Image via Complex Original
Meet me at the mall, it's going down—though the lyrics come from Yung Joc's 2006 snap classic, they would've stuck a chord a decade earlier, when our parents were dropping us off in mini-vans in front of the nearest shopping mall for aimless hours spent in the company of our peers.
We, the reckless youth, pissed off security guards, shoplifted bulk candy, annoyed patrons with young children. If there was a person with some moral or ethical code, there was a kid ready and willing to trample on that person's dreams. And it all went down in spitting distance of classic 1990s mall stores, the places where we coveted books and CDs and big sweaters. As it turns out, most of those stores have by now gone belly up.
Become a boat borne back ceaselessly into the past and check out these 10 '90s mall stores we want back.
Structure
Years Active: 1989-2001
Wares: Men's clothing
When you were trying to impress in middle school and your mom had promised a little extra scratch this allowance session, your bleached and gelled hair guided you to Structure, which has since transformed into Express Men. Nothing like the feel of a new solid T under the blazer your dad picked out for you at Structure.
B. Dalton
Years Active: 1966-2010
Wares: Books, greeting cards, games
Chill, public libraries and their kiddie-centric summer reading programs—the mature 10 through 15-year-olds of the 1990s needed to buy the latest Goosebumps or Redwall banger without having to deal with the kooky librarian and her many stamps. You were assembling a collection to pass down to future generations, and B. Dalton respected that.
Warner Bros. Studio Store
Years Active: 1991-2001
Wares: Merchandise based on Warner Bros. TV shows and movies
The Warner Bros. Studio Store was incredible, if only for the giant statues of Bugs Bunny, Superman, and other WB characters. And of course the Marvin the Martian spaceship, with those buttons that would play Looney Tunes' sounds and catchphrases. Did anything drive parents crazier than some kid pushing the "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and 1/2 century!" button until it broke? Walking past this store led to one of the all-time classic kid lies: "I don't want to get anything, I just want to look."
Sam Goody
Years Active: 1951-2012
Wares: DVDs, CDs, posters, video games
A shrine to recorded music, Sam Goody stocked the latest gems of the 1990s. You peeled back the plastic mere feet away from the front of the store, a copy of Aquemini in your hands. When you were feeling bold, you wandered back to where they kept the posters to check out the one where Lil Kim wasn't wearing clothes in a traditional sense. But the dude shooting you glances from behind the register kept your from lingering.
The Sharper Image
Years Active: 1977-2008
Wares: Electronics, gadgets, leisure items, novel technology
The first rule upon walking into The Sharper Image: "Don't break anything." Of course, it's hard to remember that those hybrid water-proof alarm clock/headphones that you're messing with cost $450. It's no big deal though, because you'll just sit in those massage recliners until your parents have finished what they're doing. That is, until you become totally enamored with that $75 Playstation controller that's shaped like a race car.
Suncoast
Years Active: 1986-2006
Wares: VHS, toys, posters
Before the Big Box stores dominated the scene, your mall expeditions carved your shopping lists into store-specific parts. If you wanted to buy, say, the special edition of Army of Darkness on VHS in the thick clamshell case, you were in for a trip to Suncoast. Combining a well-curated film selection with geek-appropriate collectibles like action figures, lunch boxes, and posters, Suncoast was a dream for the '80s baby turning into a cinephile during the 1990s. They've since become F.Y.E.s, but F.Y.E.s blow.
K-B Toys
Years Active: 1922-2009
Wares: Toys, board games, electronics, video games
There's no such thing as a rational child in a toy store. Whenever K-B had toys on display for kids to test out before they bought them, it was a battle to see who would get the next turn. And walking back to your parents with an armful of toys, only to have them say that you had to pick one? Devastating. How could you choose just one of the Street Sharks?
Lazarus
Years Active: 1851-2005
Wares: Clothing, footwear, furniture, bedding, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
Every part of the country had a different department store huddled at one end the mall, a place for back-to-school clothes shopping with grandma's spending money, with choices that wouldn't offend the sensibilities of the 'rents. For the Midwest, that store was Lazarus. It's since been folded into Macy's. But perhaps you copped your first girlfriend a terrible piece of jewelery here, or made Dad proud when you picked out a large, unflattering sweater for your mother right before the holidays. Stores that accommodate people when they have no idea what they're buying/what style is—where have they gone?
Another Universe
Years Active: 1999-2001
Wares: Comics
That rare and special thing, a comic book chain with a good selection that you could depend on regardless of what mall you were lamping in, Another Universe kept you knee-deep in Spawn, Kingdom Come, Marvels—all the essentials. Sadly, Another Universe was part of Fandom, the beloved website of geek collectors, and when that site went under, Another Universe was dragged down with it, an Atlantis lost beneath bankruptcy paperwork.
Chess King
Years Active: 1968-1995
Wares: Young men's clothing and shoes
It was never about chess. Chess King kept you clothed with faddish styles that, though they ultimately couldn't save the company, were adored by a select few in the early part of the decade. Chess King launched in 1968, selling clothing aimed at young men with a commitment to loud colors and weirdly placed stripes. The clothes only became more, well, "highly recognizable" as the decades wore on. If you dipped yourself in some now, you'd be hailed as a genius.
