In the 1890s, a consumer’s paradise flourished on Chicago’s State Street. By 1900, retail owners had built nine major department stores, and many other restaurants, theaters, and hotels on the busy corridor. In this dissertation, I argue that within these new semi-public department stores, merchants self-consciously and intentionally created sites of heterogeneous social mixing. Yet, as they pushed for an inclusionary consumer base, they simultaneously attempted to create an exclusive experience for their most economically important consumer, the white middle-class shopper. As these two systems—inclusion and exclusion—converged and competed, tension arose. This tension often manifested itself as discrimination against women on the margins of consumption, white working-class and black females. In an attempt to create a more just public sphere, black and white working-class shoppers fought to be treated as equals. Through various avenues—economic boycotts, lawsuits, complaints to city newspapers, organizing conferences, and speaking out against discriminatory treatment inside the emporiums—women on the margins of consumption tried to hold retailers accountable for instituting democratic store policies. The efforts of these women to change discriminatory policies achieved varied levels of success. In some instances, the inequitable treatment by State Street retailers pushed black and white working-class women into homogeneous sites of consumption within their own neighborhoods. Albeit segregated, these department stores often provided a consumer experience free from the prejudices of the Loop. In other instances, the full potential of the public sphere was realized as various groups of women began interacting with each other in new ways. The department store floor acted as a site for cross-class collaboration between white working-class and white middle-class women. Together, they fought State Street merchants for higher wages and fewer hours for clerks. When allowed, mixed sales forces also brought women together in unprecedented ways. As one department store manager noted, if given the chance, white and black clerks worked alongside one another in harmony and with pride in each other. This dissertation explores both the possibilities and the limitations of social mixing in Chicago department stores.