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The Year's Darkest Shopping Day Made Sunny At California Outlets

November 9, 2009 at 3:39 PM | by | Comments (0)

A sunny scene at the Desert Hills Outlets—before Black Friday

Black Friday is not for the faint of heart. Should you bear traces of tryptophan in your blood stream, or experience the after-effects of one too many glasses of wine from Thanksgiving, then sleeping in may suit you more than braving a crowd of rabid shoppers—and we do mean rabid. We've heard horror stories about Black Friday deaths and witnessed parent-on-parent showdowns at Toys 'R' Us, which are precisely the reasons that news outlets line up in the wee hours of the morning to document the mania.

If you're a brave enough consumer, then by all means drag yourself out of bed before sunrise and take advantage of the deals. Hey, it's your "patriotic duty," right? The West Coast, with shopping safe havens like Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and San Francisco's Union Square, is ripe for spending sprees, but some of the best deals are where discounts are knocked off of already marked-down prices.

Say it with us, readers: outlet shopping...

The unrivaled mother of all outlet chains is Chelsea Premium Outlets. Their appeal lies in the vast array of stores you'll find different outposts, nine in California alone. Mall staples such as J. Crew and Gap make an appearance at the Gilroy location, for instance, while venturing to Desert Hills will place you among the luxury ranks of Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, and Tod's. We have a friend who scored $400+ Tom Ford sunglasses for a quarter of the price at Barneys' outlet in Camarillo recently, to give you an idea of the savings in store.

If you frequent Chelsea's outlets, then consider joining their VIP club, which is free and keeps you abreast of new deals. Last year, we hear that an exclusive pdf outlining Black Friday discounts was made available ahead of time—essentially a game plan for calculated gift-givers. Yeah, it's more e-mail spam, but you could always delete yourself from the list after the Friday from Hell is over.

What the VIP club won't provide you with is adequate protection from hard core deal seekers, so mentally and physically prepare yourselves accordingly.

Related Stories
· Chelsea Premium Outlets [Official Site]
· Shopping coverage [Jaunted]
· Thanksgiving coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Roca Chang]

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