The Hunt: Shopping Urban Outfitters

So, I was on the hunt for new lamps and shades for a client and remembered that Urban Outfitters carries great lighting. I recently visited the Melrose store and found some pretty fab stuff on sale. I picked up some orange wine glasses that were 20% from $8.00 and purchased a pair of lampshades and lamps.

Enter Slideshow

I like Urban Outfitters home dept but have noticed they have a tendency to buy from the same companies. Their merchandise is consistently the same, but just a different color.

I have also noticed that their prices are more reasonable than they used to be. I remember not purchasing certain items in the past because I felt it was too high and I would just wait for it to go on sale.

The Peel Door hook seemed like a great space saving idea to hang coats, and is actually cool looking. How cute would these look displayed on a kitchen wall? There is a velvet Velvet Headboard and these Wood Grain Sheets as well as the Green and Brown Sheets.

A few Books to look at:
Ready Made book , and this
DIY book.

There was also this Shower Curtain.

I actually looked for this stool, but couldn’t find it in the store.
For $28.00 I might have to call some other stores and see if I can track it down. It is small but really functional.

I will say that Urban Outfitters has always been a great place to pick up a fun last minute gift. Most of the time they carry gift boxes and that great tissue paper, which is now in Magenta.

- Vanessa De Vargas (aka Turquoise)

Comments (11)

Has anyone had a good experience with the quality of Urban Outfitters housewares? I've only gotten a (deeply discounted) blanket and set of sheets from them, and both are/were pretty abominable in quality. And my standards are pretty average. I'd love to hear that other stuff is decent- as it IS cute and affordable (well, sometimes.)

i remember purchasing a really beautiful quilt on sale from urban which was STOLEN from my basement over the summer during college! i agree that the bedding is generally pretty crappy- low thread counts and scratchy as all heck. i have some bowls that i received as gifts. i can't even put oatmeal in the bowls without them scalding my hands. honestly, i find the overwhelming majority of their goods (housewares and otherwise) to be of low quality and disposable in nature. it's all flash and no substance. and don't even get me started on their politics and business practices.

Don't the owners of Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie back some particularly heinous politicos?

I'm usually all about the shopping, but this is one outfit whose catalogs I tear up and recycle upon receipt.

I miss the tapestries they used to carry here. They really work well beyond the old hang it on the wall situation. I used them to make skirts, beach cover ups, curtains, pillow covers, cushion covers, and even to upolster an old chair. If you're willing to cut and sew instead of just tacking them up on the wall they're really versatile and inexpensive.

Urban Outfitters is known for great lighting? Hmmm.... Every once in a while, I stop in and have a look-see. I always leave wondering who, besides poor starving college students, likes their stuff. I am always amazed at how crowded the stores get. Everything looks and feels like cheap crap to me. I feel like I'm in a Spencer Gifts that sells furniture. The only thing I've ever remembered and perhaps might get (if I can't find a better version) are the picture frames sized for record albums (I have a bunch of old records that would look cool on a wall). Nearly all the stuff in Urban Outfitters looks like it would either hurt you or fall apart. And don't get me started on their clothing!

Particularly heinous politicos? Do tell... I try not to shop at places I can't respect.

It's rare that I find anything at Urban Outfitters, but I'l admit that I hit the jackpot with a really cool multi-colored striped shower curtain there once. I'd never gotten compliments on a shower curtain before that...

If memory serves, the owners of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are big donors to Rick Santorum, and some other anti-gay, pro-life groups. I think there was some sort of controversy about whether the company itself was donating money to these campaigns.

dont buy those record sleeve frames! I thought they were cool too, but its not even glass (or plexi) ! Theyre aluminum frames, barely painted black, with clear plastic 'glass' . Every houseware Ive ever gotten from urban breaks or scratches or looses color or .. SOMETHING much faster than even ikea stuff. sorry hot ladies of urban..

My experience with Urban is that their stuff is of the exact same quality as Target's (low-to-mediocre), and two to three times as expensive, and that their politics are pretty odious. There's almost nothing you can buy there that doesn't have an equivalent somewhere less objectionable, and you can get much better quality for the prices they charge, or save money on items of similar quality. Their clothes can pretty much be found from various juniors retailers (Alloy is similar) and their housewares and gift items can be tracked through places like Exit9. Anthropologie is more difficult for me, because I like their clothes a lot better than I like Urban's.

That said, I'm totally entranced with two things that Urban is selling right now: one is a set of branches with plum blossom-type flowers on them, with a little LED in each bud. The other is the "Urban Tea Table" linked with my name below; this item wouldn't be that hard to make. They are selling some mirrored furniture right now which is pretty, but the quality makes me nervous (my local store doesn't have them in and I wouldn't buy them anyway).

I also have a pair of their curtains, a watercolor print of bright little finches on branches, which are VERY thin but attractive enough.

I don't know. I try not to shop there if I can help it; sometimes I slip. (I last slipped for clearance xmas ornaments in the shape of tiny animals made of chirimen/"kimono" fabric, which I got for like $1/each.)

I'm confused--the owners of anthropologie are anti-gay? House & Garden had a spread this issue with the president and head antiques buyer--a gay couple.