Like any other college students, my friends and I are always on the lookout for new places to go off campus to do a little shopping.
My freshman year I did what every other freshman student did, which was go to Polaris to check out the usual round of stores I had become accustomed to and favored since high school.
However, I quickly became bored with the weekend outings to Polaris and Easton because they all offered the same thing: consumer-based stores that I could find virtually anywhere.
More importantly, as a student living on a college budget, I have to ration out my weekend expenses and to spend them all at commercial stores didn’t seem to be that appealing.
That’s what pushed me to do some searching in the local Delaware community and to find stores that are accessible to students without a car and, more importantly, offer a little variety amongst the products sold.
From what I found, I thought I hit the jackpot.
From Captain Betty’s to the Antique Mall and Sandusky Street Antiques, the Delaware community offers a couple of great stores to do some casual shopping.
It started on a sunny Friday afternoon when I ventured off with a group of friends to literally “go antiquing” as a joke and find some decorations for my dorm room.
But what I discovered was a plethora of vintage scarfs, fur coats, knit gloves and my most recent purchase: a vintage COACH messenger bag.
Prices were reasonable; the products were in decent condition, and more importantly, they were fun to shop. The setup of the stores forces you to dig through shelves to find what you are looking for and I usually find other things too.
All of the antique stores offer an eclectic mix of flatware, pictures, cooking essentials, books, clothes, records and a common abundance of vintage jewelry.
In addition to this great variety of products, every location has reasonable prices for any college student, and sometimes they’re even willing to knock a couple bucks off the original asking price.
Walk into Captain Betty’s and you can find racks of leather coats, boots and 50s-inspired evening gowns.
The Antique Mall forces you to search through pile after pile of ancient ruins.
The antique stores nestled on Sandusky Street offer everyone a place to go and find something different and fun without breaking your budget for the week.
So if you’re looking to do some downtown shopping, wander down to Sandusky Street and clear out your afternoon to do a little antiquing at the local stores.