Shopping in a new area can be daunting, especially if students are looking for something in particular and don’t have much time to get there and back or would rather not ride the bus for hours until it drives by the particular store in question. 

In Ames, there are clothing stores and boutiques both on and off campus. Shopping close to campus is best if one is looking for something in particular, like an eclectic boutique or ISU-specific apparel. A boutique closet to campus that has a large selection of women’s apparel, a smaller selection of men’s and decor as well as a gift selection is Portobello Road on Welch Avenue. It is within walking distance to campus and all residence halls. 

Another small shop closer to campus that caters to the sports fanatic is Dogtown University on Welch Avenue. The shop has men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories that will get fans ready for the big game. The prices are low in comparison to other places in Ames, and it is within walking distance to campus. 

Around Ames there are multiple places to shop, like along Duff Avenue. On Duff there are larger chain stores like Target, Walmart and Sports Authority. These stores have a large selection of apparel and the bus drops off students directly across the street. 

There are also shops at North Grand Mall on Grand Avenue, which is the best place to go if one wants to spend time browsing multiple stores. The mall is a 340,000-foot shopping center with stores like Gap, T.J. Maxx, Express and Journey’s. Be sure to check out North Grand Mall’s website for the list of stores available. The bus drops students off at this location as well, and the mall is within walking distance to Walgreens and restaurants.