Journal of a Bottom-feeder; Or How I learned to stop worrying and love outlets.

Small warning about the polo stuff in TJ Maxx and Marshalls, some of their products are not manufactured by polo, but are outsourced for mass manufacture. by some of their products I really mean the mesh and Interlock shirt
The PRL Mesh polo shirt from the discount retailers have a cheap feel and construction, with hanging stitching, puckered seams, and fabric thats not up to grade. Hold up a real Mesh shirt from a PRL retailer after a few washes next to a marshalls one and you *will* see a differnce.

Now the interlock shirt is a completely differnt beast. This is the same inferior quality across the board, and is available everywhere. If you notice its practically impossible to find one of these shirts in any retailer (even official PRL stores) thats not on deep discount. This is Polo's "sale shirt"... The winning item that lets Marshalls say they get stuff from previous seasons yadda yadda yadda. (mind you its still a good shirt for 29.99, but dont believe for a second its actually worth more)

Before yall go rushing to defend your precious polo, remember Ralph Lauren is a BEHEMOTH company, but even then they dont have the resources to make enough polos for every TJ maxx/marshalls/Ross in the US.

Ive found that this problem only really exsists with the polo shirts, and the chinos or dress shirts are up to the usual high polo standards.


And dont even get me started on the USPA crap. Scamming the poors into thinking its polo or something.

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

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I've read several times that the products that end up at these locations and factory outlets may actually be lower quality then those at main line stores, and not ONLY clothes that did not sell at those main line stores.

any truth to this?

You need to watch for made for outlet lines.

You need to watch for seconds.

In simple terms you need to invest time into learning what to look for. The money you save not paying full retail is offset by the effort.

If you're unwilling/or can't learn this stuff you'll end up paying what amounts to full retail for outlet lines. Caveat emptor.

seems that the best quality stuff at marshals is the average quality stuff at the rack, & the best quality stuff at the rack is the average quality stuff at off 5th. the item price does increase as you move up the retailer food-chain.

i wouldve thought that the merchandise would be identical across stores, but it's not. i went to one off 5th in san diego and they had a lot of isaia, and a full selection of bruno magli, boss, to boot, & their house brand shoes. i visited another off 5th in northern california and they didnt have any maglis, and their boss and to boot selection was very sparse; no isaia. i did find a pair of their house brand double monks for less than $60 at the nor cal location.

the rack i went to in SD (north county) had a really lousy shoe selection, but i did notice that their to boot prices were cheaper than at off fifth despite being identical.

Quick question about outlets that sell Polo and other Ralph Lauren products. Does the Ralph Lauren Polo Factory store sell the cheap stuff like Marshals and TJMaxx?

I picked up a nice tie last weekend in Vegas ($14, marked down). There is a store here outside of Phoenix. Are their dress shirts up to par? Like Regent Fits and Custom Fits?

the polo outlet in las vegas at premium outlets has a far better selection than the one in anthem.

Night and Day difference.

From time to time in Vegas I could score a RLBL shirt or Purple Label tie. Have not run into a single item from either line in PHX.

I'd avoid those dress shirts, you can do better with your money.

I can't say I am entirely sure why Ralph needs outlets of his own, between 1,000's of vendors selling his product, marking down the product, what isn't sold at the end of season you'd think a Marshall's or TJ would be more than willing to buy excess stock from the stores.

Dillards / Macys bang out those blue label polos for less than 20 bucks each at the end of season, I don't wear them myself, but how much cheaper are the being made, shipped to, and sold at in these outlets? Some of the licensed products like the crappy lines for bedding, china, etc. I can see needing a place to unload to.

Haha. USPA.

I think Ralph's guys sued them for this issue of confusion in the market place.
Think they lost.

I am surprised USPA is available in the outlets. They are like a few tiers below Gap and Banana Republic. But they do have a comprehensive selection including luggage. T

hey should appeal to those third world countries like China and Vietnam who wants a bit of branding for what they paid for and definitely not in the good ol US of A.

Originally Posted by tacobender

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the polo outlet in las vegas at premium outlets has a far better selection than the one in anthem.

Night and Day difference.

From time to time in Vegas I could score a RLBL shirt or Purple Label tie. Have not run into a single item from either line in PHX.

I'd avoid those dress shirts, you can do better with your money.

I can't say I am entirely sure why Ralph needs outlets of his own, between 1,000's of vendors selling his product, marking down the product, what isn't sold at the end of season you'd think a Marshall's or TJ would be more than willing to buy excess stock from the stores.

Dillards / Macys bang out those blue label polos for less than 20 bucks each at the end of season, I don't wear them myself, but how much cheaper are the being made, shipped to, and sold at in these outlets? Some of the licensed products like the crappy lines for bedding, china, etc. I can see needing a place to unload to.

Very informative taco, thank you!

So I guess it wouldn't be wise to waste gas/time this weekend to visit Anthem then. The one in Vegas was nice, but of course it was a zoo. Didn't have time to go through the messy piles of shirts to see if there was anything good. Saw a tie that was marked down, looked like it was in good shape, so purchased it.

Another thing I noticed was the outlet store sold "Lauren" suits. I thought Ralph Lauren didn't even really authorize this product?

And occasionally I will swing by Dillard's at the end of season to snag some great deals, especially when they are trying to get rid of the winter line.

One outlet/discount store that you missed is Neiman Marcus Last Call (totally different from the awful Last Call website). It is easily my favorite and from what I have seen it's far and away the most reputable in terms of carrying merchandize from it's mother store.

Some memorable hauls that I have had recently include:

Brunello Cucinelli linen/cotton button-down for $65
Dolce & Gabbana tweed jacket (white label tailored, none of that D&G ****) for $175
Burberry 1/4 zip pullover for $55
Armani Collezioni glen plaid suit (fully canvassed) for $600

Now granted these were all procured during their "Last Call" winter sale. This means that many items were being cleared out and you were getting up to 80% off of the outlet prices. These aren't everyday prices.

I also think that the location of this particular store helps out a lot. It is in a really ****** mall about an hour outside of ATL (nice planning NM) and the people that frequent it would never know what any of these brands meant, let alone how to pick quality merchandise.

I plan on making another run out there for the summer sale and will report back with anything tremendous. Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself.

I was at the Neiman Marcus Last Call, Nordstrom Rack, and Saks Off Fifth in Woodbridge, VA last weekend and saw no more than a few things at any of them that might ever have been in one of the proper stores. They all had the same crappy Cole Haan shoes and lots of cheap private-label stuff. A few Hickey Freeman suits were the only things that looked original.

Other stores to add to this list is Filene's Basement and Syms.

The Loehmann's locations in my area almost never have anything of note, and the men's clothing sections are small. The only thing of note I've ever purchased there was an RLPL pocket square for $35 and some Battistoni and Altea ties.

TJ Maxx once in a while has excellent finds. Last year I found mainline Pal Zileri suits there for $280, unfortunately they don't fit me well. And then there was the Robert Talbott cufflink madness a couple years ago.

Outlet/discount shopping isn't for everyone; one needs a good bit of patience and luck to get the best finds.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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You need to watch for made for outlet lines. You need to watch for seconds. In simple terms you need to invest time into learning what to look for. The money you save not paying full retail is offset by the effort. If you're unwilling/or can't learn this stuff you'll end up paying what amounts to full retail for outlet lines. Caveat emptor.

Originally Posted by Imhoff

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Quick question about outlets that sell Polo and other Ralph Lauren products. Does the Ralph Lauren Polo Factory store sell the cheap stuff like Marshals and TJMaxx? I picked up a nice tie last weekend in Vegas ($14, marked down). There is a store here outside of Phoenix. Are their dress shirts up to par? Like Regent Fits and Custom Fits?
IME, most of the merchandise at Marshall's and TJ Maxx is legitimately made for higher-end stores, not the outlet. The problem, however, is that the merchandise at Marshall's stores is very much location dependent. I spent a year in San Diego and discovered that even the stores within the San Diego area were highly variable. For example, some Marshalls stores in more affluent neighborhoods would carry Corneliani-made, Polo RL and Hickey-Freeman merchandise, whereas others would never have any. Marshalls stores in other parts of the country, "flyover country" to the snobs on the coasts, will frequently never have anything but a few RL polo shirts. Both the RL Factory stores and Brooks Brothers outlet stores sell mostly (~99%) made-for-the-outlet merchandise. Merchandise from mainline RL and BB stores appears only in the "Clearance" section and the original price will be struck through with a pen, and a new price written by hand. BB outlet merchandise is marked "346". Polo made-for-the-outlet merchandise with have an "MSRP" struck through by machine and the "sale" price printed by the same machine, in the same font, as the "MSRP". Some RL Factory stores have NO merchandise from mainline stores.

Originally Posted by bourbonbasted

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One outlet/discount store that you missed is Neiman Marcus Last Call (totally different from the awful Last Call website). It is easily my favorite and from what I have seen it's far and away the most reputable in terms of carrying merchandize from it's mother store. ..
NMLC is also my favorite outlet because both they and SOF have large large amounts of merchandise from their mainline stores. As with the Polo and BB outlets, NMLC and SOF will have made-for-the-outlet merchandise with an "MSRP" struck through by machine and the "sale" price printed by the same machine, in the same font, as the "MSRP". Look for tags with the original price struck through by hand and a new price written in pen. Barney's New York outlet is hit-and-miss, as is Nordstrom's rack (The Rack has lots of merchandise from the mainline store, but much of it house brand and/or made to their quality specifications, i.e. Robert Talbottf ties). Salesmen at The Rack also keep lists of favored customers, so a lot of the best merchandise never sees the sales floor, but ends up on ebay. In contrast, I've bought some great shoes at NMLC (John Lobb and Alden), but SOF shoes are usually crap. I also like Filene's Basement (in DC and in Boston).

Originally Posted by thinman

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In contrast, I've bought some great shoes at NMLC (John Lobb and Alden), but SOF shoes are usually crap. I also like Filene's Basement (in DC and in Boston).

Lobbs at NMLC? Sounds like I'll definitely be making my way over soon. Even if they're not there the fact that there is a chance warrants more than enough reason to make the trip.

Originally Posted by bourbonbasted

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Lobbs at NMLC? Sounds like I'll definitely be making my way over soon. Even if they're not there the fact that there is a chance warrants more than enough reason to make the trip.

I've seen Lobbs at NMLC but very very rarely, say once out of every 20 visits. And only at certain locations.

I wrote a pretty extensive post on Put This On about outlet stores. It has some info on the stores here and on others that folks might find useful.

Originally Posted by Imhoff

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And occasionally I will swing by Dillard's at the end of season to snag some great deals, especially when they are trying to get rid of the winter line.

I love the Dillards sales! Especially when they go extra 50% off already reduced items. I have several Hickey Freeman sport coats that I picked up for around $100.

As far as the true outlet stores go, I think NMLC is the best. Seems to be primarily legit stuff from the regular stores. However, I have never seen a pair of Lobbs there.