Author Spotlight
Chloe Stradinger
Atmosphere:
When I walked in, the first thing I noticed were the neat displays and high ceilings. The clothes, hung nicely along the walls in a minimal way, were well organized. Since there wasn’t a huge selection of clothes, I didn’t feel overwhelmed like I do in stores like Forever XXI. But, there was still a big enough selection to make the store worth my time. Surrounded by the store’s soft white walls and rustic wooden floors, I felt relaxed in a very low-key way, much like the style of the clothes in the store.
Prices:
Frankly Basic’s prices are very comparable to those of Urban Outfitters. Dresses and skirts range from about $40-$60, while dark, straight jeans are about $70. Though some of the pieces of clothing are expensive, the nicely-made clothing feels like it would hold up and be worth the investment. Since many of the clothes are classic, plain pieces, they would be easy to layer making them very wearable in many situations.
Style:
The majority of the clothing in the store are in neutral colors, such as shades of grays, browns and blues. Embellishments such as ruffles on plain shirts, buttons down the front of dresses and big pockets on plain skirts ensure the clothes have a stylish twist. The clothing also keeps up with fashion trends, such as nautical stripes, modern tanks, and dark straight jeans.Thes emellishments are all incorporated in multiple pieces of Frankly Basic’s clothing.
Signature Piece:
Priced at $44, this skirt is perfect for spring. Made of a soft, silk-like fabric, it has nautical stripes in varying sizes to keep the skirt from looking ho-hum. Small pleats right below the waistband give the skirt the right amount of volume to wear with a plain navy tank or a ruffly blouse. Just like the store, this skirt is trendy and casually stylish.
Atmosphere:
All of the rich colors and fun fabrics of both the jewelry and the clothing made me want to touch everything in my reach. The light yellow walls and vintage silver wall tiles were a nice touch to the store’s eccentric feel. Hanging in the windows are cheery purple and pink lace underwear that ensures the store doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Price:
ShopGirls can be pretty expensive depending on which brands of clothing you’re looking at. One of the main brands they carry is Free People, which has earthy-styled clothing in bright colors with a large price tag; a Free People embroidered sundress that caught my eye was $130. However, the store also has less expensive things, like $20 initial necklaces and playful cloth bracelets.
Style:
This store has earthy clothes and accessories with splashes of bold bright color. Hanging on the organized racks, you can find anything from a tie-dye tank top to a striped Free People maxi dress to a vintage-inspired faded Nirvana t-shirt. Even if your style isn’t quite as daring as the store’s clothes, many of their pieces would be fun to mix; a plain t-shirt would be adorable with a bright beaded necklace, or one of their beaded belts would go nicely with a plain, high-wasted skirt.
Signature Piece:
This one-of-a-kind clutch purse has both fun vivid colors and nicely constructed leather. At $61, the purse is pricey, but worth the cost. If you’re not the type to splurge, it would be fun to ask for as a birthday or holiday gift. The clutch could be carried around during a daytime shopping trip or a night out. It’s natural-looking, nicely made and eye-catching just like the store ShopGirls.
Atmosphere:
The sound of 50’s radio music was the first thing I noticed in this vintage-inspired store. With old wooden floors and racks full of quirky deals and first-rate finds, the store was a perfect mix of a fun thrift store and stylish dress shop; a place where you could find both your MORP outfit and Homecoming dress.
Price:
Donna’s Dress shop has great deals. A bright red, strapless Homecoming-type dress can be found as cheap as $50, and a vintage dress is can be priced anywhere from $30-$80. Their jewelry (outlandish, vintage inspired necklaces, earrings, and rings) are around the price of $30. One of the main brands they carry in the newer part of the store is Arc & Co., a brand that is also carried at Standard Style that makes nice, banquet dresses around the price of $100.
Style:
The front part of Donna’s store is full of racks with stylish dresses, such as sequined, ruffled, and embellished Homecoming-style dresses in short, contemporary cuts. The store only stocks one or two of each size, so it’s not likely you’ll see someone else in your same dress. The back part of the store has bright vintage clothing, like below the knee skirts and bridesmaids dresses from the ‘80s.
Signature Piece:
One of the store’s dresses that caught my eye was this Arc & Co. dress. The short cut and V-neck front with a zipper around the collar kept this little dress fashion forward, while the full skirt and vintage-inspired red and black pattern was a throwback to the ‘40s. The brilliant balance of old and new made this dress similar to the fabulous store.
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