My days working at Brooks Brothers and Saks Fifth Avenue wreaked havoc on my closet! A healthy employee discount made all of the retail hours worth every second! At that time, shopping at off price stores would have been only under duress. Certainly it was considered tacky to even talk about shopping in one of "those stores."
Times have changed. A variety of people shop at stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshall's andFilene's Basement in Boston! Outlet shopping was rare. Some manufacturers had factory stores, Gant
was in New Haven right off of I 95. For some, it was a destination trip.
Having Auntie Martha and Uncle Burke in Rowayton, Ct., we were introduced to Deckers in Norwalk, Ct. It had fabulous prices and carried the Gant Shirts, classics. It was a storefront on West Street in Norwalk and had nothing but cashiers, cubbies of oxford shirts by size and color, belts, tables of wool sweaters and some women's and boy's clothing. Uncle Burke commuted to work every day from Rowayton to Manhattan to work at Paul Stuart, a fine men's clothing store on Madison Avenue and 45th Street, just one block north of Brooks Brothers flagship store. Uncle Burke used to say that some of the best dressed men from Fairfield County, Ct. bought much of their wardrobe at Decker's! Interesting because it was a real hole in the wall and it was a true outlet.
There are many of these stores out there now. I say, let the games begin! More fun for everyone....with taste. Name brands abound. Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren and Dooney and Bourke and more. The trick is to be able to shop in a store like these off price stores, it's best to have a plan so that you don't come out of the store with lots of name brands and no rhyme or reason in coordinating your wardrobe. It's great to pop in with no need for a specific piece of clothing. An accessory to update your look is a great way to start since there is such an abundance of merchandise with myriad styles.
The only other off price store that I knew was "Sym's" in New York. Sy Syms came to speak to my Fashion Merchandising class in college. How I was "introduced" to Mr. Sy Syms, the owner and entrepreneur who began the off price store, was a tad awkward. He called out to me because I had fallen asleep during his talk....oops!
"Syms. An educated consumer is our best customer!" Flattery will get us everywhere. We know that educated consumers, whether car shopping or sweater shopping, have a better experience. Even for clothing. If we get some basic information under our belts (no pun intended!) we end up with superior quality and better informed decisions.
Today, we have E-Bay! Who knew what shopping would come to. Personally, I've never
been that experienced bidding on auction items on E-Bay. I have only bought things "Buy It Now."
Another thing I never could have expected, back in my Brooks Brothers days, was having a store of my own....on E-Bay! It's the perfect store for me....retail...my hours are my own...I can be at home with our family....and sell quality merchandise! Quality, at great prices with vintage and Prep classics, new with tags and gently worn. I have sold Dooney and Bourke to Tiffany's to Lilly Pulitzer to J. Crew and antiques! There's a whole world of shopping to be done on E-Bay and for me, there's a world of selling to do. That's my backround, that's my passion and I'm able to use my eye to choose what to sell that others can be proud to wear. I only sell merchandise that I would consider wearing my self. Some things are simply classic and I love to be able to share the classics at great prices for my customers! I've sent a camera to Turkey and a Cherub to Hawaii! Who knew what would be behind Door # 1, Door # 2 or Door # 3??? It's been wonderful!
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