Same shirt

Outlet stores usually carry three types of merchandise (sometimes four):

1. Items from previous seasons. Could be from last year, but I've seen things that seem to be years old.

2. Current season overstock. Many times factories just produce way more items than they could ever sell in their stores, and they realize this. They may ship some (especially the odd sizes) to outlet stores early to clear the merchandise out.

3. Irregular goods. Can range from pulled threads, imperfect details, dye jobs that are just a bit off, mis-matched patterns, missing size/brand tags, or other imperfections. In my experience, the items are virtually indistinguishable from the perfect ones. Just make sure to check all aspects of the item over carefully. I've scored some great deals this way, including a pair of PDC jeans for $22 (down from $178) because one spot of 'fading' was slightly different.

(4). Deceivers. Seems like some items from Outlet stores fall into this category. These are goods that often times were never sold at the prices they claim to have sold for, or goods that are sold at places like Nordstrom Rack that never came from Nordstrom. Often times they are nice, but not worth the price they are sold for.


I think that the Burberry shirt you mentioned could be either 2 or 3. It might even be #1, because I know with basic dress shirts and polo shirts, they produce very similar styles each season.

 

yeah, i'm curious about this myself. i was at a Brooks Brothers outlet store back in November and got some dress shirts that were labelled Brooks Brothers 346. but they were non-iron shirts that normally retail for $60 or $70 at brooksbrothers.com. i got them for about $33.

-j-

 

Most of the merchandise (probably 99%) at the BB outlets is specifically made for the outlets (and, IMO, is pretty crappy). In my experience, you can tell the stuff that is made for the outlet by the price tag, which says "Special Value" or "Special Price" on it. Typically, the only stuff from the mainline stores is in the clearance section of the outlet store and consists of odds and ends from the main stores. Also, I suggest asking the salespeople if they have anything from the main line stores; they will usually point you to where it is, if they have any.

As much as the real BB stores have declined, the outlet stores are that much worse.

Certainly, BB is not the only outlet store to engage in this behavior. Barneys, Nordstrom Rack, and SFA Off-Fifth have lots of merchandise that is purchased specifically for the outlets, but I think BB and Barneys have the greatest proportion of non-main line store merchandise.

 

It depends on the store. There's the example of Brooks Brothers "346" you made, and other stores like Banana Republic also have differently labelled (and lower quality) outlet merchandise that is produced specifically for the outlets. Of course at the same time you can also find Kiton shirts and ties at Last Call, so that doesn't mean you should steer clear from outlets.