Slacker

Never disappoints. Purchased t-​shirts here for $ 5, last second work emergency, belts too. All the toys and rolling papers one could ever need. I bought all my gfs xmas presents here and she didn’t dump me, so…

Before Pittsburgh area malls got a Hot Topic, East Carson St. was THE destination for all the «Spirit of ’77» punks who’d sprung up across Allegheny County in the 90s and early 2000s. With two great thrift stores (buying used clothes = more beer/​show/​ciggie money) and the mighty boutiques called SWANK Gear and Slacker, the South Side was a Clash City Rocker’s dream.
Slacker was always the larger of the two stores, and I’d hit it up last in my shopping rotation. I bought my staples at the thrift store, my Young Ones shirt and awesome zipper skirt at SWANK, and hit up slacker for bags, pins, and accessories. The owner and employees were always really cool, loved to chat, stocked tons of flyers advertising shows near the front door, and didn’t mind if you browsed. I remember buying tons of pins and belts and makeup and magazines and all that other stuff that a young lady buys when their college is giving her stupid amounts of money for purportedly being a good student, albeit one whose Mohawk put her perpetually in danger of being evicted from the Honors College.
Time marched on, and SWANK Gear closed, despite my best efforts to save it — which included: doing their ads, promoting it at punk brawls and bashes and gallery crawls of all kinds, buying up everything Kris, the owner recommended for me to wear. Although it had a much better clothing selection than Slacker — which is not a slam at Slacker, since SWANK Gear, in its day, was also head and shoulders above Zipperhead in Philly and Trash and Vaudeville in NYC — I think its location doomed it. As Kris pointed out, it was on a side street, tucked away from foot traffic, and Port Authority cuts combined with alarming headlines about the city’s decline warned younger kids away from the South Side and pointed them toward the malls. Also, in a move that was unbeknownst to me — but which would become obvious five years later — developers were targeting the South Side for Williamsburg-​style Californication, and would ultimately strip it of its small businesses, to replace them with artisinal foodie restaurants and national chains.
Slacker has stood the test of time, defiantly resisting developer efforts to replace it with a Bank of America and restaurants serving locally-​sourced free-​range chicken breasts in duck confit with walnut-​aoli ravioli, artichokes, and organic baby carrots in demi-​glacé. Or whatever those menus say. I’m a pizza-​and-​salad kind of gal. For that, for its great location, and for its awesome staff, I give it five stars, even though my punk days are nothing more but a handful of memories, photographs, and stories that begin with «Back in the day…» The next time you’re tempted to hit up Hot Topic, skip it and go to the South Side instead. Check out the thrift stores for your threads and Slacker for your accessories.
Oddly enough, while cleaning my apartment, I just found my Velvet Underground «Peel Slowly and See» pin, which I bought at Slacker more than 12 years ago. It is never leaving the lapel of my favorite black military jacket. Love ya, Slacker… and Andy and Lou!

Slacker might as well be Eide’s Entertainment’s more subversive little brother, the one out to prove his chops and get his rebel on. There are magazines, rolling papers, decals, band t-​shirts, back patches, esoteric magazines, and just like Eide’s…comic books (don’t get too happy, geeks, the selection is modest at best). Open since 1991, I’d only been into Slacker once before 6 years ago during a date, and just as it was then, no one minded if anyone merely looked about, which is exactly what I was doing to squander some excess time before a concert at ye olde Rex Theater last weekend.
Wouldn’t you know I’d run into a couple of few fellow Hessians inside the countercultural emporium (one of whom was minding the cash register), weaving my way politely and gently into their conversation when the subject of doom metal came up? I felt as if I had been transported backwards in time to the 1988 – 89 school year when I was but a 9^th grader, conversing with other long-​haired teenage hellions in denim jackets in a corner of the courtyard before classes commenced in the morning, comparing notes on albums and bands both classic and current.
Spencer’s and Hot Topic cannot reach Slacker’s genuineness. Stores like Slacker, ones that are open daily and late into the evening, are what created South Side’s glorious funk. Buy some junk there, or not. It’s cool either way.
P. S. Slacker is reminiscent of a store called Hare Krishna (?) that once existed many years ago in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Market Square

Carson Street staple with fun merchandise and reasonable prices. I bought a great David Bowie t shirt there & some incense (not patchouli) ;-)

Holy overpriced metal band t-​shirt batman.

This place was stumbled upon after my son and I went to an incredibly cool toy store across the street, while on a walking tour of Carson & the Obey murals that were adorning a few of the buildings in the area.
As was previously mentioned, it’s a combination Hot Topic/​Spencers, but it’s an indie, and the owner is AWESOME. I ended up having a 10 minute long conversation with him about his old days helping out Shepherd Fairey as he scouted locations for the Obey Murals and his history of stickering the city w/​the Giant sticker campaign. They used to sell Obey prints for a mere $ 35 dollars, some of which are now worth over a thousand bucks. He wasn’t trying to «name drop», instead, just relaying old stories to someone like me who was obviously a fan of the brand.
I bought a bunch of Obey stickers myself to take home and adorn my photo booth at work with. Thanks for the courtesy Slacker, I enjoyed your store!
–Jake

One of those little independent stores every city seems to have, that is a combination of Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and an adult toy store. I enjoy going in even if I don’t always buy something.

slacker smells like maaad incense.
they sell lots of good magazines that you don’t see many other places.
and they also have a large variety of hair dyes.
the clothes are alright. but that’s just me.
they have some pretty cool jewelry.
got a pretty cute kitty ring that I’ve been wearing for the past like six years.