Shopping for clothes in Florida?
 

I'll be travelling through Florida for the first time in September. Being from Europe, I'd like to buy some new clothes. Like, jeans, trousers, polo shirts, shirts, pullovers, etc. I don't need brands, but want quality and a very good deal.

Which shopping malls or outlet centers can you recommend? I'll be doing an east costr trip from Miami to Key West and then up to Jacksonville via the Kennedy Space Center. :-)#

TNX!

One of the largest malls - anywhere in the US - is Sawgrass Mills near Ft. Lauderdale. It is incredible. Bring credit cards, at least one empty suitcase, and lots of time!!

Just south of Jacksonville is St. Augustine (a worthy tourist destination in its own right) which has two outlet malls at the intersection of SR (State Road) 16 and Interstate Highway 95. One is the Prime outlets http://www.primeoutlets.com/location...augustine.aspx and the other is the Premium Outlets http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=55.

If your travels take you through Orlando and you want outlet mall locations there, let me know.

You can also go to any regular mall (not the outlet mall) and look for a store called Macy's. They carry good brands and have sales all the time. If you go to customer service and show them your passport you will get a discount card good for 11% off just about anything. This is good even for the deeply discounted sale racks. Some brands aren't included but you'll just have to see. I have found that Macy's has some of the best sales around with discounts up to 75% off.

MoreMilesPlease is correct. Department store special sales generally produce better prices (and most of the time better merchandise) than the outlet malls. That is particularly the case with Macy's and others which are part of the chain of Federated Stores (or whatever name that operation may now have), a company that is particularly promotional and which believes in frequent, early, and deep markdowns in order to move any merchandise which has not sold quickly.

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One factor to keep in mind is that many major-chain "factory outlets" carry merchandise that is specifically bought for the outlets - this merchandise is not sold in non-outlet stores (The Gap does this a lot).

If you do go to Sawgrass Mills (recommended), you can comparison-shop at Macys by going to the nearby Broward Mall (easy to reach from Sawgrass Mills, at the intersection of Broward Boulevard and University Drive).

That sounds interesting. I was not aware of this .... can you explain, give some more information. Thanks.

BTW, I agree some Shops have sometimes large discounts ... Macy's, Dillard's, Belk..... Very good are also Marshall's, TJ Max and Ross.... and Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, which was mentioned already.

If you want some FL style clothes, try the Beall's department stores (pronounced Bells by locals). Nice quality, and I always get compliments here in CT about my "FL look". Sometimes you can hit a really good sale too.

If you go to Macy's customer service and show them a foreign passport or out of state drivers license, they will give you a card good for 11% discount on most stuff good for,ummm, 30 days I think. This has been going on since it was Burdine's. It's a great bonus. You can't combine the newspaper 15% coupons with the 11% discount but sometimes the 11% includes things the local coupons don't.

This really isn't heavily advertised but it is still going on. The step-sons use it everytime they come over.

Retail sales aren't doing great in the US - so there are sales all over. And September is still very low season in Florida. On your trip north to the Jacksonville area from Miami - I recommend the Town Center Mall (in Boca Raton):

http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=144

and the Gardens Mall (in Palm Beach Gardens):

http://www.thegardensmall.com/

Both are pretty close to I-95.

If you have more time - I'd take a detour to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach:

http://www.worth-avenue.com/

All of these - especially the last - may look somewhat pricey - but there are lots of 50-75% off sales these days. You might be able to get some pretty good bargains - even on Worth Avenue (which has been hit hard by the real estate recession and the Madoff scandal).

In/near Jacksonville - where I live (isn't much of anything between Palm Beach Gardens and the greater Jacksonville area) - I'd try the Avenues Mall:

http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=124

And the St. Johns Town Center:

http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?id=857

I don't think most factory outlet places usually have particularly good deals - but you might take a look at Prime Outlets in St. Augustine - mentioned above - on your trip north (sales have been so lousy at Saks Fifth Avenue among other places that Saks Off Fifth and similar there have been carrying lots of very marked down high end names - as opposed to the "Made For Outlet" stuff).

And one exit north on I-95 from there is Tour Stop - which carries a huge selection of casual/golf clothing. Robyn

Along the lines of Ross, TJ Max & Marshalls, keeps your eyes open for Steinmart. Same concept, often nicer brands. Of course, in September the sale racks will ball be summer clothes. You may have to wait 9 months before you can wear them at home.

I'll second the Boca Town Center (I get my hair cut there). It has an electic mix of (mostly upscale) stores, including a (somewhat rare) Sony Style store (not clothing, but fun to see the latest electronics). There is also a branch of Boston's Legal Seafoods in the Town Center.

And do not forget th two outlet malls in St Lucie and Indian River Counties at Fort Pierce and Vero Beach. Both are right off I95 and there might be some decent buys to be found at either.

The Boca Town Center is our local mall and the best values at that one are to be found when Bloomingdale's (another Federated Department Store) has one of its big promotions.

Thanks!^

Another tip is to look at JCPenny in the regular malls.

When you buy anything, even a $1 item, the receipt will give you a website to do a survey. Complete the survey and you can print out a 15% off coupon. I know when traveling it's sometimes hard to print stuff, but if you find things you like at Penny's it may be worth it for the 15% off. Penny's has some nice clothes and like everyone else, has some really deep discounts. You can apply the 15% off to most things.

Just buy something cheap, a bottle of water, get the receipt, do the survey, print the coupon (or do what I do and make several copies) and go back to buy the costlier things with the coupon.