CarlHnz

We've recently moved the the West Indies from England and are shortly heading to Miami for some well-needed retail therapy.

I'd be really interested in hearing a Brit's perspective on shopping in the Miami as I'm not familiar with the shops in the States.

The sort of thing I'm after is Macy's = John Lewis, ThisShop = Top Man

tonrob

For clothes many like Banana Republic/Gap/Old Navy. They often have coupons on sites like dealnews.com.

For electronics, chains such as Best Buy, Sears etc. rarely offer the best prices - which are instead to be found online (Amazon and others - again Dealnews is a good source of retailers and offers, as is Fatwallet).

Department stores (e.g. Macy's) are convenient but don't offer general all-round value for money however their sale items can usually be very good indeed.

Never ever pay full price if you can help it - there's always a sale or a coupon to be had somewhere!

meauxna

FYI (you may already know), you will need an ESTA clearance to travel to the US without a visa: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

Sorry I can't help wth shopping tips other than to +1 tonrob: Never pay retail!

Jerseygirl

Don't think I'd ever compare Macy's to John Lewis...at a push I'd say Macy's is nearer Debenhams.

meauxna

Speaking of, I've got to turf up someone in Florida. DH wants these shirts that I'm sure can only be purchased in a hot climate.

I can't believe I'm posting that.

Jerseygirl

Never heard of that expression before...what does it mean? Dig them up?

We say 'to turf someone out'...throw them out.

Can't you order them over the internet?

meauxna

You got it perfectly, and we use 'turf out' the same way as you.

Oh I guess.. would you believe I have never much taken to shopping online? He has though.. I'll suggest that actually. It should keep him out of my hair for a couple of evenings. Why, he could even order them from M&S now!

Sorry for the threadjack.. back to Miami and what equals the UK.

CarlHnz

ok, so Macy's is like Debenhams, what would an equivalent to John Lewis be?

Is there an equivalent to say.. Reiss?

Jerseygirl

I would say somewhere between Neiman Marcus/Saks and Bloomingdales.

Bob

John Lewis ain't posh though...I always pegged it for JC Pennies....

Jerseygirl

I'd say Lewis's were more like JC Pennies. The John Lewis shops I've been in are pretty nice...better than Debenhams.

Bob

Hmmm....maybe the ones I've been into weren't great examples then....it's always been pretty middle of the road.

Saying that, Neiman Marcus is a bag of spuds too and only slightly less manky than Lord and Taylor for a "posh" department store. Brooks Brothers is always a bit meh and pricey for the sake of, but quite nice. Nordstroms are generally really nice and they do have the best bogs of all the department stores and since having a kid, the quality of their bogs is a much more important factor these days

Sally Redux

What are you actually looking to buy? Eg for furniture like John Lewis, I would say somewhere like Crate & Barrel. If you're thinking of the clothes, probably Nordstroms.

Jerseygirl

I meant Nordstrom when I wrote Neiman Marcus. They are next to each other in my local mall.

Sally Redux

People seem to rate Neiman Marcus as super-fancy around here, I've never actually been in it.