A Filipina's Shopping Guide to America

One of the main reasons why Filipinos go to America is shopping. America is my top choice country for shopping clothes, bags, shoes and groceries that you can’t find in the Philippines. This is the place where you can really buy cheap branded stuff like Michael Kors, Coach, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs and others.  You’ll always wonder why most Asians hoard bags from these brands because you can get them at a really cheap price. Whenever you go to an outlet store, the salesmen usually give you a voucher that makes all items in the store 50% off and will give you another 40% on top of the 50% so technically you’re buying the item at 70% off.  

You can actually find more bargains during long weekends or Holidays.   You can also wait for the most awaited Black Friday Sale, where people usually camp and line out of the store. They can buy Big Screen TV’s and Laptop’s for as low as 100USD. My cousins from Canada even drive up  to the States during Black Friday to shop and buy their Christmas gifts because almost all products go on sale. If you have a friend/ relative that works in the Military, you can also shop at their grocery so you can buy things which are tax free.   

I’m the type of traveler that likes to find the cheapest bargains before I buy it. I like to survey the prices where you can get the best deal. I searched for shops where OFWs mostly buy their “pasalubongs”.  I compared the prices from the outlet stores to Nordstrom Rack, TJMaxx , Ross and other stores.  I found out that the bags will be cheaper in the outlet if they give you discount vouchers  or when there is a Holiday Long Weekend Sale. For example I found a Kate Spade wallet at the outlet for only 37 USD and the Coach wrislettes are also sold for as low as 20 USD.  Michael Kors watches are usually sold for only 100 USD at TJMaxx.  Designer Bags are for less than 100USD. Keds sneakers are usually sold for only 20 USD at Ross Stores. I even found Fit Flop Slippers at Marshalls for only 25 USD. I saw Adidas Stan Smith that is sold only for 44 USD, while the ADIDAS Neo for only 30 USD.  I bought Havaianas slippers at Nordstrom Rack for only 6 USD.  I also found Tory Burch Flats for only 75 USD at their outlet store. Rayban Shades usually cost 75 USD at Nordstrom Rack and some eyewear stores even sell it for  buy one take one. You can easily buy Nine West Wallets at Ross for only 11 USD and bags for only 16 USD, while Lululemon yoga pants are still expensive even in the outlet store. Branded Perfumes usually cost 20 USD or less in outlet store or TjMaxx, while  large Samsonite luggage cost less than 80 USD at retails stores such as TJMaxx and Ross.  

You better prepare at least one day if you want to shop at the premium outlet stores because it’s usually far away from the city center. If you don’t have time to go these outlets then you can just go to your nearest retail stores such as Nordstrom Rack, Ross, TJMaxx, Burlington and Marshall’s.  

Outlet Shopping Guide

Vacaville Premium Outlets – whenever you’re in San Francisco you should go to this outlet place which is just an hour drive away from Downtown.  They cater brands such as Gucci, Adidas, Bath and Body Works, Cole Haan, Coach, Kate Spade, Converse, Gymboree, Lacoste, Naturalizer, Nike, Samsonite and many more.  My uncle even told me that among the outlet stores in San Francisco, this is the cheapest one.  

The Mills at Jersey Garden- If you’re in New York, you shouldn’t miss this outlet store which is just a 40 minute drive from the city. If you don’t have a car, you can easily take bus from Penn Station. There are a lot of branded stuff here and clothes and shoes are tax free.

Woodbury Common Outlet- this outlet store is quite far away from Manhattan. It’s an hour and a half drive. If you don’t have a relative to take you there, you better rent a car to go there because it will be hard for you to commute here from Manhattan.  

Citadel Outlets- Whenever you’re in LA, better drop by the Citadel outlets which is just a 20 minute drive from downtown LA. You can find a lot of bargains here.

Fashion Outlets of Chicago- When in Chicago, you must visit this place. This is just a 30 minute drive from downtown Chicago. 

For Branded Bags, Shoes and Clothes

Nordstrom Rack- is where Filipino-Americans usually shop for bags. They usually love this store since they sell discounted designer products such as Tory Burch, Salvatorre Ferregamo, Cole Hann,  Rayban, Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors.  This is the 2^nd top choice for shopaholics who like branded stuff. If you are too lazy to go to the outlets, then this will be your alternative. The products here are very nice and their styles are still up to date. My white friend even told me a joke about this store .She told me that “ You know there’s a Nordstrom Rack when there are a lot of Asians lining up”.

TJ Maxx- is one of my favorite retail stores in America. The Styles here are mostly updated. The bags and clothes here are usually handpicked.

DSW- is a shoe store where you can buy branded shoes on sale.

Ross- is also a nice place to shop. Their shops are usually found in California.  If you’re looking for brands such as Nine West, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Fossil, Anne Klein,  and Steve Madden then Ross will be the perfect bargain store for you. They usually sell wallets for less than 15 USD and Bags for less than 30 USD.

Burlington- is like an organized version of Ross.  You can also find a lot of great bargains here.

DD’s Discount Store - is also a nice place to shop in the West Coast. 

For Make-Up

Sephora- is like heaven for Make-up addicts. You can actually ask for free samples whenever you want to try their makeup. If the make-up didn’t work on your skin you can easily return it and try another one.  You should register online to their membership to get a lot of free stuff. 

For Groceries

Costco- you can only enter here if you’re a member. You can buy discounted grocery items here if you buy a lot more items.

Trader Joe’s- you can buy a lot of grocery items here that you can’t find in other stores.

Target- you can also buy a lot of grocery items, toys and clothes here. 

New York Shopping Guide – If you don’t have enough time in New York to go to the outlets, you can just go to Union Square for Shopping.  There are a lot of retails store here where you can buy great bargains. To name a few are, Nordstrom Rack, Sephora, DSW for Shoes, Mac Cosmetics, Burlington, Forever 21, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s  and Baby’s R US.  I also found a cute bookstore that sells hard to find books at a very affordable price which is called Strand Bookstore near Union Square.  If you’re in Soho, I also found a cute store like Zara but sell it at a more affordable price which is called Necessary Clothing. You can also go to Century 21 and TJ Maxx if you want to buy good bargains.