In just 3 short weeks, David and I will be travelling to the USA, land of the free and home of the best shopping ever. In fact, I think Americans were born to shop.
While I generally prefer shopping at unique, one-of-a-kind boutiques, the fact is, I still love American chains stores. We only have a few of them in Canada, and only in the big centres.
We have Pottery Barn, but only a tiny store in Calgary, and they don't carry half the stock.
We have Williams Sonoma for great kitchen things, but
not Williams Sonoma Home:
We are getting a Crate & Barrel in Calgary sometime late this year, and there's one Anthropologie in all of Western Canada, if you don't mind driving 4 hours to Edmonton.
And don't even talk to me about fashion. Thankfully, we have my beloved Banana Republic here, but not J.Crew, where this season seems to be all about orange and pale green and grey!
And we don't have any of your department stores, like Neimann Marcus or Macy's or Bloomingdales or whatever the names are. We have Walmart. Thanks. And Home Depot. But no Lowe's anywhere else but in Toronto.
Oh, and we don't have Target! There is no L.L. Bean, nor Ralph Lauren (there was one in Toronto, but I think it closed. You have to go to Holt Renfew for Ralph Lauren). And I think Toronto has a Barnes & Noble, or maybe that's Borders.
But hey, Toronto is VERY far from here! For a brief geography lesson, I am in Calgary, which is in the PINK province on the left and Toronto is in the ORANGE one, north of New York State. Not very convenient for shopping. A four-hour flight, to be precise.
So....all this to say that I can't wait to hit the malls in the good old USA, or even better...the outlet stores! American outlet stores are the best. Ever since I was a kid and we travelled to the wonderful outlets in Maine, I've loved a good old American outlet shopping spree. I still have Ralph Lauren towels I bought 20 years ago for $3 apiece and I still wear my LL Bean rubber boots.
What's your favorite American decor or fashion chain? Any hot tips for me (we will be in the DC area)?
Photos: All decor photos by Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma Home. Clothing by J.Crew
Canada map from Google Images.