Get in gear We’d hate to stereotype you but we’re gonna do it anyway. Here are eight hot stores for four basic looks.  More on super stylin' An inflatable Master Shake from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"; plastic "Family Guy" action figures, featuring Lois and Peter in S+M gear; CDs, organized by local band; an in-store musical appearance from the likes of Gorillaz; toys from the band Gorillaz; the latest Gorillaz DVD; Boston Red Sox cap (pink); the entire 2004 Red Sox World Series; Bob Marley poster; Bob Marley Mellow Mood Variety pack of incense; a bamboo beaded curtain; a strobe light; a blacklight; Paul Frank wallet, featuring trademark monkey dressed as Elvis; and ... Muppets Uno. For all that and more, head to Newbury Comics, the city's finest store for, well, everything cool but comics.
You'll find one in Government Center (1 Washington Mall, Boston, 617-248-9992), Newbury Street (332 Newbury St., Boston, 617-236-4930) and near Harvard (in The Garage, 36 JFK St., Cambridge, 617-491-0337).
www.newburycomics.com

For Paint
The family-owned Johnson Paints (355 Newbury St., Boston, 617-536-4838) offers the best advice, and have for 65 years. For Furniture
Hop on the Green B Line to Harvard Avenue and head to Allston Village. College Furniture & Rug (137 Harvard Ave., 617-254-5949) proudly admits "we're cheaper than you." Basic Carpet and Furniture (151 Harvard Ave., 617-254-1060) offers finished and unfinished goods (and sofas) and they deliver. And Boomerangs (Jamaica Plain, 716 Centre St., 617-524-5120; and Brighton Center, 298 Washington St., 617-787-0500) is one of the area's finest resale/charity operations. For everything else
Hint: The better the neighborhood, the better the trash. Beacon Hill's trash is picked up on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. Get out the yellow gloves. The Gap, head to ... American Apparel If you're tired of The Gap's brand of basics, head straight to American Apparel. The famously sweatshop-free company's cotton line hails from L.A., so it must be infinitely cool, right? Right? Their ads would have you believe the same of their clientele, but with such great basics available, it's hard for pseudo-hipsters to keep the secret. From Kelly green to eggplant purple, the store's rainbow of T-shirts ($15) and yoga pants ($32) are all stretchy and soft enough to keep you comfy during even the longest T rides.
138 Newbury St., Boston. | MBTA: Green Line to Copley. Mon-Sat 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (617) 536-4768
www.americanapparel.net Urban Outfitters, head to ... NeighborHoodies.com "Everyone loves an Irish/Italian/Catholic/Jewish girl." "Chad is rad." "Oh, and trust me, I'm a doctor." If you wouldn't be caught dead in another Urban Outfitters' printed T-shirt, design your own at www.neighbrhoodies.com This site lets you pick the style, color, and size of your shirt. Then you type in any message you want, as well as the type color and font. It might just mean the (welcome) end to that "Jesus is My Homeboy" fad. Jasmine Sola, head to ... Mint Julep Jasmine Sola may have the flirty, frilly market cornered in Boston, but with so many locations, you're sure to be sharing the spotlight when you wear one of their items. On the other hand, independently-owned Mint Julep stocks its shelves with many items you won't find elsewhere. Garments made by high-end designers don't come cheap - an emerald-colored coat by Nanette Lepore goes for $398 - but their flurry of accessories includes many bargains.
1302 Beacon St., Brookline. | MBTA: Green Line to Coolidge Corner. Mon-Sun 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (617) 232-3600
www.shopmintjulep.com The Prudential Center head to ... Providence Place Cambridgeside Galleria might seem far - way down at the end of the Green Line - and Providence Place is certainly farther, but the trek is worth the trouble if you have a day to kill and money to burn. Many of the sprawling shopping complex's 140 stores and restaurants don't have Boston locations, including the beloved Nordstrom. You can even catch an IMAX film; just be sure not to miss the last train back.
One Providence Way, Providence, Rhode Island. | MBTA: Red Line to South Station, then Commuter Rail to Providence ($12 round trip). (401) 270-1000
www.providenceplace.com
"Thrift store." The phrase brings to mind heaps of clothes purged from someone's closet circa 1985 (and we don't mean the cool 1985).
There are, of course, some exceptions - places that are clean, neat and actually have clothes you and your friends would wear, and not as a joke. Howie Mack, located on the BU campus, is such a place. Shirts hang across the well-organized wall, and in the middle of the store is a mecca of jeans: Seven, Diesel, Lucky, Calvin Klein, Express and Gap denims, to name a few, all priced at $20 and under. Howie Mack "is a resale, retail clothing boutique," says owner Howard Porter. "We sell current styles. Gotta be in really good shape. It's geared strictly towards casual - young adults," he adds. "This isn't business casual stuff. It's just cool clothes."
And where do all these clothes come from? Well, from you, actually. "It comes from the neighborhood and the kids that go to BU," says Porter. And anyone can drop of their worn, but not too worn, still-in-style clothes. "We pay cash for everything," says Porter.
Howie Mack is located at 957 Comm. Ave., Boston. | MBTA: Green Line to Pleasant. For info, call (617) 254-MACK

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