DFW Bloggers Shop Around at Allen Premium Outlets

Last Saturday I was invited to tour the Premium Outlets in Allen, TX with ten other bloggers from the Dallas / Fort Worth area. It was organized by my blogger friend Cris of MyFashionJuice.com with help from Robyne (Central Marketing VP) and Penny (General Manager). There are so many Premium Outlets all over the US, I'm sure there's one near you. This was my second time at this location. It's been 5 or 6 years!

Some new and familiar faces! A good mix of mommy bloggers and fashion bloggers. We started the morning eating breakfast, meeting each other, and going through our gift bags full of coupons.
[photo source]
L-R top: Penny, Robyne, Cris
L-R bottom: Stephanie, Me, Ivonne, Melissa, Tamara

I can't believe they gave us such a great quilted black tote to carry all of our finds! Inside it was stuffed with special VIP coupons and goodies.

Just some of the coupons we were armed with. Every Premium Outlet will have coupons you can print out online before you go. I would make a list of all the stores you want to visit and make sure you print a coupon for those stores. You never know what you might find!

The VIP coupon booklet that's valid until 2013. Isn't it a convenient all in one brochure? Sign up to get yours here.

Our first stop was Banana Republic Factory Store. Most of the clothing you will find here is exclusive to the Factory Store. Therefore they are on trend and it's not leftovers from the regular stores. Great right?! These three ladies are modeling Summer Trend looks put together by the store manger. From the blue cardi, to the wedges, to the floral print I love it all!

Banana is not short on cute PRINTS and these are my favorites from the store.

Next we headed over to Samsonite where Patrick demonstrated how to pack for summer using the Eagle Creek Packing system. I was not a believer when my brother first told me about the packing system. I really didn't think it would make a difference at all but WOW when Patrick unfolded everything from the Folder I was amazed how useful the Pack-It system is. It was like that scene in Mary Poppins, he kept lifting out shirt after shirt.

Here are the different size Pack-It cubes. If you don't have a Samsonite near you, try the Container Store. After our presentations we were free to roam the outlet and we left in groups to hunt for our free gifts.

Other goodies: Samsonite 3oz travel bottles, Movado Jewelry Cleaner, notepad

A special gift from White House Black Market. Personal fan, hand sanitizer, laundry scents, and mints.

Another tote! I was actually looking for a canvas tote I could paint on. This came at a really great time.

At Vitamin World we were introduced to the magical Coconut Oil. It's good for you inside and out. Just google this craziness!

Retinol Cream and a Protein Bar from Vitamin World. Thanks to the manager! He was really friendly and curious about all our blogs. ;)

My FAVORITE find is this adorable green pan from Kitchen Collection. You never need to use oil and the food won't stick. I can't wait to test it out! This store was a baker's heaven!

NY & Company gave us a $25 off $25 coupon so I picked up a white bolero and this black enamel multi-chain necklace. I plan on recycling the chain and spray painting the black part gold. You'll have to wait and see the before/after on my other blog Julu Jewelry.

Columbia gave us a $15 gift card to use and I used it to buy a hat for my dad. My cashier was also really cute. BONUS!

I stopped by the CCO (cosmetics company outlet) but I didn't see anything I wanted. bummer! Same for the Coach Outlet. I wasn't in need of a purse, and I was overwhelmed by the selection and people buzzing around too.

My last stop before I went home was the Le Creuset store. The discounts were generous and they even had a 25% off sale on top of that for all of the beautiful blue items. I wish I could take it all home!

Allen Premium Outlets had so many stores but I only walked half of the huge property before I decided it was time to go home. I didn't want to tire myself out otherwise I wouldn't make the hour long drive home. Coming here is really an excursion so you need to be prepared. Wear comfy clothes, make a plan, bring water, wear a hat, wear a cross body purse to keep your hands free, and most importantly bring a friend.

Check out what the other bloggers had to say!

Ivonne - Ivonne Stacy Style

Cris - My Fashion Juice

Alicia - Fashion by Alicia

Stephanie - Beauty and Gardens

Tamara - Southern Yankee Mix

Staci - 7 on a Shoestring

Heather - Dallas Single Mom

Melissa - MelissaStuff

Metsy - Metsy Shines

Jenn - Jenn's RAQ

Stephanie - Korean Bohemian