City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (773) 929-4272

Address: 3457 N. Halsted St.

Description: Less “gay” than offbeat, this Boystown shop caters to boys who don’t want to grow up, with comic book action figures and movie figurines like Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk, and characters from the Wizard of Oz. You’ll also find some gay pride paraphernalia like T-shirts and rainbow wind socks, along with the occasional kinky item (i.e., it’s probably not the place to bring young children). Generally open daily (closed Tues during the winter).

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (312) 264-1625

Address: 1911 W. Division St.

Description: You can’t miss the pink-and-white striped awning embellished with a large green heart—and you shouldn’t. With its focus on sustainable businesses, fair trade, and eco-friendly goods, and its nonprofit status, you’ll not only find extraordinary gift items from more than 60 different countries—oil drums–turned-artwork from Haiti, olive oil from Palestine, cards from Rwanda, and recycled wine-bottle glassware from northern Wisconsin—you’ll also add a drop in the do-good bucket. The Ukrainian Village store is a retail extension of the Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1985 to promote cultural understanding among nations, environmental consciousness, and world peace. Open daily.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (773) 227-2707

Address: 1924 W. Division St.

Description: Just up the street from Greenheart is another gem of handicrafts. This one focuses on works by hundreds of artists from around the world who have something to sell, sometimes beautiful, frequently folksy, often quirky, always one-of-a-kind. Renegade began as a hugely successful local crafts fair—and still is—so the brick and mortar store is an offshoot of that. Here, you can browse for handmade belts, vegan soap bars, crocheted scarves, knit baby moccasins, birchbark votive candle holders, and a bevy of other giftables, all without worrying about the weather. Open daily.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (773) 868-3308

Address: 2780 N. Lincoln Ave.

Description: A sort of toy store for grown-ups, this wonderfully wacked-out part-retail, part-gallery space boasts a loyal following for many a good reason. Starting with owners Kirby and Whitney Kerr, who clearly love their curating kookiness and appreciate the people who come to check it out. The plethora of vinyl figures—Japanese anime-type monsters, the Simpsons, Marshall the marshmallow boy, “wickedly awesome” Chinese zodiac animals—changes often, as does the rotating mix of modern-pop gallery work. What’s in the name, you ask? A combination of the word “roto,” taken from the roto-casting molding process for many vinyl toys, and the name of their beagle-shih tzu Fugi (who’s usually padding around the store). Open daily.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (773) 525-4242

Address: 2947 N. Broadway

Description: For more than 20 years, this welcoming shop has been a favorite for picking up purses, backpacks, briefcases, and messenger bags. Exclusive lines by Village Tannery and well-known brands like HOBO and Burton mean price ranges vary. With husband-and-wife team Donte and Vanessa Mearon, you know you’ll also find a mix of items for both men and women. Of note for the guys: the cufflinks made from wood salvaged from stadium seats including Notre Dame’s and ties made from vintage Chicago and New York maps. Jewelry from local designers, baby accessories, stylish scarves and hats, and artwork by Donte himself complete the picture. Open daily.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (773) 477-8223

Address: 1338 W. Belmont Ave.

Description: When you need a little pick-me-up, forget the caffeine and head to this “little shop of har-hars.” It’ll bring you back to your carefree days, it’ll make you giggle, guffaw, maybe groan; it’ll put you in a kick-up-your-heels mood that you can bag up and take home with you. After all, life is always funnier when you’ve got a stink bomb, some fart powder, an Astro Boy clock, Pez candy, bacon lip balm, handshake buzzers and, fittingly a “Stooges in Your Pocket” noisemaker. Feel better? We thought so. Open daily.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Address: 1914 W. Chicago Ave.

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Address: 3126 N. Broadway

City: Chicago, IL

Category: Shopping

Address: 5045 N. Clark St.