TravelBlog: We went on a lark. THANK YOU, LARK!
I hate to turn what’s been a meaningful serious conversation here to a superficial one, but when duty calls…. I had heard whispers about it since we arrived in Roanoke. You know the kind of bug women relish placing in each other’s ears, “JCrew Outlet.”
I was not impressed because visions of our first married Thanksgiving danced through my head. Mike and I drove to The Pottery Barn Outlet in Gaffney, SC at midnight Thanksgiving night. We thought we were brilliant, surely the only ones silly enough to do such a crazy thing. We were going to rack up such loot, it would amaze and titillate everyone who would listen. Well guess what? The line to get to the outlet, started two miles down the highway. To say nothing of the chaos inside that store at 1 a.m. We left with nothing more than a rustic chandelier. Great find but certainly not worth the trouble.
So when I heard there is a JCrew outlet nearby, I didn’t really jump at the chance to drive there. After all, no need to get all worked up about what amounts to 10 percent discount. Well silly, silly me! Instinct leads me astray once again.
The JCrew Clearance Center is no outlet store. No! It is filled with those adorable embellished t-shirts that retail for about 50 bucks (yes 50 bucks). At the clearance center, those t-shirts are between 10 and 15 dollars! Rock on summer wardrobe! Mommy’s here to take you home.
Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, there are two separate clearance centers just five minutes drive apart. The first one is located in the retail section of a new urbanism development called Wyndhust. This clearance center has mens, womens, crewcuts (kids) and wedding dresses. What kind of deals did we spot? A $500 Irish linen suit for two hundred bucks. A pair of women’s white jeans for $10! Those were items on our shopping lists but there are plenty of dresses, madras shorts, shoes, ties, purses, swimsuits and other clothes to choose from.
Five minutes down the street in an industrial park warehouse, is the second clearance center. It’s bigger and therefore has a greater inventory. I found a pair of the “toothpick” style jeans at $70 off. You can fill a dressing room with t-shirts that are part of the current catalog but marked down to $10-15. Women’s shoes sold for around $30.
We found a man’s leather messenger bag for $80. It normally retails for $225. Again there were plenty of swimsuits, flip-flops, suits, jackets and other goodies to choose from.
The sales staff is helpful and courteous. Both stores are stroller friendly. This is a great spot for everyone, but should be a “must” for moms whose bodies and closets are in “transition.”
Keepin’ it real… cheap… Anna
PS. Common sense tips: Check over each piece carefully. I eliminated several choices because of small nicks, picks, holes or stains. Believe me, my wallet was grateful to take its leave of them (I had plenty of other things that were in perfect condition : )
How to find them (if you can find one, they’ll offer you printed directions to the other and I would definitely hit them both).
JCREW Clearance Center in the industrial park: Take 221 N to Lynchburg, take a right on Graves Mill Road, and a right on Millrace Drive… 25 Millrace Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24502-4343 (this is the same address where you are instructed to mail your jcrew.com returns)
JCREW The clearance center located in the new urbanism development: 101 Northwynd Circle, Lynchburg, VA 24502-3147, (434) 239-0575
