{image1} For all the girls who have ever felt slightly intimidated upon entering the sacred (and usually male-dominated) skater ground that is Farwell Avenue's Phase II Clothing and Skateboard, but still desire its impressive selection of shoes, your time has come.
Phase II's owner Mark Zitzer is opening Envy, a young women's boutique that will feature footwear and fashions for the lady skater, or for those who simply appreciate the style.
Envy, across the street from Phase II, is meant to be an alternative for women, not a feminine version of Phase II, Zitzer says. Phase II is in no way a "boys only" place, but when it comes to apparel, Zitzer admits that the majority of what they sell is for the guys.
"We do sell some women's (things) but there's always girls coming in specifically looking for Volcom jeans, or whatever, and we only carry men's," he says. "Envy will be the place the girls can go to get the clothes and shoes they want without having to come to the actual skate shop."
At Phase II, which Zitzer opened in 1993 with his brother and parents, the primary focus is the board and its accessories. At Envy, however, Zitzer replaces the skate hardware with skate footwear.
Envy concentrates more on the aesthetic nature of the sport and the fun fashion that comes with the territory. It features many of the same brands as Phase II, such as Volcom, Element, DC, Etnies, Vans and Triple Five Soul.
"A lot of girls like skate shoes, whether they skate or not, but don't necessarily want them as fat and bulky as the boys (do)." At Envy, girls can choose from slimmed down versions of the shoe styles they find at the shop, and usually find them at a good price. Zitzer says he's aiming to keep his retail stock priced below $100.
Its windows and doors currently covered in pink Volcom posters, Envy is located at 2203 N. Farwell Ave.
"The location is perfect. The owner of that building originally approached me and asked if I wanted to move the skate shop across the street," Zitzer says. Because it's a smaller space, he initially demurred, but then saw it as an opportunity to fill what he felt was a gap in the market.
"Sure, kids can get some of this stuff out at the mall, but they like to come down to the East Side, and there aren't that many places to get stuff like this down here."
With the nearby Kenilworth Building in the midst of its makeover to include even more retail space and parking facilities, the area could potentially become a shopping hot spot.
Zitzer says Envy will open by the end of August.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
