Woodbury premium outlet

[gregory]

Hi guys,

I'll be going to NYC and Woodbury Premium Outlet this Wednesday.

My favorite store in the outlet used to be Dunhill, but they have closed down. Any advice on good stores/good deals to be had in NYC and Woodbury?

I don't plan to buy that much for myself (maybe pick up two pairs of shorts, a pair of shoes, two pairs of khakis, a bag) but I plan to look for good deals that I could re-sell on eBay.

Thanks.

 

[vc2000]

Check out the Ascot and Chang store. I have never been to Woodbury but I considered going on a recent business trip to NYC just because of this store. A trip report would be great.

 

[fopkid]

the last call, off fifth, and barneys stores are pretty good. as for the single names, i'm partial to ascot chang, ferragamo, loro piana, and zegna stores. the brooks brothers and burburry stores are both disasters -- bb b/c they sell a "special" line for the outlet, and burberry b/c it always looks as though a monsoon has just washed through the place.

 

[JohnMS]

I agree with fopkid on Brooks Brothers.

We got a BB outlet about an hour away some years ago. I was excited at first until I realized (and confirmed with the salesperson, a BB salesperson that actually knew something) that almost everything in the store was made specifically for the outlet. The reason he said is the "typical" BB customer doesn't want to find out he/she is wearing clothing that is sold in outlets. Don't know how much truth there is to that, but sounds reasonable.

 

[norcaltransplant]

Woodbury common. Check the internet for current sales. I second the recommendation on the Ascot Chang outlet. Nice slim fitting basic dress shirts priced between $40-75. The 120s broadcloths are great for the summer.

The Loro Piana outlet is quite impressive--the prices are less than wonderful though. I've had better success at the TSE and Malo outlets who shopping for cashmere; short disclaimer: I've only purchased cashmere at the Malo outlet. Last Call is probably the best outlet out of the three major department stores.

You should also check out the Zegna, Ghurka, and Etro outlets. Im a big fan of the latter two, since their products have pretty limited distribution.

For shoes, Tod's has the best sales out the Italian companies. I would avoid Cole Haan and J&M like the plague--nothing from their higher end lines ever appears at those two stores. Although J&M has really cheap Woodlore shoe trees and flannel bags the last time I checked...

 

[gregory]

Thanks guys. I'm taking notes (literally) and will bring the list with me to NYC. I'll post a trip report when I get back.

norcaltransplant, I am going to ask a stupid question. Is there any reason why 120s broadclothes are (particularly) great for summer?

Meanwhile, please keep the suggestions coming ...

 

[norcaltransplant]

I find broadcloth to be a lighter fabric than twills or herringbones. It's thinner and breathes better during the summer. BTW, its pretty disgusting in the NE today. The difference between broadcloth and oxford is less apparent. In fact, I don't really have an opinion on this one. I specifically mentioned the 120s b/c of my satisfaction with the quality of fabric.

Just to confuse you some more, the thread numbers posted on men's dress shirts are an EXTREMELY vague guide to quality. The closest analogy I can think of is olive oil--extra virgin olive oil might be from the first pressing, but their is a noticeable difference in quality/taste between the cheap stuff and the low acidity oils you find in a gourmet shop.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the fabric you described on the Jcrew shirts really feels rougher than the cotton on the Lauren shirts. Thomas Pink is probably the biggest culprit of using thread numbers to sell their "premium" products.

 

[itzamazing]

Woodbury can be great and can be a total bust.

Don't expect to find remarkable deals. They really have marketed that outlets to tourists and sadly the supply cannot meet the demand. Know your price points ahead of time, because all the designer stores in NYC are having sales and you often times can make out better there.

What has happened is that the owners of the mall know that people make this hour long trek from NYC and feel compelled to buy at least something, even if it is not really at an outlet price. So, all they do is open up all these boutiques that don't offer huge discounts and so-so merchandise in hopes that the consumer will just say, well I came this far, I might as well get it.

The Neiman Marcus Last Call there has an extremely small men's section and the stock is awful. Again, they get such huge crowds that anything halfway decent is gone right away, but you may fiind something. The one at Jersey Gardens usually has a better selection. Don't pass up visiting though, you can find the occassional gem.

I would check out the Giorgio Armani store. They always run sales, sometimes at 90% off the original retail price. They carry Mani (crap), Emporio Armani and the Giorgio collection line. Barneys is always a good stop, but they don't offer much mens sportswear. Due to the increased popularity of Lacoste, expect the store to be packed/very picked over as well, and I doubt you will find anthing to the tune of 75% off either. I've found the Tod's stote there to be crappy in selection and the prices not attractive enough for me to bite. Ditto this for Gucci, Hugo Boss (terrible), Ferragamo, Bally, Theory, Dolce & Gabbana. The Etro and Malo stores are decent, but again, the prices are not low enough given the selection. Banana Republic, Burberry, Armani Exchange, Club Monaco and those kinds of stores are usually packed, but you will wonder, did this stuff ever see the inside of the actual retail store? Several stores have items made exclusively for their outlets, which you want to avoid. These stores are also horribly disorganized.

If you are coming from NYC, and drive through Jersey, you can hit 2 malls on the way back; Riverside Square (Bloomingdale's, Saks) and the much larger Garden State Plaza (Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macys). Check out their websites for a complete store listing to see if it works for you. The two malls are about 10 minutes apart. It is a good time for sales and if you have time, I highly recommend you stop in there, especially if your trip to Woodbury isn't too successful. I usually do this, and there is no sales tax in New Jersey.

Off Saks always runs a promotion, such as $25 off every $100 or 20% off your entire order. If you sign up for the emails from the outlet center, you will get these. As for deals to be had for EBAY, it is possible. I have had luck with this and make a killing but I primarily hunt for and sell women's clothing.

 

[gregory]

Thanks for all the advice given thus far.

Does anyone know any stores in NYC that are having good sales the coming week?

 

[aybojs]

Having made a trip up there once (albeit 2 years ago), I'm going to agree with itzamazing about how disappointing WC can be.

Last Call had a terrible selection compared to the one I usually go to (in Austin), as did the Saks Off Fifth. I also suspect that a large amount of the merchandise there is directly produced for outlet sale. The one thing I did buy during my trip (at Off Fifth) was a $70 Zegna shirt (Zegna being the most high-end brand name I saw offered at both stores), which was packaged in a sealed bag so that I wasn't even allowed to try it on/inspect it without buying first, turned out to be noticeably inferior to the other Zegna shirts I've seen in high end department stores. The buttons were plastic, and the fabric felt like tissue paper, which was sorely disappointing. I never wear the shirt.

The boutiques, for the most part, were overpriced and had a pretty poor selection to boot. The only ones I remember being at least decent were Hugo Boss (only because they were liquidating Baldessarini at the time), Zegna (don't know if they suffer for the same "made for outlet" syndrome Off Fifth did), and RL Polo (had a few Purple Label items hidden within the dreck). I didn't check out Ascot Chang, Etro, or Malo, to be fair, but I'm not expecting them to be anything mindblowing.

Anyway, I don't mean to crap on the thread, just throwing out a disclaimer that you should keep a level head and not go on a spending spree just because you're there. If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find some good buys, but I wouldn't expect to find anything that would make you any money on eBay. Good luck though, hopefully the place is better than when I visited.

 

[Lomezz]

made the trek myself today in the spur of the monent. It's about a 50 minute drive for me normally, but today traffic was terrible and it took me almost 2 hours.

The loot: 2 pairs of diesel 'rabox' jeans at $80 each. They are nicely cut - medium/low rise and straight leg, size 31 is spot on for me. The sales guy was really nice and very helpful - look for the guy with the tatoos.

Last call was dissappointing. I almost scored a pair of Kiton dark grey wool pants, 'almost' because they were marked 32 but were actually 34. Not bad for $130. There were a bunch of incotex fine corduroy pants, in beautiful brick red. A tad too flashy for me.

Saks - Joseph Abboud galore...

J&M - picked up some shoe cream and a shoe horn. I realised there is no decent place in Woodbury to buy shoes. No allen edmonds outlet for some reason.

I'm seriously considering one of them new Puma fashion forward sneakers, Puma having been my favorite childhood sneaker (where I grew up, you were either a puma or an adidas fan). there was nothing interesting in the puma store though. I settled for a baseball cap. and some shoelaces...

Starbucks - the longest line of any starbucks anywhere, but for some weird reason it's cheaper than NYC...

Banana, Nautica, Polo, etc. - some of the messiest stores you'll ever encounter. Really off putting.

Zegan - didn't look too well, but there were some gorgeous chasmere sweaters at 50% - still very expensive.

 

[gregory]

Lomezz, thanks for sharing. Did you pop into Ascot Chang?

 

[Lomezz]

no, gregory, sorry, but did not for the follwoing reasons:

1) I was not in need of dress shirts (which is a BS statement, as one can never have too many dress shirts), but I'm contemplating my first Jantzen order and want to concentrate my funds in that direction

2) It was 6:30 when I spotted the store and i was tired

3) they had a bunch of diagonal striped shirts in the wondow, which I loathe (no offense to those who like them...)

I know, weak excuses - now I'm sorry I actually didn'y go in