Many college students love to shop. We can spend more money than a) we have, and b) we should be spending while on work-study. But some students continue to shop for the best couture short of runway quality, while some look for more reasonable fare. Here are places in the area that can fit every shopper's quest.
MAINSTREAM
Montgomery Mall 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 1701 Democracy Boulevard Bethesda, Md. Metro: Red Line to Bethesda or Medical Center stops. Take J2 bus to Montgomery Mall.
Prince George's Plaza 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday Noon-6 p.m., Sunday 3500 East West Highway Hyattsville, Md. Metro: Green Line to Prince George's Plaza
Couture is not every student's forte and that's fine. There are two great venues in Marlyand for mainstream interests: Montgomery Mall and Prince George's Plaza. Both spots offer the traditional department stores like Hecht's and JC Penny, and of course, the ubiquitous Old Navy. However, while Montgomery Mall tends mostly towards major chain stores, PG Plaza has a fair mix of those and locally-owned boutiques.
If your thing is making sure you have as many options as possible (even if they are all the same options as everyone else in the country), then Montgomery Mall will have the edge in your book, based purely on size. Montgomery Mall has more stores, thus more places for you to waste time wandering aimlessly among the aisles. But PG Plaza is great for injecting some diversity into your wardrobe.
COLLEGE CASH
Wheaton Mall 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 2730 University Boulevard W. Wheaton, Md. Metro: Red Line to Wheaton
Not many college students have Teresa Heinz Kerry's money, nor are we looking to shop 'til we drop, no matter how much fun that could be. What's most important to college students can be bought easily and cheaply from one mall. Wheaton Plaza is the destination for something every student's heard: "the Target run on Saturday." And yes Target, as well as other department stores, electronic shops and music stores are all located in that same complex. There is even an incredible music store Chuck Levins right next to the adjacent Metro stop. The mall has an adequate food court to fit either your "Jared Diet" or your "Super Size Me" pledge.
SHOP ON THE GO
Union Station 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Saturday Noon-6 p.m., Sunday 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE (202) 523-2057 Metro: Red Line to Union Station.
To those who need to shop on the run, Union Station has a variety of stores from B. Dalton to Victoria's Secret and has the largest food court around. Housed in D.C.'s main train station you can eat and go and enjoy your time. Whether you eat nothing but fatty foods or healthy foods is up to you.
SHOES
Discount Shoe Warehouse Pentagon City 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 1100 S. Hayes St. Arlington, Va. Metro: Yellow or Blue lines to Pentagon City
Hardcore shoppers live for shoes. It's possible to have 15 pairs and feel like that's nowhere near enough. Whether you have the obsession or just want a solid good pair, there's only one store you should visit first: Discount Shoe Warehouse (DSW). The Loehmann's equivalent, the warehouse sells name-brand shoes at great prices. There are two in the metro area, one at Montgomery Mall and the other at Pentagon City (shown below), which has an array of random shops from Gap to a Victoria's Secret, to fashion favorite Guess.
Also, with great shops like Aeropostale and a more-than-adequate food court (which you won't get as fat from) you could easily spend a day and $500 wearing out of that old pair of shoes. But nothing will beat a great pair of shoes from Aldo, Kenneth Cole, or Nine West, which are also available at Pentagon City.
ACCESSORIES
Georgetown Any southbound even-30 Metrobus from Tenley Circle to Wisconsin Avenue and M Street.
The kicker is knowing the best place to shop for accessories, from trinkets to zippered laced clothing. You can pick up any oddity if you spend the right amount of time, money and effort at Commander Salamander on Wisconsin Avenue between O and P streets.
Georgetown is almost like a mixed blessing, with high-class fashion depots interspersed with hookah bars and sex shops. But although it can seem sketchy, it's like Cinderella-just not dressed up. For example, Dean & Deluca's is a gourmet food market in what looks like a factory. Once you step inside, though, your senses explode and there is no doubt to what part of D.C. you're in. With shops from Commander Salamander to Colors of Benetton, literally everything you need to accessorize is at your fingertips and feet tips.
HIGH-END SHOPPING
Mazza Gallerie 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Saturday Noon-6 p.m., Sunday 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW Metro: Red Line to Friendship Heights, or any westbound even-30 or N2 Metrobus.
Friendship Heights offers its patrons the mixed marriage of couture clothing at shops like Neiman-Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave & Saks for Men, Cartier, Versace, and Harriet Kassman (which has the most beautiful dresses ever). It has price-accommodating yet name-brand clothing at stores like Loehmann's and Filene's Basement. Mazza Gallerie (the mall at Friendship Heights, shown above) and her neighborhood stores give students a glimpse of high-class fashion at their breakable-bank-account fingertips. The Saks for Men on site has a department for Armani, and the Saks Fifth Ave just down a couple blocks has departments like Gucci and Luis Vuitton. And although you can get jewelry anywhere, to go inside Cartier or Tiffany's (both on Wisconsin), is a wet dream for any jewel-aholic.
MONEY IS NO ISSUE
White Flint Tysons I & Tysons II 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 5531 Nicholson Lane Rockville, Md. Metro: Red Line to White Flint
Tysons I & Tysons II 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 1961 Chainbridge Road McLean, Va. Drive to exit 47A off of I-495.
Let's say you want to go all out. Let's say you are Teresa Heinz Kerry and want to break the bank. D.C. has three nice, "quaint" malls that Superman couldn't even jump over.
White Flint Plaza has Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and, of course, Dave & Busters (for those who feel like video games should not be restricted to 10-year-olds). And if you haven't been to Flint yet, you miss a vanguard adventure in itself. With no real "food court," you'll have to suffer and eat at P.F. Chang's or the Cheesecake Factory. The wait is half an hour for a table.
But the money trail doesn't stop there. Tyson's Corner is called a "corner" because it literally takes up a neighborhood. The two malls are so large that one could probably house Virginia's Democratic population. Unfortunately you won't find stores like Anne Taylor's "LOFT" there. You'll find the full retail Anne Taylor itself. No ifs about it - there is a reason it's not Metro accessible.
But back to basics - when you need $500 underwear, you need a new life. (But just in case, Sylene, Dolce & Gabbana's lingerie store, is just between Versace and Saks in Friendship Heights.)
