I have a confession: I love to shop. What I love even more is hunting for deals. I get extra excited when I find something that I need that is good quality and a really good deal. The price is very important since I am on a graduate student’s income (loans, so it should be considered an outcome!) One of the most difficult things to get used to while living in Chicago is the tax on shopping. I am from Minnesota, where we have no sales tax; what we see on the price tag is what we get, unless of course we are lucky and there is a sale.
Tourists come to Minnesota for the Mall of America, but they usually miss out on the many outlet malls we have. As a shopper, I love outlet malls. It’s like everything is already on sale. I miss these, and decided to visit one of the outlet malls closest to Chicago.
We decided to go to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, near O’Hare Airport. They have a ton of stores and plenty of parking. The parking lot has red and green lights above every parking space (green means empty spot).
There are so many stores. Some of my favorites include Fossil, L’occitane (because soap is important), and Bose. There are so many great places, and you can find so many great clothes for clinic. Obviously, if you a student, I would recommend staying out of Burberry and Prada… unless you need some motivation for the future.
There is also a good cluster of food, mostly your typical food court places, but they have Godiva chocolate and a nice taco place. There is also an old fashioned candy store called Lolli and Pops, as well as Lindt.
If you need a study break, I would recommend going here. I know the warm weather is just around the corner, but unlike Minnesota outlet malls, this one is all indoors, so it’s perfect for cold, rainy, or snowy days. Just make sure to invite me, or bring me back some Godiva dipped strawberries!