Fun in the Sun! Shopping Key West

I was looking very forward to shopping in Key West. I imagined this fun-in-the-sun location to be filled with lots of fun, unique shops. I found unique and I did find some fun, but I didn’t think the city was everything I imagined.
Duval Street is at the heart of Key West’s partying and shopping and so I started my shopping excursion on this tourist-filled street. The first shop I visited was Evan and Elle, and this shop also ended up being my favorite. This shop carried an equal selection of mens and womens clothing, like many other shops in Key West. I found myself perusing well-kept racks of name brands like BCBG and DKNY. If you are in the market for a new pair of jeans, this shop should be your first and last stop. There were rows and rows of jeans in different trends, colors, and styles. Among the designer digs, were less pricey and equally cute items by labels like Esprit. They were few and far between, but there were good deals to be found in this trendy store.
I wandered down Duval Street with little luck in finding anything worthy of my money. Luck struck me in a store called Play Time where I found a delightful white tank top with a flower design. The tops came in a multitude of colors with different designs and were a handy one size fits all. I had a hard time deciding which of these tops I wanted most, but finally decided on the white.
I meandered from store to store in search of something, anything to buy. I was in the mood for shopping and couldn’t find anything I wanted. The street is unfortunately littered with tasteless t-shirt shops and I was discouraged at the gaudy tackiness of the boutique-like shops. In a store called MM Couture, I tried on two tops that looked fantastic on the rack but made me look like a Playboy playmate once they were on my body.
I bypassed Banana Republic and Express because, although I often find myself in these stores at my hometown mall, I was searching for local flavor. I also passed up a Coach Factory store that bragged of $199 handbags. I adore Coach handbags, but why would I spend $199 on a last season handbag when I could buy myself a this season handbag for a mere $40 more?
I was nearly completed with my shopping with only one purchase, when I discovered the delightful Lilly Pulitzer. Located a block off Duval Street on Simonton Street, this gem was nearly tourist-free and girly but not pin-up girly like the rest of Duval Street. I know Lilly Pulitzer is a chain and can be found all over the country and I know I said I was avoiding chain stores like Express, but it is rare when you find a Lilly Pulitzer store and the style is so Key West that I had to go in. Here, I found a gorgeous white strapless dress that had a crocheted flower overlay and a dainty white bow around the waist. I may sound strange telling you this, but I had a fantasy once about this very dress and it was suddenly before my eyes. The other item I adored was a white skirt with a large colorful butterfly pattern creating the hem. Both items were priced at $188.
Here is my number one tip to shopping in Key West. I discovered, after walking away from potential purchases in a few shops, that sales people were willing to discount the price for you to get you to buy. When I turned down a pair of black sandals that had originally caught my eye, the sales person was willing to drop the price from full price to twenty percent off to fifty percent off. Try your luck with getting them to give you a better deal. And whatever you do have fun. After all, it is Key West!