a serious difference which was disappointing. Maybe it wasn’t cold enough to test but it is still one of the softest shirts I own.I attended the opening weekend festivities and cannot recommend Uniqlo more. I bought a pair of leggings which are the most comfortable I’ve ever worn. Among my other purchases were a scarf that I’ve already worn 3 times and fabric pants that look fashionable but feel like sweats. If you get a chance and have a few hours to spare (because trust me, you’ll want to spend several hours there), go down and check it out! It will not disappoint!!