The Chronic Consumer

I’m a big fan of Ralph Lauren clothes, particularly the Polo line. I like the classic styles and the fact that you can’t really tell one year’s products from the next. I mean, you could have a Polo shirt, sweatshirt, or sweater from 1997 and it would more or less look exactly the same as one from 2007 — which means you don’t have to overhaul your entire wardrobe every year in the hopes of not appearing hopelessly outdated.

There are a couple of Ralph Lauren outlet stores in the Chicago area. One is at the Premium Outlets in Aurora, and the other is at Prime Outlets in Kenosha, WI (about a one- or two-hour drive, depending on traffic). While I like these stores, they don’t really offer the deep discounts or large selection that you’d expect from an outlet, so I don’t actually shop as often as you might think.

A lot of fellow shoppers have told me that the best Ralph Lauren factory stores can be found in North Carolina. From what I understand, they have a total of five stores in that state alone, and all of the clothes are offered at significant discounts. A friend of mine went out that way on a business trip last year and came back with armfuls of Polos that she bought for something like $9 each — obviously a much better deal than the $39 (give or take) asking price at my local stores. That’s not to say that I’ll be checking into Beaufort NC real estate in order to be closer to these unbelievable prices or anything like that… I just wish that other stores would follow suit with the huge discounts!