Winter Hours

As a communications professional who spends most of her day (and night!) running from place to place and event to event, I don't always have the time to shop during "peak hours"-- right after work or a weekend afternoon. So this week, I trekked over to the H&M on Michigan Ave. a weekday evening around 8 p.m. Their website said they are open until 9:30, giving me plenty of time to browse through the fashionable bargains I've come to know and love from this store. To my surprise when I arrived, they were already closed! Apparently they didn't update their "winter hours" on their website. Hmmph. How frustrating.

Chicago is definitely a city that goes partially dormant during the winter season. You see less people on the street and stores and restaurants close earlier. From a business standpoint I suppose it makes sense: less foot traffic=less sales. Why pay employees to keep stores open when you're not making as much money? Plus, it is f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g here. I won't deny it. I understand why lots of people want to stay in. BUT, from my perspective, I live downtown in a big city, and I expect that non-stop hustle bustle. I appreciate late hours, diverse people, ethnic food, eclectic boutiques, the works!

I recently saw an article in the Style Notes section of Style.com called "Open Society" about around-the-clock hotspots. From gyms to Internet cafes to hardware stores, many big cities have 24-hour locations of places people like to go, even at 3 a.m. I'm sure Chicago has a few "all nighter" spots, but they're certainly not widespread. In fact, a grocery shopping trip to Jewel or a Starbucks coffee run seem to be the only late-night/early morning activities I can come up with. Sometimes what a girl wants is to buy a dress at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. Or a last-minute mani/pedi. Even a pair of heels in that obscure color--on a Sunday evening.

Are most Chicago women just better at scheduling time for beauty and fashion than I am? Or am I just continuously overbooked? Maybe I shouldn't complain. I remember while living in Europe I had more episodes of the dreadful store-closed situation than I do here. But fashion doesn't stop! Does it? Should it be spontaneous and last-minute and convenient, like those rain ponchos or pac-a-macs that popped up at Milan's Fashion Week due to the weather, but became the "it" accessory? Or should it be rehearsed, thought out and even a little painful, like a pair of hand-made stiletto heels that are too high, took 2 months to ship from Italy but yet make your legs look stunningly long and beautiful?