I heart T.J.Maxx and Marshalls. I really do. My husband grew up shopping there, but I didn’t gain an appreciation for the stores until a couple of years ago. I think the main reason I didn’t shop there is because I wasn’t educated on what they offered in their stores. I remember at one time thinking they only carried damaged items that the department stores didn’t want. Boy was I wrong.

T.J.Maxx and Marshalls carry high quality, top name brands at extremely affordable prices. Once I went into one of their stores and really looked around, I was hooked and have been shopping there ever since.

I recently had the chance to go shopping with my middle son for a few back-to-school items. With our $50 gift card in hand, we headed to T.J.Maxx and found some fabulous deals. We were on the hunt for hoodies and long sleeve button up shirts. Here’s one hoodie we found that would have been $45 in a department store, but we snagged it for $14.99.

We also found some button up flannel shirts, which are always a big trend for the guys when fall rolls around. You can wear them open with a tee underneath or buttoned up.

Did I mention that we saw tons and tons of name brand apparel. My son loves Hurley, American Eagle Outfitters, Volcom…all of which we found at T.J. Maxx during our shopping trip.

I would definitely say that our best back to school find was the stripped hoodie. It was priced just right and it fits perfectly. It was even great for some trampoline fun.

When it comes to back  to school shopping, we all want to get the best bang for our buck right?

That’s what the parents want. What do the kids want? Name brands. You can try to fight them all you want, but heck, we were all kids once and I guarantee you most of us also wanted those name brands on our clothing. In fact, throughout my years of purchasing back to school clothes, I have found that the name brand pieces are better made. Bottom line – They last longer. They wash better. My kids will actually wear them.

By shopping at T.J.Maxx, parents won’t need to be freaked out by those pricey tags. “What?! You want me to spend $50 on that one shirt?” Yep, I’ve said that before.

T.J.Maxx and Marshalls have high quality apparel for teens and kids (and moms too!).

You’ll see the same exact brands, the same exact clothes that you would in a department store, but for 20% to 60% less. How are they able to do this you might ask? And no, it’s not because the clothes are damaged like I once thought!  Because of their wide and frequent buyer market trips, they are able to purchase closer to need and be smarter about capitalizing on the trends.

Afraid you might find clothes that aren’t considered trendy anymore and your kids will turn up their noses?

It won’t happen. That was definitely my experience and let’s just say my middle son knows what he wants when it comes to his wardrobe. The buyers for T.J.Maxx and Marshalls are trend experts. They know exactly what to look for and exactly what to buy. They work very closely with the designers.

Every single week both stores receive more than 10,000 new items to restock their shelves. You will be blown away at the deals you can score. Blown away.

If you still have some back to school shopping to do or your own wardrobe could use some new pieces, do yourself a favor, pop into your local T.J.Maxx and/or Marshalls and have a look around. You won’t be disappointed.

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of T.J.Maxx and Marshalls and received a gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for taking the time to participate.”