Shopping in the US

[RB]

My shopping in Boston was limited to Filenes Basement store- good for what I wanted-golf polos, sandals & there were certainly jeans available

 

[geoffsmith147]

Finally I can add a post that might be useful.

Bose has a store in Westfield SFO. I purchased a pair of noise cancelling headphones from Bose direct but had my daughter ship them as they dont ship overeas. I tried to do this with Amazon without success. Go to the Bose US web site for all of their California locations or USA for that matter. In Union Sq try Johnston & Murhphy for great shoes and leatherware. Gilroy Premium outlets is about an hour drive south of SFO but has a huge range of premium retailers. Between Westfield on Market & Union Sq you will find plenty of retail to satisfy your requirements. We are heading there again for Christmas. Enjoy your trip.

 

[ShaneN]

Thanks eveyrone for all of those great suggestions. Due to slight change of plans will actually be in Boston longer than we are in san Francisco - connecting from there to LHR. So looking forward to some shopping - any other suggestions for Boston?

Staying at the Hotel Commonwealth - it gets great write-ups from Trip Advisor, and managed to find what I think is a great deal: $680AU for 3 nights in a Commonwealth room.

Will post a trip report along the way: travelling QF93 from MEL, 2 nights at the Mark Hopkins in San Franscico, AA flights from LAX-SFO, then SFO-xORD-BOS, then those 3 nights at the Commonwealth in Boston. That is the first 5 days!

I was in Boston in September. Boston has two separate downtown shopping areas - Back Bay and Downtown Crossing. At the Commonwealth you are only about 1 mile from the Back Bay shopping area at Boylston and Newbury Streets - 2 stops along the "T" green line (the tram / train service). Downtown Crossing is another 2 or 3 stops further along the green line.

Like a previous post, I recommend Filene's Basement. The original main store was at Downtown Crossing, but I think it is closed. There is a store at Boylston St, Back Bay. Filene's Basement is an outlet store noted for brand name clothing at low prices.

I also recommend visiting Macys (like a US Myer). The San Francisco store on Union Square is huge. My memory is that there is a separate mens store across the street. Downtown Boston Macys is at Downtown Crossing. At Macys make sure that you collect your 10% discount card for international visitors. In San Francisco take your passport to the visitors centre in the store to obtain the discount card. I am not sure about Boston - probably available at inquiries desk.

Another outlet store worth looking at is Nordstrom Rack. Not sure about Boston or SF locations - I visited them in Chicago and Dallas.

Happy shopping.

 

[cove]

Currently we are getting stories of two young ladies shopping in Los Angeles. Fifteen pairs of shoes in one trip to Camarillo Outlet Mall and the need to buy extra suitcases is the guide to how much of a bargain it is to shop in the US rather than Australia. It is lucky this pair of shoppers hired the bigger vehicle as they are having trouble affording to save any more money.

 

[cove]

Have another two ladies wanting to buy clothes,shoes,bags,sunglasses,beauty products,kitchen and bedroom things and everything in between. The gap in pricing between Australia and Los Angeles still seems to be about 50 per cent.
Sometimes it may just be the wider range and styles that are offered that makes Los Angeles a shopping Mecca.
Anyone got any new ideas on shopping within 100 miles of Los Angeles airport?

 

[Sprucegoose]

Have another two ladies wanting to buy clothes,shoes,bags,sunglasses,beauty products,kitchen and bedroom things and everything in between. The gap in pricing between Australia and Los Angeles still seems to be about 50 per cent.
Sometimes it may just be the wider range and styles that are offered that makes Los Angeles a shopping Mecca.
Anyone got any new ideas on shopping within 100 miles of Los Angeles airport?

cove there are these premium outlets, get a book of vouchers you can download before you go.

Premium Outlets: Locations in the United States


I always tack this onto the end of my trip,evenbuyanew case or two.

 

[cove]

35 VIP coupons later on my mobile device so ready, set ,GO!
i rejoined the Camarillo Premium Outlet Mall deal seeing there are 160 shops.
It is drive but that is what you do in California.
Thanks for reminding me about coupons Sprucegoose.

 

[AV8]

Have another two ladies wanting to buy clothes,shoes,bags,sunglasses,beauty products,kitchen and bedroom things and everything in between. The gap in pricing between Australia and Los Angeles still seems to be about 50 per cent.
Sometimes it may just be the wider range and styles that are offered that makes Los Angeles a shopping Mecca.
Anyone got any new ideas on shopping within 100 miles of Los Angeles airport?

SouthCoast Plaza is another you could consider - it has the major USA retailers and about 45mins from LAX by car. Anaheim area is nearby as well.

 

[cjd600]

Citadel Outlets in LA is pretty good too.
Similar range of stores to the Premium Outlets locations.

Only 30mins from LAX.
We usually kill an afternoon there before heading to the airport for late PM AU flight departure.

If you are an NRMA (or other state motor association affiliated with AAA), flash your card at the info centre at the outlets (Premium or Citadel) to get a discount book (sometimes has different discounts to the voucher download mentioned by sprucegoose above.Some better,some worse)
My wife gets both,uses the best offer from store to store,To store.

 

[Skyring]

Staying at the Hotel Commonwealth - it gets great write-ups from Trip Advisor, and managed to find what I think is a great deal: $680AU for 3 nights in a Commonwealth room.

Will post a trip report along the way: travelling QF93 from MEL, 2 nights at the Mark Hopkins in San Franscico, AA flights from LAX-SFO, then SFO-xORD-BOS, then those 3 nights at the Commonwealth in Boston. That is the first 5 days!

Looking forward to reading it. I'll be in Boston soonish and looking to do some shopping at the LL Bean outlet there. And Levenger, though that's more stationery and reading tools and iPad covers and stuff - all gorgeous. Will note the hotel when it comes time to book.

Echo the recommendation for the Westfield in SF. It's a huge place and has a great range of shops. There's a big discount clothing shop a bit further along if you are after real bargains. Not sure about their larger sizes, but the USA being the USA, they have a steady market.

Both cities are foodie heaven. Kinda makes up for the wasteland in between, I guess. Coffee in San Francisco is a bit of a religion. There are some awesome coffee shops. And bookshops. There's the delightful City Lights on Columbus, but my absolute favorite is Book Bay at Fort Mason. Doubled in size three times since I first discovered its fantastic bargains, and now has a cafe on the premises. Great range, great prices, but no good for your baggage limits!

Plant near the Ferry Terminal on Embarcadero is my favorite restaurant. All organic food, heavy on the vegetarian, great taste, good prices, bit of a view. In the Ferry Building, there are some amazing food shops. Blue Bottle Coffee is just wonderful, and there's a farmer's market outside for fresh food lunches.