LA area factory outlet shopping this time of year

[timekeeping]

Hello,

I am in the Orange County area at the moment and was thinking of checking out some factory outlets over the weekend (leaving next Sat).

What are the factory outlets like this time of year? Since the summer sales has just been over, is it going to be swimming in goods unsole from the summer sale? Or are the shelves going to be bare?

The Desert Hills outlet looks pretty attractive. There is Allen Edmonds, Ferragamo, Off 5th Saks and Niemen last call.

Any other outlet centres in the Southern California area (within 2 hours drive from Costa Mesa) worth visiting?

Actually, any general recommendations on shopping in Costa Mesa is most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gamelan]

i'd do Camarillo over Desert Hills. but both are probably about equal distance from Costa Mesa.. if you do Camarillo, go early so that you can at least avoid traffic on the 405 one way. good luck on the way back though.

there's also the smaller Carlsbad, which is probably closer than both those other guys but is not as big. would only go if you had another reason to be in Carlsbad.

as far as Costa Mesa goes, you'll be really close to South Coast Plaza which from what I've heard it is one of the more impressive Southern California malls. defininitely NOT an outlet though. heh heh.

-Jeff

 

[DGP]

There is no Last Call in Desert Hills. The only one in Cali that I know of is in San Diego. There is also one in Vegas.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by timekeeping

Hello,

I am in the Orange County area at the moment and was thinking of checking out some factory outlets over the weekend (leaving next Sat).

What are the factory outlets like this time of year? Since the summer sales has just been over, is it going to be swimming in goods unsole from the summer sale? Or are the shelves going to be bare?

The Desert Hills outlet looks pretty attractive. There is Allen Edmonds, Ferragamo, Off 5th Saks and Niemen last call.

Any other outlet centres in the Southern California area (within 2 hours drive from Costa Mesa) worth visiting?

Actually, any general recommendations on shopping in Costa Mesa is most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

The mall in Carlsbad is not as good as the one in Cabazon and not worth a special trip, IMO. You might try the Saks Off 5th at The Block at Orange. AFAIK, it's the only outlet store in the mall, but it's close to you.

Right now, I'm finding the pickings _very_ slim. No one has anything I want to buy and I haven't seen a decent selection of sportcoats in 8 months.

 

[esquire.]

Another luxe shopping center is Fashion Island in Newport Beach that you might want to check out. But, like South Coast Plaza, its not an outlet.

Carlsbad is going to be about half an hour drive for you, while the LA ones are going to be closer to an hour. If you're planning on going down to SD, then Carlsbad is on the way for you. Otherwise, as others have suggested, I would not make a special trip for it. Its smaller than the others, and has the exact same stores as every other outlet will have- Polo, Kenneth Cole, etc..

The LA outlets will have the same stores as well as different ones like the ones you mentioned.

And, as you probably already know, many of the items sold at these outlets were never really sold in the stores but made specifically to be sold at these outlet stores.

 

[JLibourel]

Most Southern Californians interested in such matters seem to rate Desert Hills over Camarillo. It might also be somewhat quicker to access from Costa Mesa.

I might note that the Allen-Edmonds outlet in Desert Hills is having their semi-annual sale commencing tomorrow, so if you fancy Allen-Edmonds, now would be a most excellent time to go.

 

[sho'nuff]

south coast plaza is definitely a fine attraction for shoppers with all the high end stores that are there and the nordstrom that carries santoni FAM.
well, there is also the nordstrom rack across the street that once in a while carries a pair or two of santoni FAM, but not now.
there is also the newport beach fashion island and the saks outlet in Orange mentioned above, both around less than 10 miles away, but alas,
do not carry any santoni FAM.

 

[ishykiel]

Wow. U guys are lucky. Many places to go.
I am stuck on an Island!

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by ishykiel

Wow. U guys are lucky. Many places to go.
I am stuck on an Island!

I would definitely go to Cabazon over Camarillo. There is a larger selection of stores, and the SOF in Cabazon has a 25% off coupon that you can get with a triple A membership. I've found some fairly nice suits and other items at that outlet. As other posters have mentioned, check out South Coast Plaza, The Block at Orange, Fashion Island including their men's shop, Gary's, and the outlet for Gary's in Tustin which sometimes has great deals on items from their store, Nordstrom Rack and Marshall's at Metro Pointe, and Cabazon.

 

[timekeeping]

Thank you all for the recommendations. I will report back on the stock levels etc after my trip today.

 

[timekeeping]

Had an interesting weekend roaming around Southern California looking for good deals. I couldn't find any except for Allen Edmonds.

Desert Hills
-Allen Edmonds had the sale on which is an additional 15% off all stock. Not bad.

-Off 5th had a few David Chu "made in Turkey" shirts but in a nice fabric for $75. Suits were almost all Hugo Boss, begging someone to put them out of their misery.

The Block at Orange
-Off 5th had a quite a few Dunhill suits. One of which was my size in a loud grey with white pinstripes. Made in Japan, of all places. Also had a good few Dunhill 100% cashmere overcoats for $500 or so.