Shopping in Deerfield

The style-sensitive staff at Gigi Bottega match patrons with chic and contemporary dresses, tops, and jackets. Options from more than 20 brands, such as Ketz-ke clothing and Stella & Dot accessories, are curated with a couture aesthetic and priced to accommodate a variety of budgets. Inside the bright-walled clothing boutique, the spindly limbs of stylish plants extend upwards from colored pottery amidst racks of seasonal body dressing.

All big movements start small, but many would be surprised to learn that Ten Thousand Villages—a nonprofit and retailer with 390 outlets nationwide—began out of a car trunk. In 1946, Edna Ruth Byler started the organization out of her car, taking a name from a quote by Mohandas Gandhi, who said, “India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages.” Her willpower and determination allowed her vision to grow into a nonprofit that today supports more than 130 artisans in 38 developing countries. These artisans' wares go on sale at the organization's nationwide retail outlets, which brim with items including jewelry, stationery, home decor, and refrigerator cozies. Everything is made using environmentally friendly processes, and every artisan is paid a fair wage. The money raised from sales goes to supply the artisans—who might otherwise be unemployed or underemployed—with education, food, housing, and healthcare. The organization has risen to such stature that it won the People’s Choice Award for Green Business of the Year in 2005, and has acted as one of the founding members of the World Fair Trade Organization.

Amy Bishop and Cheri Tracy, Three Twelve Tudor’s proprietors and close friends since high school, draw on their shared love of vintage wares and modern apparel to infuse the North Shore area with the latest designs from up-and-coming independent labels. Like a swim in the Panama Canal, the wardrobe at Three Twelve Tudor covers visitors in the best of both coasts, fusing the sharp urban chic of New York with the laid-back vibes of California. Amy and Cheri keep shelves and racks amply stocked with long, fitted cotton tanks, fluttery dolman tops, and cozy cardigans, as well as chunky stone bracelets, plant-based cosmetics, and handbags. They scour the styles of such brands and labels as Olive & Olivia, Green Dragon, Tyler Mackenzie, and Rosebud Perfume Company to curate their seasonal collections.

At Cargo for Boys, growing boys dress for playtime success in durable, colorful hoodies, polos, shorts, and swimwear from brands such as Wes and Willy. As lads entertain themselves with a host of video games or digital burping contests, parents peruse shelves stocked with masculine outfits of skateboard-emblazoned tops, rugged raglan shirts, and pocketed cargo shorts. The outdoorsy street wear withstands energetic roughhousing with its strong construction, and holds up to sudden growth spurts with its generous cuts.

Back to Bed is a trusted source for sound sleep, growing from a single store in 2000 to a mattress empire with more than 45 locations across the Chicagoland area. Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster, and Simmons Beautyrest mattresses await rigorous testing at each of their show rooms, where sleep-savvy employees can help shoppers determine if they're more suited to a firm or soft mattress or to creamy or chunky peanut butter. Back to Bed also induces relaxation in a nonhorizontal form with a selection of plush massage recliners and Human Touch's Perfect Chair, which cradles bodies in a muscularly neutral position.

Grand Frame Inc, an Arlington Heights establishment since 1974, corrals more than 3,000 frames, posters, and display museum cases in its 8,000 square-foot space. Gary Grana, the framery's cofounder, holds two patents in framing technology and has passed his passion for the industry to several members of his family who now guide customers through framing options for sports memorabilia, wedding photos, and lovingly audited tax documents. In addition to carefully inspecting every project that goes through the shop, Gary's expert staff also doles out frame-hanging services to help complete customers' decor. Over the years, the store has continuously evolved its services by offering LCD TV framing and Grand Gone Green products, a signature line that embraces an eco-friendly approach to picture framing.