10F - Tuesday, September 3, 2002 - New Student Edition - The Michigan Daily
ANN ARBOR SHOPPING: DAZED AND CONFUSED?
A guide oflaces to o, what they sell, how to get -
there, and om muc money to brig with you
By Maria Sprow kind of stuff they have, plus it's close by," LSA senior Kevin Ku said. "I buy a -at9 tiv st
Daily Staff Reporter lot of gifts there; it makes my parents proud to have Michigan ahirts to wear." }
For students looking for more variety than what Steve and Barry's has to
No matter how you look at it, shopping in an Ann Arbor is an event. offer, the city of Ann Arbor has multiple retail stores and shopping outlets. 1
What do you want to buy, how much money do you have and how much do Stores like Meijer, Old Navy and Target are popular with University students 4 &*I'j<>,
you want to spend, and most importantly how are you going to get there? because they offer cheaper clothes but still have a wide variety of selections.
The area offers an unlimited variety of shops - everything from the Hash- Though they all require some special mode of transportation that might cre- 
Bash-popular "Purple Haze" to the Safe Sex Store, otherwise known as "S3," ate a hassle, all of the stores offer an additional bonus: They get students away
to Vintage to Vogue, a clothing and gift shop farther from the Modern Languages Building. Tar-
- but most of those stores won't interest the get offers everything from clothes to bed sheets;a
broke students that walk by them everyday. "I buy a lot of gifts there; it and cereal. Old Navy, located at Arbor Land, a strip
Although South University Avenue does mall on Washtenaw Road, is down the road fromnan a
offer a great discount music and video store, makes my parents pro [d to Boston Market, a restaurant specializing in things
the cheapest places generally won't be found have Mich shirts wear like mashed potatoes and gravy and homemade-
downtown or within the campus bubble, so IBG IW style chicken, all of which can be taken to-go.
visiting them requires either an upper-class - Kevin Ku Ann Arbor houses three Meijer stores, all of Map courtesy ofMapquest
friend with a car or an avid knowledge of the which give students the added conveniences of K .
localbusing system. LSA senior being open 24 hours a day and selling every- 1) Bivouac. 2) Steve and Barry's 3) Urban Outfitters 4) M-Den (Michigan appar-
But enough with the arts and sex shops. thing from Ramen Noodles to shampoo and el) 5) Voila (Women's apparel) 6) Timbucktu Station (Women's apparel)
Not only do most freshman not have a need for such stores, but lets face it, video games. But students say it's popular mainly because there isn't much
students can only afford the bare essentials: clothing, else to do at 3:00 a.m. in Ann Arbor. Value World, a mega-used clothing store that sells jeans and shirts for an
Like everything else, students have a wide variety of options when it comes "I go to Meijer a lot at two in the morning just because that's the only average of $2.50. Though fans admitted that most of the clothes aren't the
to buying clothes. Within the downtown area resides everything from the place that is open when I want to buy bread and milk and whatever else," trendiest, the truly dedicated can find everything from hip huggers and bell
trendy Urban Outfitters to the preppy Bivouac, two of State Street's most pop- Ku said. "It's great because it provides a really good study break when bottoms to leather bags.
ular stores for students. you're stressed out, and when you're crunched for time, it's a good one- "I'm from New York and everything in the city is cheap if you know
"Some of the clothing from Polo and Patagonia is very preppy and some stop shopping place. I buy a lot of food there - especially ice cream, where to go," RC junior Jen Chua said. "When I came to Michigan, I really
of the things from Seven or Guess or Michael Stars are very trendy. So we which I have to cut down on." had to look around for bargains. Going to (Value World) is great because
run the gament," Bivouac owner Ed Davidson said, adding that his store is All the stores'offer jeans for between $20 and $40. Despite Meijer's cheap everything is cheap like in the city, plus it lets me find things other stores
often frequented by students. "We're right across the street (from the Diag), prices, Ku said, "I never buy clothes there." don't carry."
they sure do." Instead, he said he prefers Briarwood Mall, located approximately three Chua added that though Value World is her favorite store in Ann Arbor, it
For the cooler months, Bivouac also offers the ever-so- miles from campus. Briarwood is one of six Michigan isn't her favorite place to shop. "I still do most of my shopping when I'm
popular Northface brand, seen on a majority of students malls built by Taubman Inc., and according to the website home, but it's good that I can find a deal, here, too." she said.
walking on the Diag. "Going to (Value is 362,000 square feet of shopping bliss. Stores in the mall
While Bivouac also offers camping and mountain include everything from Sears to J. Crew and Banana
climbing equipment, down the road at Urban Outfitters World) is great Republic.
students can purchase everything from neon orange The mall has something for everyone living in
shower curtains to the newest gotta-have-em chairs for the area, according to the web-
residence hall rooms. site: "Briarwood, the only super
The store's selection of overall merchandise is whati a like i regional shopping center in this
pulls students to walk the extra block, Urban Outfitter dynamic area of high technolo-
Store Merchandiser Richard Baadsgaard said. C iy plus t sm gy, serves a growing market of
"I think people would choose us because we offer a well-educated professionals."
wide variety of merchandise, we causee offrindter Ku said he prefers to shop at
fun novelties, unique books," Baadsgaard said, adding stores don't carry.' Structure and Abercrombie '.
that the store is geared toward the area's high school and Fitch, two stores located
and college student population. "It's definitely geared - Jen Chua in the mall. "They sell the * -
toward a younger, urban customer. But that doesn't RC junior clothes that fit the latest
necessarily mean somebody over the age of 25 would- trends at the University," henIf-
n't shop here. I've worked here for 10 years ad I still said.U
like the clothing, I still think it's cool." "The mall is a great place to go just to hang
The clothing may be cool, but don't walk into either store without the out," Ku added. "You can buy anything there
parent's credit card. The price of jeans at Bivouac range from $25 to $63 a from cell phones to pizza. I go there a lot when
leg ($50 to $125); Urban Outfitters is kind enough to offer their own jean I'm bored on Saturdays just to look around." 4
brand for $42, but other jeans in the store sell for upwards of $100 as well. The big downside to the mall, Ku said, was 2 1
Less than a block from Urban Outfitters rests Steve and Barry's, which offers that it's "expensive." Instead of heading ,
a wide selection for students looking for something both cheap and close by. down State Street, where the mall isJ'
The store specializes in University apparel and t-shirts and commonly sell three located, people with smaller
for $20, making it a choice stop for students who don't follow the latest trends bank accounts or those who consider Urban Outfitter rests underneath the State Theatre on the comer of State and Liberty Streets next to the Univerity's
or are just looking for a Christmas gift for Grandma. themselves to be true bargain hunters Diag. Down the road are Steve and Barry's and Bivouac clothing and retail stores, among the many coffee and bagel
"I shop at Steve and Barry's a lot because it offers really cheap prices for the can head down Huron Street toward shops, book stores and miscellaneous retailers In the area.
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