Best Places to Shop for Back-To-School in Maryland

In the state of Maryland, there are tons of places to go for back-to-school shopping. Whether you are a parent looking for the best fashion deals for your child or an excited teenager with a pocket full of cash, there are tons of places that have the best deals on clothes and footwear. Tax free week in Maryland begins on August 23rd and will end on August 27th. During tax free week, any clothing and footwear that is priced at $100 or less will be exempt from taxes. That week will definitely be the best time to shop for the best deals in the latest fashion and footwear during the summer.

The Bowie Town Center in Prince Georges County Maryland is an outdoor shopping center with tons of apparel and footwear stores for your shopping needs. Hechts and Sears are the main anchor stores as well as Old Navy. In Largo (also PG County) the Boulevard at the Capital Centre has some great stores as well. However, this outdoor shopping center has more athletic shoe stores than anything else and its anchor attractions are Borders, The Sports Authority and The Magic Johnson Movie Theatre. There are a couple of malls that are still standing in Prince Georges County like Prince Georges Plaza, Forest Village Mall, and Iverson Mall. However, I wouldn’t recommend shopping there in the evening or during the weekend.

Montgomery County Maryland has much nicer malls with many stores that will help you find what you need for back-to-school shopping. In Bethesda Maryland, WestfieldMontgomery Mall has well over 200 stores to choose from. Hechts, Sears, and Nordstrom lead the mall as the anchor stores, but you will find many other great choices for apparel and footwear. WestfieldWheaton Mall has over 200 stores as well and is a very good alternate of shopping if you choose not to visit Montgomery Mall.

Arundel Mills Mall, located in Hanover Maryland, is one of the biggest outlet malls in the state. One year, I actually did all of my shopping at Arundel Mills. There are tons of outlet stores to choose from like the Kenneth Cole, Lane Bryant, and Levi outlet. In Annapolis Maryland, the Westfield Annapolis Mall has close to 200 stores to choose from. This one level mall is a load to walk sometimes and can get overly crowded, but is a good choice for back-to-school shopping. Owings Mills Mall located in Baltimore has great sales for back-to-school shoppers like the free Back-To-School pass at Children’s palace. From July 13th until September 4th, the pass allows a 15% discount on all purchases.

Tip: When shopping for young children, the mall can get pretty nasty. There are crowds everywhere; rude adults, foul mouth teenagers, crying kids. Don’t forget about stores such as Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Ross. They always have good clothing for a reasonable price. You can forget about asking your teenage son or daughter about those type of stores. They want the mall.

Here is a list of my top stores for Back-To-School Shopping:

Bowie Towne Center
15606 Emerald Way
Bowie, MD
301-860-1818

Boulevard at the Capital Centre
880 Capital Center Blvd.
Largo, MD
301-808-0200

Westfield Montgomery Mall
7101 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda MD 20817
(301) 469 6025

Westfield Annapolis Mall
2002 Annapolis Mall
Annapolis MD 21401
(410) 266 5432

Westfield Wheaton Mall
11160 Veirs Mill Road
Wheaton MD 20902-1094
(301) 942 3200

Arundel Mills Mall
700 Arundel Mills Circle
Hanover, MD 21076
(410) 540-5110

Owings Mills
10300 Mill Run Circle
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117-4205
(410) 363-7000