The shop beneath the stairs
A tour of the Underground, via its manager, April Parchoma

Catherine Gillis
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 24/00) - After one look inside it's clear The Underground is not your typical Yellowknife store. And the Underground's manager, April Parchoma, wants to keep it that way.

Located below For Men Only, it is definitely not your average clothing store.

The store sells everything from rubber chickens and finger boards to very costly Calvin Klein underwear.

"The Underground sells quality clothes, but with the quality, you also get the price. Young men can still afford to spend money on our clothes even though they are a bit expensive," Parchoma says.

"What else do they spend their money on? And where else do you find labelled clothes like Guess and Hilfiger in Yellowknife?"

Parchoma, 22, says since she started working at Langlois in February, she has been given a lot of freedom to use her own ideas in creating a unique look for the new store.

The Underground, aimed at teenagers, opened its doors on March 8. Parchoma has finished painting the entrance of the store in a very unique and hypnotizing black and white design.

She is also working on painting a huge eyeball on the store wall and has other interesting ideas in the works, including getting ready to paint the front counter, and creating a more homey atmosphere in the change rooms.

Parchoma has set up strobe lights throughout the store, Christmas lights across the counter, and clothing labels have been glued to the floor.

Parchoma explains that the store buys their cool clothing from distributors across Canada, and the last buying show that the store managers attended was held in Montreal.

"Some of the teenagers that come into the store to look around think that the clothing is queer looking, but if they've ever been to bigger cities like Montreal they would see that these clothes are the style. I think that some of the teenagers in Yellowknife still have to get used to the style of clothing sold Underground."

Parchoma, who first came to Yellowknife when she was 14, was born in Saskatoon, Sask. She is currently saving up for college where she plans to take multi-media studies.

After working at the Cave, the Gallery and Bullock's Bistro as a waitress, she says managing the store is a big challenge.

Oh, and, in case you were wondering, The Underground is not only for guys. Parchoma, herself, sports a pair of jeans from the store.