Who needs those international fashion hubs with the variety of
shops found locally?
By Alice Joy
Paris, Milan and New York City. Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister?
We may not be world-renowned for our shopping, but the retail offerings in southern Santa Clara and San Benito counties aren’t anything to scoff at.
From small, specialized women’s boutiques and hand-crafted jewelry shops to the name-brand stores at the Gilroy Premium Outlets, the South Valley has everything for the fashionista, as well as the more reserved shopper.
“I think it’s important that you shop close to home,” said Brenda Weatherly, executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association. “Shopping downtown, you get personal service. They might even greet you by name.”
For women’s clothing and accessories boutiques, you can head to the downtown shopping areas in any of the local cities and you’re certain to find something that will whet your appetite for fashion.
Downtown Morgan Hill offers the Blush Boutique, a favorite among twentysomethings, selling designer jeans and summer dresses. For those who can’t tell what’s chic and what’s so-last-year, the store offers personal shoppers to help put together the perfect outfit.
Josie Wilder, 26, a Morgan Hill resident, has been a longtime shopper at the boutique on Monterey Road. Wilder was spending so much time frequenting Blush that she decided to get a job there.
“I just started working here because I like to shop here. I have a full time job, but I started working on the weekends. This is seriously my favorite boutique,” said Wilder.
Wilder said she really liked that she was able to find a wide selection of jeans without leaving her hometown. Wilder’s other favorite place to shop in downtown Morgan Hill is the Goddess Shop, located right next door.
The Goddess Shop opened three years ago as a bead shop, but since then has begun selling personalized jewelry and accessories.
Shelly Fast, the owner of the Goddess Shop, said that she loves operating out of downtown Morgan Hill because of the strong customer base.
“It’s just a fun place to be,” Fast said. “We have a lot of regular customers who come and check what we have every week.”
The Goddess Shop offers custom jewelry that can be made to match a wedding dress or prom formal.
“What you can get in my shop you cannot get anywhere else,” Fast said. “People need to recognize that and come walk downtown and see what there is to offer. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Hollister may surprise shoppers
Hollister residents looking for a boutique may also be surprised by what is available right in their downtown.
Drapoel, located on San Benito Street in Hollister, offers contemporary women’s fashions. Right next door, Teezerz, a division of Drapoel, sells men’s and teen fashion.
“I have just about everything,” said Drapoel’s owner, Deborah Wood. “We cross market so that anyone from a 13-year-old to an 80-year-old could shop here.”
With everything from Reef sandals to Brighton accessories and jewelry, you could truly find something for just about everyone on your list here.
Wood said that sometimes customers are surprised that these clothes are available in Hollister.
“I try to carry apparel that might be sold at Nordstrom, or in San Jose. But there you’ve got an hour of gas and commute. I’m more of a convenience shop,” Wood said.
Wood emphasized that it’s also important that people realize that when they spend their money at local stores and boutiques, that money comes back to them. Sales tax spent locally goes back into the local economy.
Attracting out-of-towners
Some local stores are bringing money to the local economy by attracting out-of-towners. Morgan Hill Tobacco Company, in downtown Morgan Hill, has attracted a considerable following from the greater Bay Area.
The tobacco company sells cigars, pipes, tobacco and gifts for the modern gentleman.
“For Christmas, we gave all our gifts for the guys and girls and the golf club from here,” said Saratoga resident Jackie Kranz. “We love this shop.”
The store, with its forest green walls decorated with old tobacco advertisements and clocks made out of cigar boxes, attracts people from Monterey and San Francisco. These customers come as much for the store’s atmosphere as for its exceptional array of products.
“They know about cultivating a business,” said Jerod Duggan, who drives down to the shop regularly from his home in San Jose. “There’s a lot of cigar shops in San Jose, but they don’t have the room, or don’t have a TV. Here, you can relax.”
The Morgan Hill Tobacco Company offers a cigar room in the back where cigar aficionados can enjoy the product along with a glass of wine or beer.
“The uniqueness about the store is the personality of the owners,” said Charles Janigian, a cigar distributor from San Jose. “They are hospitable, knowledgeable and very consumer-friendly.”
Big box stores
Also attracting tourists and enticing locals are the Gilroy Premium Outlets.
Teenagers looking to fulfill their mall shopping needs used to head north to San Jose, but now those desires can be met by simply stopping in Gilroy.
“You used to have to drive to Valley Fair or down to Salinas for shopping,” said Liz Claiborne manager Tish Levenfeld. “Now you can do it all here.”
One of the largest premium outlet malls in the industry, the Gilroy Premium Outlets boast 145 stores and shops. Michele Rothstein, spokesperson for the Chelsea Premium Outlets, which purchased the Gilroy location in 2000, said part of the success of the outlets is related to the Gilroy location on U.S. Highway 101.
“It’s very easy to reach, it’s easy to see from the highway. It’s a wonderful center and it’s great to have one that has that depth,” said Rothstein.
The Gilroy Premium Outlets’ location has indeed contributed to its success, with a location directly off the 101, a main artery between Northern and Southern California.
Kip Leong of San Francisco stopped at the outlets with his wife and young son on their drive home from Los Angeles.
“It’s a little overwhelming because there’s so much choice, so you have to be really careful. Otherwise you can spend the whole day here,” said Leong.
In spite of Leong’s hesitance to spend a day at the outdoor shopping center, that’s part of the appeal for many.
Many shopping enthusiasts and deal-seekers head to the Gilroy Premium Outlets as a form of entertainment, and with plans to spend the day scrounging for deals and steals.
“You could spend your whole day here and still not hit all the stores,” said Linda Rowe, manager of Royal Daulton, a fine dining and dinnerware boutique.
The outlets, which include stores ranging from Banana Republic to Nike to Bose, have also contributed greatly to the growth in Gilroy.
Since the outlet mall’s opening in 1990, other “big box” stores such as Target, Linens-N-Things and Costco have been built at the next exit down the freeway.
“(The outlet mall) has turned the town around,” said Levenfeld. “It brings business, it brings revenue, it brings a name. It solidified (Gilroy’s) place on the map.”
While the Gilroy Premium Outlets may have tourist appeal – bringing shoppers from all around the Bay Area and as far away as Japan and Germany – locals enjoy the shopping as well.
Noemi Lather, a longtime Gilroy resident, said she can be found almost weekly looking for deals at Liz Claiborne, Dressbarn and Ann Taylor Factory Store.
Throughout the South Valley area, shoppers are discovering that they don’t have to spend their money on gas in order to find good shopping.
“We offer a lot of different shops and smaller businesses that you don’t necessarily find elsewhere,” said Dan Ahrler, president and CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. “I find that people are very proud and appreciative of what we have to offer here.”
