Hayley H.
Yelp
I've been frequenting Harwin Central Mart since the very first day it opened. My pashmina scarf collection is out of control because of this shopping center, and I've found many gifts here over the years. Bring cash though, unless you plan on spending lots of money, because most stores require at least a $10 minimum purchase before they'll let you use your credit card.
Most of the stores inside the shopping center don't have signs, so unfortunately it's difficult to tell you at which ones to shop. Really, if you have time you should stop by all the stores inside at least once to get a feel for what they're selling. Most of them are small enough that you can just poke your head in for a few seconds and then decide whether to browse further if something catches your eye. Yeah, there is some overlap with some of the inventory, but there's also plenty of new stuff to see at each store.
In my opinion, scarves and jewelry are the best options here, though you can occasionally find some nice purses for around $30-40. If you are looking for "good" knock off bags you will be hard pressed to find them here since the police have really cracked down on counterfeits in recent years. However, if you ask nicely and appear to be trustworthy, the purse shop owners will occasionally tell you where you can go off-site to a guy they know who has "guccipradalouisfendi." Other times they will just try to sell you their blatant "MD" bag (versus a real MK, or whatever).
Anyway, onto the scarves! The scarves come in solids and patterns (florals, paisley, leopard!, abstract, etc.) and are made of some blend of pashmina wool (made from a goat!) and silk. The majority of the scarves are 70% pashmina and 30% silk and are sold at most of the stores for either $3.99 or $4.99 each, although you can typically also find 100% pashmina scarves for $5.99. The more pashmina, the softer the scarf. There are some very unique and beautiful scarves here, and I can't stress that enough. Most stores have a deal where if you purchase 5 scarves, your 6th is free. This may sound like a lot, but when you see how many hundreds of options there are, it can be veeery difficult to narrow your selection down to just a handful. Just this weekend I picked up 10 for myself and 8 (5x3 + 3 freebies) to hoard as last minute gifts for female friends/family during the holiday season. I probably have over 100 scarves now - yikes!. They are sold packaged in plastic and laid very flat, so they store and stack easily. When it's time to hand 'em out as gifts, just remove the plastic packaging and fold one up into a pretty box, and nobody will know how inexpensive their beautiful gift really was.
As for jewelry, you can find Sterling silver and 18K gold in a couple of the shops here, but you will pay normal retail prices, so skip the fancy stuff. You want costume jewelry here. The stores do a good job of carrying trendy jewelry, as well as more timeless pieces, with average prices running from $5-20 depending on the weight and detail of the item. The quality is similar to what is sold at Charming Charlie, if not better on many things, but is generally at least half the price. During last year's JCrew jewelry frenzy, I found plenty of $5 knock-offs that look just like the $100 real thing. There are some really good looking Kendra Scott-inspired pieces now, too, for under $10 (as compared with KS's $60+ price tag). The trick is to pair these pieces with your cute date outfits, fancy work & cocktail party clothes, and mix these cheapo pieces in with your real stuff, so no one will second guess your bling. You can find just about anything you're looking for here. If you have a special occasion dress and need the perfect, unique, piece of statement jewelry to match and can't afford to spend a pretty penny, I can almost guarantee you will find what you're looking for here. It just takes a bit of patience. In fact, I bought my wedding "pearl" jewelry here - earrings and a bracelet - for about $20, and, believe me, they actually look more authentic than some of my real pearls do!
Finally, some of the stores in the Central Mart also sell some (junky) clothes and wigs -skip these unless you are looking for costumes - as well as quality luggage and real designer perfume at a fraction of the cost. If you are planning a ladies-day-out, definitely bring your girlfriends, mom, grandmas, and daughters here. There is something for every age group. If you're up for a solo outing, there is NOTHING sketchy about coming here alone. I have probably come here alone more often than with family/friends, and I always feel completely safe. All the shop owners are very friendly and helpful, and Harwin Central Mart is a really nice place to shop in an otherwise ugly retail neighborhood. You can truly get your shopping fix here without breaking the bank.
