STREET FIGHT: Rush vs. Oak

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

In Chicago, a style diva's playground is either Michigan Avenue, Oak Street or Rush Street. Together, they make up what we like to call the Holy Trinity of Chicago Fashion's Elite Streets. Michigan Avenue has no equal, what with the staples of Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Saks and the mega-Burberry set to reopen in October, but Oak and Rush streets are doing a pretty fine job themselves of attracting super high end designers, retailers and boutiques straight out of New York and LA.

We love Oak street for its completely aspirational shops such as Pratesi, for its ridicly high thread count sheets, and the imminently opening Ultimo-turned-Lanvin. We also like the fact that we feel like we're in our own home, or being catered to in a Relais & Chateau hotel, in the boutique-y, warm confines of an old pre-war Gold Coast manse. Now Rush street is a different animal. We like it for entirely different reasons. Being the central street to the grossly inappropriate Viagra Triangle, Rush carries more of a youthful vibe--the new multi-story Scoop NYC, the Dutch import, Suit Supply, as well as British import, Ted Baker flaunt high style as opposed to Oak Street's understated elegance.

So we're asking you, our faithfully fashionable readers, which street do you think reigns supreme? Do you prefer the stylishly bold Rush street, or would you choose the understated elegance of Oak to satiate your fashion fetishes?