Gottschalks

I’m sorry, but all I’ve found here is «mature» items… ie: Clothes for the senior ladies. Great and dandy for them, not so much for anyone under 40. The prices even for childrens clothing is really high I think. Not a great selection either. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have anything good to say about this store. The staff is always very «stuffy» and the opposite of helpful. The few times I’ve popped in, they are all in a little clump of unhelpfulness gossiping and laughing! Go elsewhere!

Growing up in the Bay Area, I had never heard of Gottschalks until I came here. My impression of it was that it belonged to the same family of department stores as Stein Mart — you know, musty and old-​fashioned places where old ladies with set hair shop for pantsuits and appliqued holiday sweaters. And, mostly, that is true.
There is a bit more to Gottschalks than that, though. Their sales can be pretty good, and for basic work clothes (skirts and pants), it’s an okay place to shop. Also, they have a secret clearance floor upstairs where things are color-​coded and like 80% off, so it’s kind of fun to paw through the racks if you have some time.
While trendiness is not Gottschalks’ strength (and their juniors deparment is kind of hokey), they do have some cute accessories and jewelry. It’s where I got my beloved sushi socks, which get tons of compliments, and anyplace that sells sushi socks can’t be all bad. They also have a pretty good selection of housewares, like candles and picture frames and vases, for generic gifts for family — not that I ever give generic gifts, of course!
Not very cool and not very exciting, but fairly cheap and definitely the shining star of Park Lane Mall (for what that’s worth), Gottschalks doesn’t offer any serious competition to the real department stores, but it’s someplace to kill some time while you’re waiting for a movie to start at the Park Lane 16.