One of the main reasons why Filipinos go to America is
shopping. America is my top choice country for shopping clothes, bags, shoes
and groceries that you can’t find in the Philippines. This is the place where
you can really buy cheap branded stuff like Michael Kors, Coach, Kate Spade,
Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs and others. You’ll always wonder why most
Asians hoard bags from these brands because you can get them at a really cheap
price. Whenever you go to an outlet store, the salesmen usually give you a
voucher that makes all items in the store 50% off and will give you another 40%
on top of the 50% so technically you’re buying the item at 70% off.
You can actually find more bargains during long weekends or
Holidays. You can also wait for the most awaited Black Friday Sale,
where people usually camp and line out of the store. They can buy Big Screen
TV’s and Laptop’s for as low as 100USD. My cousins from Canada even drive
up to the States during Black Friday to shop and buy their Christmas
gifts because almost all products go on sale. If you have a friend/ relative
that works in the Military, you can also shop at their grocery so you can buy
things which are tax free.
I’m the type of traveler that likes to find the cheapest
bargains before I buy it. I like to survey the prices where you can get the best
deal. I searched for shops where OFWs mostly buy their
“pasalubongs”. I compared the prices from the outlet stores to
Nordstrom Rack, TJMaxx , Ross and other stores. I found out that the
bags will be cheaper in the outlet if they give you discount vouchers or
when there is a Holiday Long Weekend Sale. For example I found a Kate Spade
wallet at the outlet for only 37 USD and the Coach wrislettes are also sold for
as low as 20 USD. Michael Kors watches are usually sold for only 100
USD at TJMaxx. Designer Bags are for less than 100USD. Keds sneakers
are usually sold for only 20 USD at Ross Stores. I even found Fit Flop Slippers
at Marshalls for only 25 USD. I saw
Adidas Stan Smith that is sold only for 44 USD, while the ADIDAS Neo for only 30
USD. I bought Havaianas slippers at Nordstrom Rack for only 6
USD. I also found Tory Burch Flats for only 75 USD at their outlet
store. Rayban Shades usually cost 75 USD at Nordstrom Rack and some eyewear
stores even sell it for buy one take one. You can easily buy Nine
West Wallets at Ross for only 11 USD and bags for only 16 USD, while Lululemon
yoga pants are still expensive even in the outlet store. Branded Perfumes
usually cost 20 USD or less in outlet store or TjMaxx, while large
Samsonite luggage cost less than 80 USD at retails stores such as TJMaxx and
Ross.
You better prepare at least one day if you want to shop at
the premium outlet stores because it’s usually far away from the city center.
If you don’t have time to go these outlets then you can just go to your nearest
retail stores such as Nordstrom Rack, Ross, TJMaxx, Burlington and
Marshall’s.
Outlet Shopping Guide
Vacaville Premium Outlets – whenever you’re in San Francisco you should go to
this outlet place which is just an hour drive away from
Downtown. They cater brands such as Gucci, Adidas, Bath and Body
Works, Cole Haan, Coach, Kate Spade, Converse, Gymboree, Lacoste, Naturalizer,
Nike, Samsonite and many more. My uncle even told me that among the
outlet stores in San Francisco, this is the cheapest one.
The Mills at Jersey Garden- If you’re in New York, you shouldn’t miss this outlet
store which is just a 40 minute drive from the city. If you don’t have a car,
you can easily take bus from Penn Station. There are a lot of branded stuff
here and clothes and shoes are tax free.
Woodbury Common Outlet- this outlet store is quite far away from Manhattan. It’s
an hour and a half drive. If you don’t have a relative to take you there, you
better rent a car to go there because it will be hard for you to commute here
from Manhattan.
Citadel Outlets- Whenever you’re in LA, better drop by the Citadel outlets
which is just a 20 minute drive from downtown LA. You can find a lot of
bargains here.
Fashion Outlets of Chicago- When in Chicago, you must visit this place. This is just a
30 minute drive from downtown Chicago.
For Branded Bags, Shoes and Clothes
Nordstrom Rack-
is where Filipino-Americans usually shop for bags. They usually love this store
since they sell discounted designer products such as Tory Burch,
Salvatorre Ferregamo, Cole Hann, Rayban, Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs and
Michael Kors. This is the 2nd top choice for
shopaholics who like branded stuff. If you are too lazy to go to the outlets,
then this will be your alternative. The products here are very nice and their
styles are still up to date. My white friend even told me a joke about this
store .She told me that “ You know there’s a Nordstrom Rack when there are a
lot of Asians lining up”.
TJ Maxx-
is one of my favorite retail stores in America. The Styles here are mostly
updated. The bags and clothes here are usually handpicked.
DSW-
is a shoe store where you can buy branded shoes on sale.
Ross- is
also a nice place to shop. Their shops are usually found in
California. If you’re looking for brands such as Nine West, Kenneth
Cole Reaction, Fossil, Anne Klein, and Steve Madden then Ross will
be the perfect bargain store for you. They usually sell wallets for less than
15 USD and Bags for less than 30 USD.
Burlington-
is like an organized version of Ross. You can also find a lot of
great bargains here.
DD’s Discount Store - is also a nice place to shop in the West Coast.
For Make-Up
Sephora- is
like heaven for Make-up addicts. You can actually ask for free samples whenever
you want to try their makeup. If the make-up didn’t work on your skin you can
easily return it and try another one. You should register online to
their membership to get a lot of free stuff.
For Groceries
Costco- you
can only enter here if you’re a member. You can buy discounted grocery items
here if you buy a lot more items.
Trader Joe’s-
you can buy a lot of grocery items here that you can’t find in other stores.
Target-
you can also buy a lot of grocery items, toys and clothes here.
New York Shopping Guide – If you don’t have enough time in New York to go to
the outlets, you can just go to Union Square for Shopping. There are
a lot of retails store here where you can buy great bargains. To name a few
are, Nordstrom Rack, Sephora, DSW for Shoes, Mac Cosmetics, Burlington, Forever
21, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Baby’s R US. I also
found a cute bookstore that sells hard to find books at a very affordable price
which is called Strand Bookstore near Union Square. If you’re in
Soho, I also found a cute store like Zara but sell it at a more affordable
price which is called Necessary Clothing. You can also go to Century 21 and TJ
Maxx if you want to buy good bargains.
