Filene's Basement ROCKS!
 

So I went out to spend some of my XMas cash, and I discovered Filene's Basement for the first time. I bought a $90 Calvin Klein sweater for $18.50 and another really cute shirt, regularly $60 for $12-something!

Man, I have to visit my hometown more often!

I wish we had one of those near where I live! I've known about them forever (thanks to all my fashion classes), but never been to one. I'm soooo jealous! ;)

Ooooh I *love* Filene's basement! When I was a youngster I turned my nose up at the place but now when I am spending my OWN money (occasionally anyway lol) it's nice to have places like that and TJ Maxx, Marshall's, etc. where you can get fab clothes for even better prices! Whooo! :D

Filene's Basement is your friend. :D There used to be a few suburban locations around here (Chicago area) but they closed down. Now the only ones around here are downtown...one on State Street (next to Carsons) and one on North Michigan Avenue.

You know what else I like? Nordstrom Rack.

i love places like this.

and yes, nordstrom rack is a DREAM. needs to spread over to the east coast...!

Loved Filene's when I lived in South Portland, Maine! I bought tons of chubby clothes there after I had my older daughter and wasn't back down to my pre-baby weight yet.

We have Nordstrom Rack here in Maryland :) It's all the way on the other side of Baltimore but is well worth the trip around the beltway.

The place I am DYING to try is Century 21 but unfortunately that would entail staying overnight at my in laws' house in North Jersey and I just can't subject myself to that :(

Yes, but have any of you been to Big Lots or Value City???

I LOVE Century 21. :D It's very crowded and a lot of people say it's overrated, but I think it's a pretty cool place. I went one morning and I found the best pair of Miss Sixty jeans for 30; they say it's best to go in the morning to beat the crowds. I also found a leather Longchamp purse for $40! :)

Me too. Great place, and its within walking distance of my home!

They just opened one in Atlanta, at Lennox Markeplace

What is this century 21 yall are talking of....30 for miss sixty jeans!!!!! i need to go to this place!!!! ahhhh!!!!

I do also love Nordstrom Rack, occasionally I'll find cute stuff there!!! Actually my favorite pair of black pants is from there!!!

Ooooh and I also LOVE Last Chance...its owned by Nordstrom and everything is freaking cheap...such good deals there!!! I got diesel shoes there for 29, coach shoes for like 29 as well and in high school i got a kate spade purse (like the medium sized Sam) for only 30 or 40 bucks...in completely perfect condition (now they're charging like 80 there.....but I knew about way back when!!) and if you go early enough, you can get seven jeans or paper cloth denim for like 50...but I've never snagged a pair there!

Yeah, my friends and I went and we call it "Filene's Whole Lot of Nothin'"

I've never been to Filene's either!!! Why doesnt AZ have these places!!!!!

You get what you pay for. It's fine if you want decent clothing at cheaper prices but pretending like it's a goldmine for amazing clothing is ridiculous.

Century 21 for example is filled with gross grubby people fighting each other for whatever they can get their hands off. 75% of the merchandise is damaged, poorly taken care of and presented, or the hideous styles (you know those great jeans you find and you say why did they make them in purple). Aside from that 99% of the merchandise is older. If you're trying to play the game of buying trendy clothing, you might as well try and catch the train.

Next you'll all start bragging about how amazing outlet malls are. If you do it, don't brag about it and pretend it's amazing.

-Rudey
--Let's see who that will piss off.

I'm a big fan of Off Fifth, the Saks Fifth Avenue outlet. I've gotten really cheap Coach and Burberry purses there. You can usually find Kate Spade, Prada and Fendi there too. :D I'd rather look like I spent a lot of money than actually do it! lol!

I bought a Kate Spade at Off 5th this week. Orginal price was $225, the Off 5th price was $125 with 40% off, then an additional 25% off--- the bag costs $60!!! Great Deal!!!!:)

-wendi

:eek: :eek:

WOW! That's quite the deal! I'm jealous! lol

i have to agree with rudey on this one..while i'll admit i do shop at places like marshalls, tjmaxx, loehmanns etc..99% of the stuff there is crap - stained, damaged, out of date, etc. occasionally it is possible to find something great (i once found a marc jacobs denim skirt at loehmanns for $25) to you have to sift through all the horrible stuff to find it.. generally, i don't have that kind of patience

I buy a lot of my son's clothes at Value City. Then again, he's 7, grows out of things before he can wear them out and doesn't worry much about trendy. Sweat pants and polo shirts are his choice of style and I can get him a whole season's wardrobe at VC and Walmart for less than $100!

I have found a few things for myself at Value City but you do really have to hunt through the racks. Again though, I'm not concerned with trendiness, I wear a more classic style.

Dee

I Have been to Value City. I got a Black Suit for only $85. that's by far the best price ever.:)

You're kidding?! I felt like it was Christmas all over again!

I officially love this place
 

I went to Filene's for the first time yesterday and I am in LOVE!!! I got a Coach denim demi for $60 and Coach logo-print flats for $45.......can't beat that!!!

I agree with NutBrnHair....we got a Filene's here fairly recently and maybe it's just ours, but I'm not impressed. They have a lot of the same stuff that Kaufmann's has and when Kaufmann's has coupon sales I can get it cheaper.

Then again we have an awesome OUTLET MALL (big smooch Rudey) an hour away that I like not only because of the prices, but because you can find things you can't here, like a trenchcoat in a colour other than tan or black.

I can't believe I missed this thread earlier....

There is NO Filene's Basement like the original in Boston at the Downtown Crossing T station. Even if you have money to spend "upstairs" it's just **fun** to see what kind of bargains you can dig up.

Great for college kids - I had sweaters out the wazzoo while up there. (This winter, they need them more than ever.)

The annual Bridal sale makes the national news some years.

Adrienne
:D

Gotta agree with you there! I went shopping there quite a bit when I was a poor starving college student. ;)

Most of the merchandise there is of at least decent quality, and you can get very good deals, especially with the automatic markdown. You just have to go in with an open mind about what you might want to buy and how much quality you're willing to sacrifice for a bargain. If you walk out empty handed, so be it.

I also like that anything that still doesn't sell after it's been on the floor for a certain amount of time, goes to charity.

I have to agree. While I would love to find a great bargain on something nice, I find them few and far between. I don't have the patience either. I'd rather pay full price and get it in my size now!

At the risk of making a "me too" post....uh...yeah, me too. Sometimes places like this are awesome, sometimes they're downright depressing.

Ironically, I'm heading to Off 5th and Nordstrom Rack this afternoon. 80% of the time I walk out of those places empty handed, but for the 20% that I don't, I'll make a visit a few times a year.

I love myself some Filene's Basement. Especially the flagship store in downtown Boston...I have gotten into a few fights there!

This thread makes me want to go shopping. I don't really need anything, but now I really want many things. :)

I actually have done pretty well at some of these outlet stores. You have to be patient and have an open mind. Sometimes I have great luck, and other times I leave empty handed. I don't think that I have ever been to Filene's Basement, but now you piqued my curiosity. :) Plus NYC is tax free this week on clothing under $110!! Yeah!! :D

I agree with Rudey on this too... these places are not the fashion mecca and it takes a lot of woprk to find the really good stuff. But if you want to save money and are willing to put the time in, you can find some good deals.

I like Off Saks, although some of the stuff is still kind of expensive it is definitely a better deal. I think I prefer Loehmann's to any of the other discount stores I've checked out though. When they are having sales, you can get Paper Denim & Cloth and Miss Sixty jeans for $25-35. Often, they are the ugly washes or defective "seconds" that were cut wrong - and just because it's a cool brand, it doesn't mean it's cute. I think a lot of people forget that... they wear Sevens that make their ass look like a freight train and think they're fashionable - a flattering pair of no-name jeans would be better any day. However, a friend of mine got some awesome Earl's for $30 once at Loehmann's and I got an amazing formal dress for $90, when I had seen it at Neiman's a week earlier for $300+. You just have to keep checking back... if you go often you can find lots of good stuff.

I don't really like Nordstrom Rack - they do get some of the cute leftovers from Nordstrom, but most of the stuff is the same stuff you'll find at a TJ Maxx or Mervyn's or something because they have their own buyers separate from the parent store.

Where I am from, Big Lots is not a designer discount store - as far as I know, they sell overstocked discount stuff like canned vegetables and stuff - however, the one or two times I've been there I've never ventured into the clothing, in fact, I didn't even know they had it. Is this different in other areas of the nation?

I agree w/ your Nordstrom Rack statement xcept for their shoes. The one by us is full of Diesel, Enzo, etc and I've seen a few Manolo Blahniks as well.

And lol, I was the one who mentioned Big Lots...no they definitely don't have designer clothing, but I brought it up b/c ppl that shop for bargains go there a lot. They have a lot of really nice housewares there.

PA is tax free on clothing this week too...also every other week of the year!! Bwah hah hah!!!

I just like to throw in occasionally that even though we do have liquor purchasing laws courtesy of Carrie Nation, we at least don't screw up on the clothes shopping. :)

May be a little far, but if you're ever in the Philadelphia area, there's a Nordstrom's Rack next to King of Prussia Mall and one At Franklin Mills Outlet Mall.

NY was tax free on clothing for a brief and wonderful moment. The last day that was tax free was a huge shopping spree for me. :)

NJ is tax free also and much closer than Pennsylvania.

Very true. A week ago, I got a Kate Spade denim tote that was originally $195 for less than $30. The Off Fifth price was $130 with 70% off, and I was able to use my additional 30% off coupon, although the sales associate :rolleyes: tried to fight me on it. The general manager said it was OK.