I’m back with some more fashion posts and this time we’re taking a look at the Stuart Weitzman Outlet in Cabazon, CA. My best friend and I decided to spend the 4th of July out in Palm Springs and decided to stop by the Desert Hills Premium Outlets on our way there. It’s only about a 1.5-hour drive from Los Angeles so you can easily make a day trip out of it or spend the weekend out there like we did. The outlets are only 25 minutes away from Palm Springs so it was convenient for us to drive over whenever we wanted to.

The Stuart Weitzman Outlet was one of the stores that I wanted to check out while we were there. Last time, I went to go see the Christian Louboutin store and didn’t find anything particular that I loved. If I’m going to be spending that amount of money, I really want to love it, even if it’s discounted. I already have two Stuart Weitzman (SW) boots which I love so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to go see what was on sale. This blog post will mainly concentrate on the physical outlet location but I did provide some information about their online outlet store as well. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below!

Disclosure: I get a small commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.

 

STUART WEITZMAN OUTLET (STORE)

WHAT ARE THE STUART WEITZMAN OUTLET PRICES AND DISCOUNTS?

The discount is 70% off the whole store. I think this is pretty generous since the Christian Louboutin store was only 40%. All the outlet price tags reflected the original retail price so you’ll have to do the math and figure out what 70% off is.

 

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OUTLET STYLES AND THE RETAIL STYLES?

The answer is yes! I’ve confirmed with a couple of employees that the shoes you see at the outlets are about 50% are from the retail store and the other 50% is made specifically for the outlets. So, if you’re looking to buy a pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes, be sure you’ve done your research and know the exact model that you want. Otherwise, if you go into the store blindly, you could end up with a gorgeous pair of boots but it could be an outlet style. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but if you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars, it’s better that you know what you’re getting in advance.

 

OUTLET STYLES

If you are looking for the Reserve boot, the outlets did not have them but one of the employees recommended the Keelan as something similar. She was very nice and told me that this was an outlet brand but very similar to the Reserve boot. If you look at the pictures below, they almost look exactly the same. The Keelan also has the little SW hardware on the top of the boot which I kind of like better.

 

I was also looking at the Lowland or Midland boots and the same employee said that the only shoe that she has like that is called the Flannery. After looking at the Flannery, it looks almost exactly like the Lowland Lift, doesn’t it? It has the lug sole at the bottom and the same bowtie detail on the top back. Also, please do not be afraid to ask the employee if it’s a retail-style or outlet-style. I didn’t know and had to ask myself!

 

RETAIL STYLES

I didn’t have a lot of time to check every shoe and style but did notice these Nearlynude sandals. These are totally from the retail stores and you can find them on Stuart Weitzman’s website right now. It still retails for $398. So, with a 70% discount, they would only cost you $119.40! This shoe is definitely a bargain especially if you know that it’s still selling for full price online.

Source: https://www.stuartweitzman.com/products/nearlynude/S5516.html. Screenshot by author.

 

I also did some digging around on the Premium Outlets Stuart Weitzman website and noticed that they are selling the Allie boot which I know is an original retail style. I even found an old advertisement on SW’s Facebook page showing the exact Allie boot that’s now at the outlet. So, there are definitely some styles that are only for the outlet and some that came straight from the retail store.

Source: https://shoppremiumoutlets.com/collections/store-stuart-weitzman. Screenshot by author.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/StuartWeitzman. Screenshot by author.

 

WHAT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE OUTLET STYLES?

I do think the Stuart Weitzman outlet styles are pretty cute and as you can see, very similar to what is sold at their retail stores. In terms of quality, I’ve only touched it at the store and have not worn them so I can’t be 100% sure but from the looks of it, everything seems to be up to par. I also spoke to three different sales associates and all assured me that the outlet brands have the same quality as their retail brands. With that being said, it is their job to sell you these shoes so, of course, they are going to say that.

 

STUART WEITZMAN OUTLET STORE RETURN POLICY

At the outlet, you have 14 days to return, exchange, or receive store credit. This is a big advantage if you are able to go to the brick-and-mortar location because if you order online, it’s a final sale.

 

STUART WEITZMAN OUTLET STORE CUSTOMER SERVICE

I have really mixed feelings about their customer service. The first time we attempted to go to the store, the doors were completely locked. I tried to open the door since I saw that there were employees there and they just stood around the cashier looking at me. There was no sign saying that they were at lunch or to come back at a certain time. They literally just watched me struggle.

So my friend and I left but then we saw two other ladies try the door. They couldn’t open it either and waved at the employees. Again, all they did was stand there. No one came to the door and said that they were closed or to come back. How are you going to just close your store down in the middle of the day and just watch people as they struggle to come inside? Like… literally, the employees were just watching you! Later on the day, I started noticing shoppers carrying SW shopping bags and thought I would try the store again. Lo and behold, the store was completely open now. I couldn’t believe it!

So, the reason I’m conflicted is that I called the store the next day and one of the female sales associates helped me a lot. She answered a lot of my questions and also recommended similar styles of shoes that I was looking for. Granted, this was only after I spent an hour on the phone waiting for someone to pick up around lunchtime again. I gave up and decide to call back later in the afternoon around 4:00-5:00 pm. Luckily, said female picked up right away and ultimately changed my whole opinion about their customer service.

 

STUART WEITZMAN OUTLET (ONLINE)

It wouldn’t be a complete blog post unless I spoke a little bit about the SW Outlet online store. Currently, Stuart Weitzman has an online store dedicated to their outlet inventory. You can browse two ways. One is through the Premium Outlets’ website which will take you back to the SW Outlet section on the main website.

The second way is to go straight to the Stuart Weitzman Outlet webpage. All you have to do is enter your email address and it’ll give you access to all the shoes. I know it says “available to select customers for a limited time,” but I entered my email address anyways to see what would happen, and surprisingly, it gave me access to the SW Outlet webpage.

 

SW OUTLET ONLINE PRICES

The prices on the online outlet website are a little all over the place. They range anywhere from 50% to over 70%. So, technically you could be getting a better deal online if the discount is over 70%. If it’s not, then you are better off going to the actual outlet store since the whole store is 70% off.

Source: https://www.stuartweitzman.com/sw-outlet-sale-login?cgid=outlet. Screenshot by author.

 

SW SALE SECTION VS. SW OUTLET ONLINE

You might have noticed that there’s a separate “sale” section on the main SW website. If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what the difference is between the sales section and the outlet store. Well, I spoke to a customer service representative and she said that the outlet styles are “normally not restocked” while the retail items that go on sale “comes and goes.”

 

SW OUTLET ONLINE RETURN POLICY

For both the online sale section and online outlet, all purchases will be final sale. So, going to the actual outlet store is a safer bet since they have a 14-day return policy. Source: https://www.stuartweitzman.com/support/returns. Screenshot by author.

 

CONCLUSION

If you have a chance to make it to the actual Stuart Weitzman Outlet store, I would definitely pick the outlet over the online outlet store. First, if you buy it online, there are no refunds or exchanges. Second, if you go to the store, you can try on the shoes first. Lastly, if that particular outlet does not have your size or style, they can always check their warehouse or order it from another outlet store for you.

Also, make sure you do your research beforehand! Do not go into the store assuming everything came from their retail stores like how Gucci or Prada does it. I would also give the store a call either when the first open or closer to closing time. They can tell you if they have a certain style/size in stock so you don’t have to waste your time going to the outlets. Overall, I think it’s well worth stopping by and taking a look if you know what you are looking for. There’s never a line so you don’t have to invest a lot of time