If you live in or around the city of Tampa this holiday season, you should consider yourself lucky because of the huge selection of stores and shopping centers you have to choose from.
First I’ll start in Centro Ybor, on busy weekends finding a place to park may seem like a daunting task. By following the signs to the nearest parking garage you save yourself time, and the possibility of parking in a no parking zone and getting your car towed. The parking garage in Centro Ybor charges only one dollar for up to three hours, so there’s really no reason to not park in it.
Centro Ybor offers many little stores that you won’t be able to find anywhere else like Neo Trash, an independently owned store that just recently opened on 7th avenue. Neo Trash has shirts from indie clothing companies like Heartcore and also a brand called “Owl Movement” which spotlights different Tampa artists every month by having their work screen printed onto the tees. They have clothing for both guys and girls and also a sort of thrift store in the back with clothing that people have brought in. Neo Trash also has tons of cute accessories, wallets, and purses. It is definitely worth checking out even if it’s just a little peek through the window as you’re walking by.
Another great store Centro Ybor has to offer that is about a block down from Neo Trash is “La France.” La France is a vintage clothing store with many clothes ranging from the 1920’s to the 1970’s. They have a different section for each time period, for example in the ’70’s section there are huge platform shoes, bell bottoms and jazzy tops. The great thing about La France is that it is all used clothing, so all of the clothes are 100% authentic from the time period. It’s like a consignment shop with a huge variety of clothes to choose from. There are beautiful evening dresses, huge sunglasses from the ’60’s, jewelry, shoes, and even little coin purses to choose from. Some of the items may be a little expensive, but they are worth every penny because you can be assured you aren’t going to find anything you find at La France anywhere else.
Centro Ybor also has many stores that you can find in the mall like Claire’s and Victoria’s Secret for those people who would rather just stick to the stores they know. The only Urban Outfitters in Tampa can be found in the heart of Centro Ybor as well. The whole first floor is dedicated to women’s clothes, accessories and purses, and the second floor is where you can find the mens clothes, and “housewear.” You can find all kinds of artwork, silverware, dishes, bed spreads and much more. The sales at Urban Outfitters always great as well, so if nothing else it is worth a stop just to see what kind of bargains you can find. Just walking around Centro Ybor you will be able to find anything you are looking for because of such a wide variety of stores there are.
From Centro Ybor you can take the uptown trolley for only 50 cents that goes straight to The Hyde Park Village. If you have money to spend, Hyde Park would definitely be the best place in Tampa to spend it.
There is an Anthropologie store that you can’t find anywhere else in Tampa. They have the most unique and stylish women’s clothes, and also little knick-knacks like dresser pulls and picture frames to spice up your room. Everything at Anthropologie is very expensive so beware, it would be very easy to spend over 500 dollars in this store because the clothing is so much more fashionable than at many other stores.
Also in Hyde Park there is a little store for your dog called “Uptown Dogs.” They have the cutest little outfits for your dog in a variety of sizes. They also have a huge assortment of collars and anything else you would ever need. Hyde Park has many other stores like Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, and Indigo Coffee. Sadly, many of the stores have closed in Hyde Park but the ones that are still open are great for anything you could be looking for. For more information about the stores or events that are going on in Hyde Park click here.
The last but certainly not least greatest place to shop in Tampa is the International Plaza. The International Plaza has over 200 stores, 100 of which are new to the Tampa Bay area. There are department stores like Nordstrom’s and Neiman Marcus, and stores for basically every designer you can think of inclding Gucci, Channel, Lois Vitton, Coach, Betsey Johnson, Guess, the list could go on forever. There are also stores like American Eagle, Express, and Abercrombie for those who don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on one item.
If you get hungry there is a whole section outside called “Bay Street” that has restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory and The Blue Martini. Where ever pick you eat on Bay Street, the food is going to be delicious, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to find something you like. You could find yourself spending hours and hours in this mall before you have even seen half of it, so if you are going to visit the International Plaza make sure you have the whole day to devote to shopping because once you get there you’ll never want to leave.
All in all, Tampa is a great place to get all of your shopping done. Whether it’s for the holidays or just for fun, you will find anything you could ever want just by visiting these three locations.
