Boston shopping

[cutxpaste]

I'm going to the MFA exhibit tomorrow

 

[lucy92]

it seems like tjmaxx is opening up two stores filled with higher end stuff, maybe just through xmas (the store is called themaxx) and they are at the natick mall and south shore plaza.

at my local tjmaxx theyve started marking down the designer stuff (miu miu jeans were 50$).good thing is the designer markdown stuff is still segregated, so its easy to find.

 

[ChrissyM]

^themaxx has been in natick for almost a year now... quite a while anyway.

perhaps they're bringing in higher end merchandise for the holiday season?

it is like tjmaxx but it only sells accessories--so they've got shoes, bags, jewelry etc. there is typically more variety and bigger selection than in tjmaxx

i noticed the markdowns in the designer stuff as well.. i might have to stop by soon because i noticed some vivienne tam items i liked
maybe if i'm lucky they'll still be there...

 

[LoveLetter]

Went to see the fashion show today. Very disappointed! For some reason those exhibited clothes don't look like they worth that much money. Some Dior gowns even have unfinished hems or frayed. The whole exhibit is kinda dull. However, I love the fashion photography exhibit, very interesting.

 

[young_princess]

how much is sales tax in boston? I plan to move there for school but still doubtful coz they say boston is pretty expensive. So stuff like groceries are more expensive?thanks!

 

[lucy92]

sales tax on clothing and groceries is 0%. they only get you on food if you are getting prepared food (like at a cafeteria) then its 5%.
sales tax on other stuff is 5%.

 

[young_princess]

sales tax on clothing and groceries is 0%. they only get you on food if you are getting prepared food (like at a cafeteria) then its 5%.
sales tax on other stuff is 5%.

oh okay but how come they say it is expensive living in boston? So are things generally more expensive in boston>?

 

[mundodabolsa]

oh okay but how come they say it is expensive living in boston? So are things generally more expensive in boston>?

what are you comparing it to? big city living pretty much all over the country is expensive compared to smaller cities. rents are pretty crazy here, not manhattan crazy but not reasonable either.

 

[lucy92]

well, housing and education can be expensive here. depends on where you live of course (and my rent is cheap because i have roommates)
i actually think the tax system is pretty equitable here. i HATE going to other states and get nickle and dimed tax wise buying a newspaper for instance (tax on 'em in florida for instance)
and i think people from massachusetts are pretty adept at waiting for bargains. not many of us buy things at full price.

 

[young_princess]

well i know my uni's gonna be expensive n im gonna be living in their dorm which is freaking expensive too. But I wanna know if groceries n other necessities are more expensive

 

[LoveLetter]

sales tax on clothing and groceries is 0%. they only get you on food if you are getting prepared food (like at a cafeteria) then its 5%.
sales tax on other stuff is 5%.

Sales tax on clothes is 0%? Isn't any individual clothing item costing more than $175 taxable on the amount over the basic exemption? For a $200 dress, you need to pay tax of (25 X 5%).

 

[lucy92]

loveletter, maybe...i rarely buy anything over 150 in person here and online retailers dont seem to be charging me taxes for items over that amount either.

 

[lucy92]

excerpts from a wwd story about the new natick mall.

Natick Mall Charts $500M Expansion
By Katherine Bowers
NATICK, Mass. — With an undulating steel-and-glass roof, custom-designed Neiman Marcus storefront and luxury condominium tower, a $500 million expansion of Natick Mall is intended to redefine it as the premier shopping destination in the Boston region.

“We want it to be the South Coast Plaza of this area,” John Bucks­baum, chief executive officer of Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., which owns the mall, said during a ceremony last week to celebrate the existing center’s interior renovation, phase one of a three-year project.

Construction crews are grafting a 550,000-square-foot wing, which includes a luxury court anchored by Neiman Marcus and metro Boston’s first Nordstrom, onto the mall’s footprint. It is to open next September.

Bucksbaum described 1.4-million-square-foot Natick Mall, about 20 miles west of Boston, as a “high-producing mall, in the upper 10 percent of our portfolio.” He declined to reveal the property’s sales per square foot.

Louis Vuitton and the area’s first Zara and Martin + Osa have signed on for space in the new wing, which will include about a dozen retailers that are not represented elsewhere in New England, Bucksbaum said.

In the luxury court, international luxury brands and upscale boutiques will be clustered around a 110,000-square-foot Nei­man Marcus designed with a huge sheet of golden metal rippling across a glass façade to mimic the movement of a skirt hemline. The two-story wing will have valet parking and several upscale restaurants.

A second court with an infinity pool at ground level and a “floating’’ circular mezzanine café will be attached to the new mall by skywalk bridges.

Natick Mall, where Sears is an anchors, sits at the crossroads of the Boston metropolitan area’s major thoroughfares: Interstate 95, the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 9. This is the second-most affluent suburban market in the U.S., topping Tysons Corner, Va., Short Hills, N.J., and White Plains, N.Y., said Michael McNaughton, vice president of asset management for General Growth Properties.

“This is a statement to the power of the Boston market,” McNaughton said, adding the mall could become a one-stop option for high-end shopping. Downtown Boston’s luxury shopping is divided between Newbury Street and Copley Place.


The design — featuring an undulating ceiling and stylized birch groves with cascading leaves — plays off Natick, a Native American word meaning rolling hills. A rooftop park is planned for residents at Nouvelle at Natick, a 250,000-square-foot, 215-unit luxury condominium project set to open in 2008.

 

[mundodabolsa]

loveletter, maybe...i rarely buy anything over 150 in person here and online retailers dont seem to be charging me taxes for items over that amount either.

lucky duck, send some of that no-tax luck my way! there is a definitely a charge above $150 (or is it $175?) when buying things in person at least, but I think it's called the luxury tax or luxury sales tax or something more complicated like that.

 

[pasfoti]

Loveletter is right!

Not just in person, if you order from Neimanmarcus.com or Bananarepublic.com, you still need to be taxed on the part over $175. If you don't get taxed on online orders, that is because the online merchants you order from are not located in MA. And there are plenty of them...Nordstrom, eLuxury, Shopbop, Net-A-Porter...to name a few. BTW, the so-called luxury tax had been removed years ago. I don't think clothes over $175 are considered luxury.

 

[young_princess]

so how much do u get taxed over 175? okay this is a really silly question, but my frend was saying that a carton of milk would cost $10 in boston is that true or was she kidding???

Loveletter is right!

Not just in person, if you order from Neimanmarcus.com or Bananarepublic.com, you still need to be taxed on the part over $175. If you don't get taxed on online orders, that is because the online merchants you order from are not located in MA. And there are plenty of them...Nordstrom, eLuxury, Shopbop, Net-A-Porter...to name a few. BTW, the so-called luxury tax had been removed years ago. I don't think clothes over $175 are considered luxury.

 

[mundodabolsa]

so how much do u get taxed over 175? okay this is a really silly question, but my frend was saying that a carton of milk would cost $10 in boston is that true or was she kidding???

she's kidding. if you go to a gourmet store in beacon hill, then maybe. if you get your milk from the convenience store/CVS/supermarket, it's going to be normal priced, $1.99 or $2.99 depending on size.

 

[LoveLetter]

so how much do u get taxed over 175?

If you buy a $450 coat, you pay sales tax for the part over $175, which is:
($450-$175) x 5%= $13.75

 

[rainglow]

I'm going to Boston next week and I can't wait - no matter how bad you guys think Boston shopping is, it's a billion times better than Irish shopping

I was going to check out this boutique called Injeanius: http://www.injeanius.com/ Have any of you guys been there? I have huge problems getting jeans I like, and this place got great reviews on Citysearch http://boston.citysearch.com/review/41795729.

Thanks

 

[ChrissyM]

I'm going to Boston next week and I can't wait - no matter how bad you guys think Boston shopping is, it's a billion times better than Irish shopping

I was going to check out this boutique called Injeanius: http://www.injeanius.com/ Have any of you guys been there? I have huge problems getting jeans I like, and this place got great reviews on Citysearch http://boston.citysearch.com/review/41795729.

Thanks

I haven't been, but from what I see from the website it looks pretty good
I might have to check it out myself!

Let us know how you like it and enjoy your trip to Boston! Make sure to take a stroll down Newbury Street over the weekend if you'll be here... it has a great atmosphere and even if you don't feel like shopping it's a great place to people watch