Where to get the goodies you can't finagle

Although New Haven may not be a shopping mecca, there are plenty of worthwhile stores and boutiques. Chapel Street, Whitney Avenue. and Broadway are the three main commercial boulevards near campus, and once you find them, you're set to shop.

Remember this: when your parents come to help you make the big move into a new home and new city, it is because they love you and want to make sure you will be blissfully happy at Yale. Translation: for one week and one week only, your parents will buy you anything you want. So milk them for all they're worth.

Between the Yale Bookstore (77 Broadway) and the Yale Co-op (in the Chapel Square Mall) all your random needs--ranging from toothbrushes to Arabian dictionaries to picture frames--will be met. However, it's probably a good idea to start your shopping elsewhere while your parents are still here to help you, because these two stores will be easily accessible year round (see related article on this page.)

Furniture

Common rooms are just lonely, cavernous echo chambers until eager freshmen fill them with grubby, comfy couches and chairs. For furniture with history, you can make your way to the Salvation Army on Crown Street, just east of York. You will find lots of sweet buys there; just be prepared (and prepare your friends) to haul your goodies back several blocks to Old Campus.

Another place to find good used furniture is Goodwill Industries at 887 Grand Ave. Make sure to get there early because the best buys disappear fast.

Some upperclassmen may try to rip you off when they sell you their used furniture on Old Campus; setimes the stuff is salvagable, maybe even a score, but beware of its condition. The prices are rarely fair, so bargain them down.

Groceries

Jong's Produce, west of campus on Chapel, offers fresh fruit and salad, are rarity t in the dining halls. With healthy food, a friendly staff, and Asian specialties, Jong's is worth a weekly trip.

Great Wall of China, on Whitney, is a splendid Chinese grocery store for those who like their lo mein homemade. Great Wall also offers a small eating area in the back--a quiet, peaceful place to enjoy your General Tsao's Chicken.

For more general shopping, Stop-'n-Shop in Hamden on Dixwell Avenue is the closest store to Yale that compares to the suburban mega-marts some of you may know from home, but it will seem huge to New Yorkers accustomed to the narrow aisles (and selections) of, say, Food Emporium.

You will need a car, however. GranCentral at York and George, near Yale-New Haven Hospital, is considerably smaller, but can boast a deli, bakery, and butcher shop, as well as a closer, more convenient location.

Either store is a good bet for folks who want to elude the shameless price gouging at Krauzer's and Store 24, the two food convenience stores near campus. You'll end up at both soon enough, though, on a study break or on your way back from the gym. Despite their drawbacks they are both exceedingly convenient, as they are open 'round the clock. Students in need of a midnight snack need not have any fear.

Necessities

A good place to buy necessities such as soap and shampoo is Rite-Aid, with locations in the Chapel Square Mall and on Whalley Avenue, just past the Holiday Inn. Taft Cosmetics (2 Whitney Avenue) is another spot to buy the basics, albeit at slightly higher prices.

If you have a membership at the Price Club, you're set. You can get both toiletries and food in bulk at the Orange outlet, and will never have to buy toothpaste again.

There are few better opportunities than the Radio Shack in Chapel Square to squeeze Ma and Pa like a Tropicana orange. Also, this is the place to tell them you need a new, more powerful Walkman to drown out the chatter of your roommates, or to warn them they may never get in touch with you again unless they buy you an answering machine. Dads love to poke around in here, and you can find useful items that will save you from future fights with roommates, such as a phone jack or an extension cord.

In addition to the Chapel Square Mall, the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford contains a number of shops are located, such as Linens 'n Things, Pier 1 Imports, and Lechmere's.

For Group IV majors who will have to tackle Science Hill, a bicycle is a near-necessity. Zane's in Branford carries 10-speed and mountain bikes. They also sell accessories such as bike helmets and offer repair services. For the outdoorsy Yalie, Trailblazer on Broadway offers a smorgasbord of hiking and biking equipment, in-line skates, and skateboarding essentials.

For school supplies, avoid the murderous prices of the Co-op and tramp over to Staples on Dixwell. Travelling farther up Dixwell to Hamden, you will find department stores Bradlees and Caldor. For those of you who don't live in the East, they are very much like K-Mart and Target.

Tunes

If you come to New Haven hoping to find a plethora of hip music stores, you'll be disappointed. You won't have problems finding the most popular releases, but those with more exotic tastes are going to have trouble.

As a result of several business closures, the only true record store in the city is Cutler's Record Shop (33 Broadway). Cutler's has an ample used section, catering to the tastes of many Yalies, as well as vinyl, bargain tapes, posters, and music magazines. Cutler's will also buy and trade used CDs--$3 of tax-free store credit per record, which adds up when you've got a pile of sonic crap to get rid of.

Next door to Cutler's is their classical music counterpart, the only all-classical store in the area. It offers a comprehensive selection of Baroque, contemporary, and avant garde CDs and cassettes.

Clothing

Spirited Yalies can find basic Yale paraphernalia at the Co-op, Boola Boola (21 Broadway) and Campus Clothing (57 Broadway); the latter two have more reasonable prices.

Small boutiques of all kinds line Chapel Street. Endleman Two (1020 Chapel) and Seychelles (1014 Chapel) offer dresses and accessories, and the latter is a good place for a formal dress, but both are pricey and best for browsing. The same goes for Raggs for Men (1016 Chapel), Seychelles' male counterpart, and the Hello Boutique (1090 Chapel), which offers pastels and linen.

The Gap stands at the corner of Chapel and Crown, right near Ann Taylor. Archetype, a women's boutique carrying items from stores such as the French Connection of New York, is a few doors down from The Gap on College St.

For vintage clothing, check out Zeitgeist. Located at 25 High St., it offers everything from taffeta ball gowns to black leather jackets. Casablanca Boutique (1146 Chapel) is also on the vintage tip, running the gauntlet of '20s flapper hats, '50s faux-fur-lined car coats, and '70s flares. It also sells African sculptures, string bracelets, beaded jewelry, and tapestry rugs. Kenrick Ou contributed to this article.

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