In what is certainly turning 2010 into the winter of fashion discontent, the onetime Michelle Obama fave Maria Pinto told the Sun-Times she is closing up shop.

City Soles has announced they’ll be closing their location at 3432 N. Southport on February 15. The Bucktown location, 2001 W. North, remains unharmed.

Crains is reporting that Chicago’s onetime non plus ultra boutique, Ultimo, will throw in the towel at the end of this month. Though the store no longer enjoyed the primacy in the zeitgeist it wielded under founding owner Joan Weinstein, its closing is still a loss of prestige for Oak Street.

In the process of fact-checking and updating our semi-annual print edition, we confirmed that the following boutiques have closed or are closing: A Cooler Planet, Ciao Bella, Eva May (moved her designs into Mr. & Mrs. Digz), Grace, Guise/Chic, Hip Fit, Hejfina, Mint Boutique, Only She (reincarnated as Urban Style Emporium in a new location), Pivot, Plein Aire, Revolver, Soko Fashion, Untitled closed its Evanston store and Verse closed its Bucktown location with plans to reopen in the West Loop next spring.

Updated 10-30-09

In the course of doing the fact-checking for our semi-annual print edition we discovered that the following stores had also closed since last fall: Andina Buenos Aires (closing this month), Armadio, Cerulean 1, Eliana Lily, Entendre Couture, G’bani (moving to Old Town), The Gourmet Clothing Company, Kachi Bachi, Sugar Magnolia.

Jake closed its Southport location, Leaders closed its Bronzeville location but opened in River North. And Veruca Salt also opened a new location in River North.

Wells Street has been particularly hard hit by the ailing economy: the following stores have closed: Gray, One Yellow Shoe, Trend for Men and Uri Boutique

Yellow Jacket Vintage closed their Chicago location; no word on Milwaukee, though we’re checking.

The Reader reports that bricks-and-mortars-gone-online-only boutique Language has vaporized completely.

In the department of openings and closings, American Apparel has opened another Chicago location:

American Apparel
Belmont Central
929 W. Belmont Ave.
Tel. (773) 472-0500

Meanwhile, French housewares boutique Porte Rouge has announced it’s closing May 1.

One of Bucktown’s longer-tenured and most visionary boutiques, Saffron (2064 North Damen, 773-486-7753), is calling it quits at the end of April. This one’s not connected to the economy, however. Rather, owner Padmaja Manerikar Maryanski wants to stay home with her young child, and her efforts to find an appropriate buyer have not been successful. “Have had a great deal of interest but have found that most women either do not have the creative ability or the financial optimism,” she writes in an email. “Not sure why, but our business has actually been good this year…even the full price stuff is selling well. I would hold out and continue to try to sell the business but I feel I am missing out on some of the most precious time with my daughter.”

Meanwhile, sales abound at the store until it closes.