Some students hit malls to replenish wardrobes

Bayley Wallace, left, looks for a pair of sneakers at Mervyn's in preparation for his upcoming freshman year at Tokay High School. Wallace's grandmother, Patricia Eichele, right, suggests a pair while Eichele's fiance, Phil Litts, center, voices his desire for a speedy shopping experience. (Allyson Yund/News-Sentinel)

Some students hit malls to replenish wardrobes

By Kendyce Manguchei
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Saturday, July 29, 2006 7:37 AM PDT

Comments (2 comment(s))

Some Lodi teens, in search of outfits that look good at bargain prices, are trekking to malls from Roseville to Milpitas. Others, confident their tried-and-true outfits are better reflections of their personalities than any new T-shirt, aren't leaving Lodi and Stockton at all.

Parents might set budgets for their young ones, and Jill Gomez of Galt said she's been splitting up back-to-school spending over the past several weekends, so "it doesn't seem like it's such a bulk." Gomez and her two sons, Drake, a seventh-grader, and Jordan, a sixth-grader, have browsed the malls in Sacramento and Stockton, and were at the Lodi Mervyn's store on Friday.

Drake was hoping to find a T-shirt featuring the toddler Stewie from the animated series "Family Guy" while Mom made sure they picked out "school-appropriate" clothes.

At the surf and skate shop Ooga Booga on Kettleman Lane, manager Tawnia Brown said their customers are looking for shoes, and the store — one of the few local outlets for popular brands like DVS, Volcom, DC and Circa — boasts a wall of footwear displays. Backpacks are a hot back-to-school item, too, and there are few left on the shelves, she said.

That's what sisters Stephanie, Jennifer and Evelyn Villaseñor were choosing on Friday after their mom, Elvira Morales, spent about $130 on school supplies from Wal-Mart.

Jennifer eagerly carried Jansport's colorful "black crazy dots" bag, while Stephanie had a bold green one.

Tokay High 10th grader Jordan King said she, her mom and a friend were planning a 12-hour day at the Great Mall and other shopping centers in Milpitas on Friday.

"There's more variety of the kinds of stuff I like," she said, adding she plans on hitting Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, The Muse and Rave to renew her wardrobe She said she'll supplement her parents' $100 budget with money she earned from babysitting.

Matt Bacon, a 16-year-old junior at Lodi High, and Ian Jonsson, a 15-year-old sophomore at Tokay, also agree they don't need to get a closet full of new clothes. Bacon said he'll hit up Target for shirts and other basics.

"'Preps — they'll wear all the big names. That makes them feel happy," Bacon said. "I could feel happy just putting on whatever I have in my closet."

Because Jonsson can't find everything he wants in Lodi, he'll be shopping online and picking up items throughout the year. He did ask his parents to stop at the Tracy outlet mall during a recent Bay Area trip, so he could check out the Vans store.

"Any guy that completely redoes their wardrobe for school either has a lot of money or really wants to put on an image of himself and maybe that image isn't really him," Jonsson said.

Back-to-school 'must-haves'

• Cell phone with text messaging, camera and e-mail.
• Backpack featuring bold colors and patterns.
• iPod or mp3 player.
• Notebook or journal.
• Sunglasses.

Check with schools and teachers to make sure what's allowed.

Sources: about.com, Lodi teens, Ooga Booga, Mervyn's

Contact reporter Kendyce Manguchei at kendycem@lodinews.com.

First published: Saturday, July 29, 2006

Reader Feedback

No lists please wrote on Jul 30, 2006 11:55 PM:

" What a ridiculous back-to-school list.I really don't think the teens,or their families, need to perpetuate all these extravagant"must haves"for these kids. It's hard enough to raise a kid in Lodi that is not a snob or a brat without articles like this that promotes things these kids DO NOT..."need". "

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Thanks wrote on Jul 30, 2006 6:23 PM:

" Thanks LNS, for listing those "back to school must haves". You've just made the teacher's job a bit tougher. "

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