Buy Clothing from Outside the U.S
Some of the largest clothing stores in the world are from the USA. Many of them do have locations in other countries but often they’ll offer different styles and higher pricing, sometimes much higher. In some cases, the clothing company website allows the browsing, purchasing and of their products outside the US while many others still do not for various reasons. So what can you do if you really, really want an item of clothing from a store in the US but they don’t allow purchasing or shipping from other countries? The US Unlocked card + freight forwarder will typically get the job done.
Fashion around the world is often unique to particular countries and the US is no exception. During travels you can sometimes tell a persons country of origin by the clothes they wear. Let’s have a look at some of the top clothing stores from the USA.
Levi Strauss & Co. – in 1853 a German immigrant Levi Strauss moved to San Francisco to sell dry goods. His jeans were sold heavily during the gold rush and the first official jeans began manufacturing in the 1870’s and the first Levi, the 501, rolled out a few years later. The popularity of the jeans grew significantly from 1910 through to the 1980’s with Levi’s leading the way. Levi’s are available around the world but purchasing specifically on the Levi USA website requires a US address and card.
Gap Inc. – founded in 1969 in San Francisco, originally as a Levi’s reseller as a way to supply every stock, size and color at their stores. They quickly expanded and started selling private label items and further expanded with subsidiary brands of Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and Hill City. Gap stores cover some 43 countries but the USA site will not ship items internationally.
Ralph Lauren – in 1967, Ralph Lauren started selling ties from a showroom in the Empire State Building. Within 2 years we was selling a mens line of clothing in Bloomingdales before expanding to include tailored shirts for women and then opening his first store in Beverly Hills. Now with some 144 stores around the world and inventory that includes footwear, fragrances, housewares and jewelry, limited items by the brand can be sourced in several countries. The US website does not ship internationally.
Brooks Brothers – founded in 1818 in New York, the clothing company is considered the oldest apparel brand in the US. They operate in around 70 countries.
Calvin Klein – founded in 1968 in New York as a coat shop it quickly expanded to include dresses then sportswear, blazers and lingerie. Klein’s products which added fragrances, cosmetics, scarves, sunglasses, bedsheets as well as their highly successful underwear and jeans collection were sold through 12,000 stores in the US and available in six countries. The CK USA website does not ship internationally.
Hanes – since 1900 (originally as Shamrock Knitting Mills) Hanes has been producing womens and mens underwear and have since expanded to activewear and casualwear clothing. Items are available throughout their 250 stores as well as international locations.
Target – the first store opened in 1962 and is currently the eighth largest retailer in the US and sells a lot of items including a large section of clothing including many private label brands like Goodfellow & Co., A New Day, JoyLab and Universal Thread among many others. Their international website offers about half of the inventory available to U.S customers.
Tommy Hilfiger – was founded in 1985 with a fresh line of mens clothing, often referred to as “preppy” and a specific focus on casual male sportswear. They expanded to include women’s clothing and opened its first store in Beverly Hills and then in London. Now with some 2000 retail stores in over 100 countries, the brand also includes homewares and accessories and targets a more diverse audience. International shipping from their USA website is not currently available.
Dickies – in 1922 the company began producing its famous denim bib overalls which focuses on working industries like automotive, hospitality, construction and medical. While it may be a distinctly U.S brand, the clothing is available in around 20 countries. They currently do not ship internationally from their U.S website.
Abercrombie & Fitch – started in 1892 in Manhattan as outfitters for the outdoorsman which included products like guns, fishing rods and tents. They shifted focus to apparel in 1978 and grew to one of the largest apparel brands in the U.S. and has grown significantly around the world. The U.S website does not currently offer international shipping.
