shopping

[susangrah]

could anyone tell me if clothes prices are cheaper in the us or the uk. when you look at general day to day clothes in matalan prices in the uk are quite good. also general sports clothes and trainers from places like JJB are also quite good here. i bought some adidas trainers for general wear for about £15 from JJB

[Nostromo]

We ALWAYS find clother are a lot cheaper in the US compared with the UK, unless you are lucky to find a sale. Here are some examples.

My wife bought an Alexon (a UK manufacturer) suit in the US for $190. The same thing in John Lewis' was £249 (We are talking dollars for the US and pounds for the UK)

I bought a very good cold weather jacket from Cabela's in the US. It was lined with 200g Thinsulate and Gore-Tex, plus a very rugged outer shell. All this cost $219 new (this was a new design for last year)and I wore it in Lapland 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle at -30*C. I could not find anything remotely like it in the UK; the closest was a Spryway job that was not half as good and marked at £299.99.

Nowadays, shops in the UK have become excessively 'label concious' for nothing. A jacket very similar to a £69 one at Hawkshead will be given a Chris Bonington label and sold for £169 at Cotswolds Outdoor.

[susangrah]

I will have to budget to take some extra money the!

[fiona]

I find things are often in dollars what we pay in pounds at home. The shoes don't seem to be as stylish as say LK Bennett but you can often get good bargains for walking shoes, trainers etc. My daughters seem to manage to spend a fortune - the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall is well worth a visit.

[Gillian-B]

Definately cheaper in the US, especially in the factory outlets (e.g Belz, Orlando Premium & Lake Buena Vista Shops). Also, the shopping experience is much nicer than in the UK (maybe because the shops are open longer and therefore usually less crowded).

Take plastic with you ;).

[susangrah]

Thanks for advice

[annemarie]

Can anyone tell me which of the factory outlets has a GAP store for adults and children - and if possible does this mall also include sports shops ie for trainers, adidas, sketchers and the like??? What would be the best outlet/mall - we want to shop but it doesn't have to be too upmarket?

thanks

[brizzle]

Belz has a Gap store and we've had loads of bargains there. My best being a nice gap coat for £9, yes £9!!
Belz is located North end of International Drive.

Belz also has loads of trainer stores. My personal favourite being the Vans store. I always buy a couple of pairs. They cost £50-70 in the UK, £15-25 in the US. I think they have a Sketchers store in Belz too.

I would also recommend Premium Outlets as they have some good bargains too. It's a bit nicer than Belz too. Try the fudge from The Fudgery for a nice shopping snack [^]

Brizzle.

[TotallyAngelic]

We have always had a fantastic time shopping in Belz and buy trainers for the whole family on every trip....Reebok trainers for about $20. last time I bought Skechers for $30 which were £60 in the U.K. American designer labels such as Guess, Osh Kosh etc all really a fraction of the uk price....eg. I bought really nice Guess T shirts for $10. Take plastic and leave loads of room in suitcase! Also Belz has this eating area where you can buy the most divine cinnamon buns I have ever tasted, and enormous!
However, I have never been to Premium outlets .... where is that situated and what outlets are there? (and eating places!!!!!!!!)
Thanks.[msnwink]

[Claire M]

Hi

I agree with the above Beltz does have a good Gap Store, they also have a large Old Navy aswell.

Claire

[ahagan]

Clothes are definitely cheaper in the US. At Reebok you get the 3rd trainer free when you buy 3 or the 2nd at half price when you buy 2. Nike also do good deals depending on which part of the year you go.

[brizzle]

Premium Outlets is on Vineland Ave which is to the South of International Drive. In fact we just followed the I Drive south and found it. You can see it from the I4, it is next to Dollys Dixieland Thingymajig.
Stores I can remember are Nike ($6.99 a T-shirt), Timberland, Osh Kosh (with a mens section :)), DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Disney Warehouse, French Connection, Versace, Oilily, The Fudgery (mmmm fudge), Stride Rite (US version of Start Rite), Burberry, Aramani. They had loads more sports stores, kids stores, sunglass stores.

It was very nice to wander around and was a little nicer than Belz.
The man from Delmonte he say 'visit both' ;)

Brizzle

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

The Lake Buenavista Outlet Malls in Kissimmee (highway 535) have a very good Gap and Old Navy store too and saves the trek up International Drive [msnsmile]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Claire M
Hi

I agree with the above Beltz does have a good Gap Store, they also have a large Old Navy aswell.

Claire
[/quote]

[steph_goodrum]

It's not always that clothes are cheaper but often they are different to what you see day in day out in the usual high streets stores. It's got to the stage now where most high streets have the same mix of chain stores and it's nice to see an alternative, that's my excuse for spending hours shopping on holiday and if anyone tells my hubby any different woebetide them.:D:D

[chris]

Last week we bought a pair of vans trainers for £20 and it was buy one get 2nd half price

[brizzle]

That's what I got in December. Fantastic deal.
Good thing is because they are made for skateboarding they last for ages and are really comfy. Great for walking around the parks.

I'll end up like the Imelda Marcos of Vans trainers at this rate. 2 more pairs in April and 2 more in November :D

Brizzle.

[Ray&Sarah]

We bought Vans for our lads at Christmas, buy one get second half price, what a bargain, two pairs for about £30, one pair here would be £60ish!! Thats one of the reasons we love Florida so much![msnwink]

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

If you need children's clothes Lake buena Vista Outlet Mall is our favourite as the Oshkosh B'Gosh is very good value. Oshkosh clothes are really good buys, as they last. Oshkosh also had a range of women's and men's clothing last time we visited a Christmas but not a huge selection but very good quality gear.

As John has pointed out there are also a GAP and Old Navy outlets.

Also don't discount Target, I bought an Isaac Mizrahi jacket it was in the sale but only cost $12.

Happy shopping

Sarah

[Ray&Sarah]

Have a friend who has just had a baby and loves the Osh Kosh baby clothes, so we spent a fortune in the shop at the Premium Oulets. Now everytime we go she is going to be giving us a list!!![msnsmile2]