The Tanger Outlets are an American outlet chain that has locations spread out across the country.  The Tanger Outlets originated in 1981 when Stanley K. Tanger created the first outlet shopping center in America.  The first was in Burlington, North Carolina, and there are now thirty-nine Tanger outlets in twenty-five states. Most of these outlets lie along the east coast, but the company has spread out west.  This idea of outlet malls has lead to other outlet companies being created. This outlet chain has a location in the town of Mebane located in Alamance County, and the branch has nearly one hundred outlet stores inside. What the stores are, are locations for certain brands to send the clothes and accessories that they cannot sell in their normal stores or department stores.  Outlets are much like a store, such as TJ MAXX or Marshalls, that receives things from stores that did not go in the store and sells them for a cheaper price at their own store.  The difference between stores like this and an outlet mall, like the Tanger Outlets, is that in the outlets, each brand has their own outlet store.  There are a lot of things at these outlets that you can find from accessories, to clothes for men, women, and children, and fragrances and cosmetics. 

            These outlets have a long list of designer brands where you can find very affordable clothes that would normally put a large dent in your wallet.  These include Banana Republic, J. Crew, Lacoste, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lucky Brand Jeans and Vineyard Vines, just to name a few.  A lot of the things you find at these stores may be a little out of the latest style, but for the bargain that these clothes come, this is not enough of a reason not to buy.  There are a lot of great things that you can find in these clothing stores, and it is a great feeling when you find something that you like and find that it is marked down from the original price.

            Here are some of the stores at the outlets, where they are, and what their phone number is:

            Full list of clothing stores

              Full List of Shoe Stores : The outlets also have great places to find cheap shoes.  The shoe stores are much like the clothing outlets because you can find things for a lot cheaper than you would find them in the original store.           

 (This is not a complete list but the rest can be found at http://www.tangeroutlet.com/mebane/directory)

          The outlets are located at 4000 Arrowhead Blvd. Mebane, North Carolina 27302 and are open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and on Sundays from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.  If you are coming from the Winston-Salem direction, take I-40/85 East to exit 154. Turn left and then turn right onto Arrowhead Blvd. If you are coming from Raleigh-Durham take I-40/85 West to Exit 154, then turn right, and then make another right on Arrowhead Blvd.

(Photo courtesy of http://colorlandscapes.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/tanger-outlets-open-in-mebane/)

Works Cited

"Directions." Tanger Outlets: Mebane, North Carolina. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.tangeroutlet.com/mebane/directions>.

"Leading the Way." Tanger Outlets: Company. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.tangeroutlet.com/company/history.aspx>.

"Store Directory & Map." Tanger Outlets: Mebane, North Carolina. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.tangeroutlet.com/mebane/directory>.