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    Bear Basics

    3.1 (168 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 6:30 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

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    The stairs inside - The image shows a staircase with black metal railings leading downward, with a textured, speckled surface on the steps. The surrounding floor features a multicolored checkered pattern with tiles in shades of yellow, blue, red, and beige. At the bottom of the stairs, there is a bright, open area with natural light coming in from outside, and a metal railing is visible at the top of the staircase. The setting appears to be indoors, possibly within a commercial or public building.
    Angie R.

    The dude and I came to Bear Basics on 5/30/21 which I really didn't want to go in as I'm BRUINS ALL DAY shout out to UCLA. We have similar colors so it felt like I was at the Bruin store. I was surprised how big this store was...just for Berkeley clothes. We immediately went upstairs as the dude mentioned something up there which was MORE Berkeley products and baby clothes. The staff was friendly and it was very low key inside not much going on. It was clean, very organized and just made me want to go shopping at the UCLA store. I would recommend to get your UC Berkeley gear here if you have goals attend the school, currently attend or relatives to rep or they have gone. Presently, I have no association with Berkeley so I didn't buy anything. Nice to look around, cool stuff but it's not Bruin :( the dude like the store as well. Glad to have checked it out either way.

    Tiffany T.

    Bear basics aka t shirt orgy is a common Cal gear store to visit. This store has all the gear you are looking for and I personally like it better than the student store. There are much more selections (men's on the bottom Floor and women's on the top). Prices for cal wear is decently priced in comparison to the store's competitors. I also like how they have regular non cal gear clothing (women's on the top floor and men's in the basement). I would recommend this place if you want to get cal gear! This is my go to store! Always get something when I'm here. Remember that of you come in the store with a large bag you will have to check it in at the front desk. Also employees that I have encountered are nice and friendly!

    Gear up in the Yay Area here
    Rick S.

    The ground and top floors are dedicated to UC Berkley CAL swag and gear, then downstairs is where the general and niche T-Shirts and apparel are located for unique pop culture novelty shirts, suitable for those under 30 yrs old or fun folks with a good sense of humor of any age. There's an entire area dedicated to BAY AREA shirts with unique logos, so if you have SF and Nor Cal pride, it's a great place to shop. If you are from So Cal or love Stanford, maybe not so much. Also, when you enter, they don't tell you, but if they see you, you'll need to "CHECK YOUR BAG AT THE GROUND FLOOR FRONT COUNTER" Parking is tough, but not impossible in the area, and it's close to the UCB campus and public transit and the heart of the main strip with all of the retailers, a corner location too, easy to find.

    Matt G.

    There are 3 levels of this popular corner Berkeley gift-store. On the middle (street) level: University of Cal's gear, apparel and memorabilia's: "eh!" In the basement: Funny and entertaining tee's including Captain America for $20.00. On the top level: Women and kid's wear including a pink Captain America Tee for $15.00. Many of you Yelpers surprise from what Matt bought?

    I don't post reviews often but the service I received was horrible. I wanted to return an item I bought minutes ago for a different item. I was informed there are no returns but only exchanges. And the store credit had to be used all in the same day! Which didn't give me much time since the store was closing in the next hour! An older man, Rob that was helping with the exchange was not informative. He pointed to the sign when I asked about returns. As if I'm supposed to just figure it out myself. Yes I can read, but aren't you the sales associate that's supposed to inform customers on the policy? The sign didn't say anything about having to use ALL your store credit within the same day you make a return. At that point, I didn't feel like debating with him. He was rude and unhelpful so I knew it would go no where. It was obvious he didn't know anything about customer service. Luckily my friend didn't buy their item yet so I used my store credit towards their purchase. This place doesn't even deserve my 1 star. Shop at your own risk. Make sure you are 100% positive about the item before purchase!

    No longer available due to pissing off Coca-Cola.
    Dave L.

    Take off that red shirt! ...and get another one at Bear Basics. They got tons of shirts in the basement, from Gumby to Che. There's something for everyone. Still obsessed with thug-life? They got you covered. Aspiring revolutionary? You're in the right place. Personally I like the surge of nostalgia in the 80s & 90s racks. But the real money is on the main floor. Besides the student store, this is a solid place to pimp yourself out in Cal gear. I'm already getting ready for the 07-08 football season (2 months away) with all my obnoxious paraphernalia. ROLL ON YOU BEARS! Tips: No alumni discounts like at the student store. Weak!

    Lisa T.

    Fun place to visit and laugh at the tshirts ... they are out of many of them, though -- which is actually a good thing if you've got a consumerist 9-year-old who wants two of everything.

    D D.

    I guess this place went out of business? We're here at noon on a Monday but it is closed

    T.Rexorcist

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    Need Cal Berkeley gear! Go here! BEST PLACE FOR YOUR CAL GEAR! Definitely need to come back the next time I visit the Bay and Berkeley!

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    Page 1 of 5

    Ask the Community - Bear Basics

    Review Highlights - Bear Basics

    I'm not really into all the Cal gear, but I love the t-shirt orgy shop they got going on down stairs!

    Mentioned in 29 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    A Priori - I got these for myself!

    A Priori

    (28 reviews)

    $$

    North Berkeley, Gourmet Ghetto

    my boyfriend and i went to go have brunch at eggy's nearby and while waiting for the bus we were…read morejust looking at the stores nearby. i saw the signs outside that made it feel like i was more welcome but i unfortunately felt anything but welcome. i was just walking around looking at everything but a couple minutes after i had started looking at some items i noticed the worker starting to follow us. of course i didnt suspect anything of it because i thought that she would ask us if we needed help or wanted to check up on us. but i made a little loop around one of the areas and she still followed. she kept getting closer and closer to us which made me feel really uncomfortable. maybe its because of the way i look since i have dyed hair and am asian idk but my boyfriend suggested that we leave because she probably thought that we would steal something. i saw a similar review with the exact same situation but seriously if you are poc / look queer please just be careful here

    I've shopped here frequently over the years. About a year ago I bought a sterling silver ring here…read morewith a blue stone. Unfortunately, the stone turned into a greenish brown color. I stopped by today to ask about it and was prepared to simply buy a new ring-- it was fairly inexpensive. The store was empty, and there were two people working there who did not greet me when I walked in, as they were busy complaining loudly about someone. I stepped up to the counter, and despite the workers standing behind the counter, and one person looking at me directly, they still didn't greet me. At one point, one looked like she was coming toward me, looked me in the eye and then grabbed her beverage and turned away. Finally I asked directly for help. I showed her the ring and asked to look at the identical one behind the counter. She got very nervous and told me they hadn't seen a stone turn brown before. She immediately told me that she would not contact the company for me, that I needed to do it myself. I hadn't even asked her to. She kept saying things like "well if it had been two weeks we maybe could help you." to which I responded, "do you expect a ring to turn brown after 2 weeks?" She then said she couldn't contact the company because they would "ask her questions" she didn't know the answer to. I have no answers either why a stone would turn brown with occasional wear, no chemicals, etc. I would think they would want to talk to the company about this if they are selling jewelry that turns brown. Anyway, I was just really turned off by the fact that they had an empty store, but yet basically told me I had to contact the wholesale distributor myself. It really seemed like these two are doing everything they can to do the least work possible! I typically think a nice thing about shopping at a local boutique would be the customer service.. not here. I did not buy a new ring, and will not shop here again.

    Chic - "Chic's Interior Display".

    Chic

    (27 reviews)

    $$$

    North Oakland

    Rana has a unique and wonderful eye for finding the coolest fashion from around the world…read more I treasure my collection of the outfits I've acquired from Chic over many years. Dressing up is fun and provides me with extra motivation to keep getting out to do interesting things...

    Rana was sooo nice! I had read the reviews and thought I'd splurge on a nice classic but…read moreone-of-a-kind dress for a special event. I texted her (due to COVID, still only by appointment) and she replied immediately and I visited that day! I described the event to her, the theme, who I would be meeting, what location it would be, and she totally ran with it and pulled some unique, brand-new couture dresses from Berlin to Tokyo. We were both excited it seemed, and in the end it was so hard to choose! This stuff is quality and comfy! Don't be afraid to tell her what you enjoy and don't enjoy about the dresses, Rana has plenty to choose from and knows what to do with that information. I eventually ended going with a comfy, flattering and elegant black dress that will last me forever. But a close second was a smoky pink feminine asymmetrical dress that made me look like a million dollars. I may be back to splurge on that dress too, as I'm sure I'd wear it plenty and by the 5th or 6th wear I will have already gotten my money's worth! (Rana also gave many tips on how to dress it up or down, style it a bunch of ways... the versatility makes this clothing so much more valuable.) Go ahead and treat yourself, everybody deserves a big girl dress in their closet. It's a huge difference from fast fashion and will probably last you 200x as long. The quality is incomparable. Thanks Rana, I'll see you next time!

    Bear Basics - womenscloth - Updated May 2026

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