Sometimes I walk through Marshall’s just to feel good about myself because there’s nothing in there I want to buy.

[Anonymous]

Marshalls stock comes from sources like “department store cancellations, a manufacturer making up too much product, or a closeout deal when a vendor wants to clear merchandise at the end of a season.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really grateful that Marshall’s TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack were there in the early days of my career when I could barely afford to pay rent and to eat. In fact, I couldn’t afford it, because I had credit card debt for many years. Those stores helped me through the tough years of my career, and I never felt too out of place, even though—in many ways—I was.

I miss Filene’s Basement, where I once found a DVF wrap dress that helped me feel like I fit in, even though by wearing it once every two weeks, I’m sure it gave me away.

TJ Maxx has a lot of basic pieces by Vince, Theory, dresses from DVF, MaxMara, Gucci, shoes from YSL, Chloe. I saw the most beautiful Etro dress there that I could afford but it was way too big. Marshall’s is more housewares, not great clothes.

You can almost always find something in any store if you know how to shop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am always complemented on my style of dress and I shop almost exclusively at these places. I comb through everything and I guess I have an eye for the right things because I also spend a lot of time viewing higher end clothes online. So I recognize things that work. I guess. I’ve found beautiful cashmere sweaters for example at TJ Maxx.

Bless your heart but people do say things they don’t really mean. A compliment doesn’t mean you’re some fashionista, it often just means people can tell you try to put a lot of effort so they’re giving an empty compliment. Not to be confused with ace execution of your outfits. And of course context is important. Are you the “fashionable” woman in an office full of obese middle aged feds who live in Maryland suburbs? Or in Manhattan in an office full of six-figure salary trust fund women married to financiers? You know what I mean.

It's pathetic that someone needs to say such hurtful and stupid things to feel better about themselves. I hope you're in therapy to help with your lack of self confidence.

The tell was the reference to six figure salaries. lol. Truck drivers in the Midwest make six figure salaries. The poster has no idea what she is talking about, on top of being mean.

[Anonymous]

Go to a different store.

[Anonymous]

You don’t find the evidence of our nation’s obsession with overconsumption a little sad?

[Anonymous]

Marshalls, Ross, and Maxx are awful. I remember going to humor my friends who shopped there. I just looked around.

[Anonymous]

I love Marshalls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Poor on the inside"? You sound awful, I hope I don't know you.

Ouch. This is a bit raw and I don’t agree.
OP: The person you should ask this question to is yourself. Are you compromising your genuine self to fit in? Why are appearances so important?
You sound lovely but might be happier and form more meaningful friendships if you didn’t care about these things.

She should Probably talk to her therapist about it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly enough, I know a couple of extremely wealthy people that shop there for bargains. They can pick through and come out with excellent finds. No idea how they do it!

But, no, OP, I sure don’t understand your sense of pride in assuming you’re too good for those stores.

Do you know where exactly they shop?

I used to work near the Wall st. TJMaxx, and the offerings there were drastically different from what I saw in outer boroughs TJMaxx stores or the one near my relatives in PA. Some stores get much better merchandise based on location.

This is true. The outlets have their 'A' stores, versus the 'B stores and it's entirely based on location, i.e. socio-demographics.
You WILL find better stuff at Nordstrom Rack in Union Square NYC vs. the one NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am wondering where all of you shop. Macy's and TJM seem very similar to me these days.

Macy's is nearly unshoppable at this point. If I do find something, it's a specific brand (e.g., Ralph Lauren) and typically online.

Macy's is a hot mess. I never liked their merchandising and they swallowed up or killed off all my favorite alternative chains.

Mid-market clothing from anywhere in the mall (pieces priced from $30-$200) has gotten much worse in quality over the past 30 years. In particular, wool sweaters don't last like they should anymore. Elbows in sweaters wear out in two years instead of never. Can't find any non-black pant suits that fit anymore. Sometimes cheap items have surprisingly good quality...Karen Scott house brand occasionally works out for casual wear. I would buy more if the quality were improved.

I shop Macys and TJ Maxx but have my best luck at Talbot's Outlet.

Macy's theory of merchandising is not different from that of their immigrant working class clientele. That is, the more merch on display, the more they will sell. The display format is not unlike the markets / bazaars you'd find abroad. The priority is about volume, not quality.

TJ Maxx and its ilk don't suffer from the same marketing panic because as off-season resellers, they will also offload their off-off-season merch to lesser stores. These stores aren't overflowing. They're messy because the clientele is messy, but they don't have towers of face cream facing (almost blocking) the entrance doors like Macy's does.
I would disagree about Talbots. Like every other retailer, their fabrics and materials have really gone downhill with higher levels of synthetics in the garments. Those clothes look good on the rack but all that plastic pills and balls up quickly.
The poor quality we are all complaining about is due to the high polyester/nylon/spandex content that is now typical in American made clothing. Want a good sweater that breathes, all natural materials and will continue to look good? Get it from Europe.

[Anonymous]

I used to love them but the quality/variety of merchandise has gone down significantly the last couple of years. I still pop in once in awhile because I find it very relaxing to walk around and treasure hunt.

[Anonymous]

Face it, clothes these days are ugly and cheaply made no matter where you shop, even at the expensive places. This has been a rough 10 years for fashion. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marshalls stock comes from sources like “department store cancellations, a manufacturer making up too much product, or a closeout deal when a vendor wants to clear merchandise at the end of a season.”

This hasn’t been their model in 25 years. None of Ross, Marshall’s and tj maxx release actual data, but around 15 years ago they were saying around 10 percent of their merchandise is “real” stuff that would have otherwise been in a department store.

Fast forward 15 years and you can assume that number is much lower. And more importantly, being a “department store cancellation” 99 percent of the time just means it might have gone on the racks at macys or similar. It doesn’t mean it was being sold at saks. Apparently, according to some posters on here, some tj maxx still sell designer. Sure. I mean I haven’t seen it in ten years, but yes back in 2010 the tj maxx on south beach did have a small rack of really weird, “I can see why no one wanted this” designer brands. Maybe a few thousand pieces passes through that rack a year. And maybe there are 10-20 stores in the US that get the same. So maybe several thousand legitimate designer items of questionable fashionability across the US in any given year. And then hundreds of millions of garbage items thrown on top.

Also, when someone says they got a lovely plain white size M Vince shirt…. There is zero way this was a real shirt. A plain brand name shirt would have been purchased before making it to a junk store. If something looks like a normal, not weird designer item at tj maxx, it’s because it was made for tj maxx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still find good things at these places.

Me too. I have a pretty good Marshalls near me. They always have great shoes, handbags, and sweaters. I also like some of the cookware in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshalls stock comes from sources like “department store cancellations, a manufacturer making up too much product, or a closeout deal when a vendor wants to clear merchandise at the end of a season.”

This hasn’t been their model in 25 years. None of Ross, Marshall’s and tj maxx release actual data, but around 15 years ago they were saying around 10 percent of their merchandise is “real” stuff that would have otherwise been in a department store.

Fast forward 15 years and you can assume that number is much lower. And more importantly, being a “department store cancellation” 99 percent of the time just means it might have gone on the racks at macys or similar. It doesn’t mean it was being sold at saks. Apparently, according to some posters on here, some tj maxx still sell designer. Sure. I mean I haven’t seen it in ten years, but yes back in 2010 the tj maxx on south beach did have a small rack of really weird, “I can see why no one wanted this” designer brands. Maybe a few thousand pieces passes through that rack a year. And maybe there are 10-20 stores in the US that get the same. So maybe several thousand legitimate designer items of questionable fashionability across the US in any given year. And then hundreds of millions of garbage items thrown on top.

Also, when someone says they got a lovely plain white size M Vince shirt…. There is zero way this was a real shirt. A plain brand name shirt would have been purchased before making it to a junk store. If something looks like a normal, not weird designer item at tj maxx, it’s because it was made for tj maxx.

Well, I don’t mind some of the clothes that are made just for TJ Maxx. I have found some pretty good staples with the House of Harlowe brand, including bodysuits and skirts for fall and spring. I do get complimented a lot on my clothing and style. Maybe people are just being nice to me, but I’m a very attractive lady and I also work in a creative field so there l isn’t as much pressure to look Monochromatic or boring and like everyone else. I enjoy bright colors, different prints, patterns but I am slim, tall so pretty much anything looks good on me and I’m glad that I can wear TJ Maxx clothes and not pay as much and save that money for vacations and dining out with my friends .