ShopGirl meets challenge of marathon shopping spree

Mary Nevin makes Santa look like an amateur.

Nevin had the winning bid in the Presque Isle Rotary Club’s auction of a ShopGirl shopping spree -the Bangor Daily News donated my bargain-hunting services, and First Citizens Bank donated $250. But Nevin didn’t keep the spree, she gave it to her 16-year-old daughter, Kendra, for Christmas.

Go, mom.

Last Friday, Kendra came to Bangor with a purse full of money (a great purse, I should add) and shopping on her mind. Like most teenagers, she wanted to stick to the mall, which was fine by me, given the nasty weather outside.

Though the auction item was advertised as a wardrobe makeover and shopping spree, Kendra clearly didn’t need a makeover – she was wearing a fabulous corduroy jacket and a long, pink, stripey scarf that looked exactly like the one I wear twice a week. What she needed was jeans. Mudd jeans.

I must admit, Kendra was a little skeptical of shopping with someone who was, as ShopGuy likes to say, “pushing 30.” But I won some points when I recommended a pair of already-ripped jeans at Wet Seal. Mary Nevin hated them. She said she could just drag a pair of Kendra’s old jeans behind the car and call it good. But Kendra and I stood firm – there’s something to be said for strategically placed rips rather than random mangling.

Kendra also coveted an ’80s-style striped skirt that was somewhere between Cyndi Lauper and Stevie Nicks, but she decided to wait. Earlier, after rooting through a thousand pairs of disorganized jeans at Filene’s (one drawback of the post-holiday sales rush), Kendra had found a light-wash pair of Mudd jeans. So she was all set there.

After a brief stop at the Gap, we high-tailed it to Hot Topic. Any doubts Kendra may have harbored about her shopping companion melted as we perused the Care Bears T-shirts and pink Dickies Girl pants. But nothing struck her fancy, so we headed to Spencer Gifts, which I hadn’t visited since the last bachelorette party I attended. There, she settled on a wall clock for a friend. Then we stopped at Aeropostale, where she picked up a cute snowboarding sweatshirt.

But Kendra was on a mission. She wanted to get her boyfriend a FUBU sweatshirt. I knew just the place, Ezekiel’s, the new urban-wear shop. Except I forgot where it was, and after we found it, I knew why – it was located in the most unlikely spot, the former Northern Reflections storefront. As I pondered the sale of hip-hop clothes in a shop that once held embroidered sweatshirts and matchy-match plaid duds, Kendra picked out the perfect gift for her guy – a brown, Eminem-inspired shirt by Shady.

Next, it was off to buy a few gifts for her mom. So we stopped at Hallmark and American Greetings, to pick up a Beanie Baby and a bear figurine for Mary, who loves teddy bears. Kendra’s not much for clothes shopping, but she does like to accessorize, so we went to Claire’s to find earrings for her newly pierced ears. The shop was having a buy-two-get-one-free sale, so she cleaned up. Then we set off in search of games and accessories for her new Playstation 2, a gift from her grandfather.

One network adapter and a “Lord of the Rings” game later, and Kendra was out of the cash she won and the extra money she brought. So we went back to meet up with Mary, who was getting a ring of her own at Zales – an anniversary gift from her husband.

After giving her daughter a shopping spree like this one, Mary deserved a treat. And diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Reader question

Dear Shop Girl,

I am 70 years old and arthritic. I have the darnedest time trying to get clothes that do not skimp on material and something decent for my age group besides old frumpy dresses. One thing is, I have got to have button-in-the-front blouses (can’t wear slip-ons or over-the-head type). … Do any stores make clothes for handicapped folks? Will appreciate any hints that you have time to send.

Yours truly,

C.T.P.

Dear C.T.P.,

One shop that immediately comes to mind is The Pretty Woman in Orono, which carries stylish, comfortable clothing for women of all ages. I also asked Lynn Gitlow, an occupational therapist who works with people who have limited mobility. She suggested Chico’s (www.chicos.com), which sells chic, upscale clothing for women (plenty of elastic waists, but entirely un-frumpy) as well as the Units brand at J.C. Penney. There is a Web site, http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/at/adaptive-clothing.html, which has information about adaptive clothing, but most of it is not that stylish. I hope this helps!

ShopGirl would love to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions by e-mail to: kandresen@bangordailynews.net, by U.S. mail to: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329, or by fax to: 941-9476.