Columnist Muriel Stevens: Shopping is Maine attraction

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2000 | 10:01 a.m.

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her Dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at 259-4080 or muriel@lasvegassun.com.

No visit to Maine would be complete without a day spent in Freeport. This once-sleepy little town has become a premium outlet center. It's surely the most charming of outlet destinations since the town is pretty much the way it was before it blossomed into a major outlet shopping destination.

A number of the outlets are housed in the same Main Street stores and homes that made up the town. L.L. Bean, the venerable purveyor of casual outdoor attire and sporting goods that is responsible for much of Freeport's success, is just off Main Street across from the biggest and best parking lot. L.L. Bean is open 24/7 and is busy throughout the day and night.

From the Bean store it's just a short walk to Main Street, where most of the designer stores can be found. All of the small side streets and the areas along the surrounding highways are filled with shops. The selection is outstanding. It's not possible to visit all of the stores in one day. So now, along with the shops, there are a number of guest houses and hotels. It's difficult to imagine an outlet town as a vacation destination, but to some shopping here is great entertainment.

Freeport also has a few one-of-a-kind stores devoted to special interests. Ike's Country Store & World War II shop is an interesting mix of WWII collectibles and '40s country store; 20th Maine is an American Civil War shop and a history buff's premium source for books, art, videos, music and authentic relics of the time.

My friends and I concentrated mostly on clothing and weren't disappointed. All of the stores ship, so I wasn't worried about buying more than I could carry. Maybe I should have been. It's easy to get carried away when there are so many temptations. Of course, had I wanted to, I could have bought new luggage at Hartmann (terrific buys) and carted the stuff home. Both Coach and Dooney and Burke have outlets here. So do Jones New York, Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, Cole Hann, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Dansk, Bogner and dozens more upscale outlets.

More outlets: We had stopped at Freeport on our way back to Cambridge, where my friends live. Midway between Freeport and Cambridge is the Outlet Mall of Kittery, our next stop.

Kittery is a series of outlets all along the highway. It's not quite as easy to shop here and it's not as pretty as Freeport, but there are many enticements: a Tumi luggage company store (this ultraexpensive line is still expensive when discounted), Crate and Barrel, Tommy Hilfiger, Royal Doulton, Villeroy and Boch are just a sample. In all there are about nine small centers, one after the other, on both sides of the highway.

And still more: The number of outlets and factory stores in Maine and New Hampshire is endless. Freeport is by far my favorite. After a while there's an awful sameness to the shops found in each mall. Don't for a minute believe that these shops sell only overstocks and returns. Any company that had enough overstock and returns to supply all the outlets would be bankrupt before unloading the stuff. Still, there are plenty of good values out there if you know the real stuff from the stuff made expressly for the outlets. Don't ask; they'll never tell. Shop the same brands in local stores for clues.