Trust me, I am far from rich. Yes, most of the stores at Short Hills are expensive and some of the counter people are rude (they make Anna Wintour look like the pope) but its a much better shopping experience all together. And again, I am not trying to sound rude or put anyone down, but I think if Newport had more high-end stores, there would not be so much riffraff.

Newport Mall has a few stores that are decent and would warrant a trip into the city if not for the mall - Victoria's Secret, Ann Taylor Loft and even Macy's selection is getting better, I don't have a car and it helps to have it so close by. I could go to Short Hills with my sister who goes there all the time but unless I can afford to shop at Jimmy Choo, Prada and Louis Vuitton I won't be doing my measly Victoria's Secret shopping there just to say I shopped at SH

I don't think Newport Mall is a dump. It's your average surburban mall with the usual stores. It's nice having it handy.

Short Hills Mall is for rich folk.

Regarding the ineffable experience of being in the
Newport Mall, always keep in mind:
if it had been that the wishes of the people who lived
here at the time were granted, there would be no Newport Mall today, nor no Newport anything.
The only saving grace, as friends of mine
frequently remind us, is that we saw it go up and we
will see it fall down -- in our lifetimes.
If you think the World Trade Center was made
out of spit and feathers, you should have been
here to watch them build Newport!

Got to agree with the previous poster - it is a dump. You can tell, because they are showing a movie called The Devil Wears Phat Farm. The addition of Kohl's will just make it worse. The best shopping news for the 'hood is that the World Financial Center is expanding its retail space and is looking for an upscale department store. Think Nordstrom's.

Newport Mall is a dump and will be until the day stores such as Pottery Barn and Anthropology move in (lol). Okay, I am not trying to sound rude, but, I rather drive 30+ min to Short Hills. Great collection of stores and when someone bangs into you, the actually say "I'm sorry". Regards

The addition of Kohl's this fall will be good too.

I agree, the renovations and the opening of the Coach store can only mean good things.
I have to walk thru the mall everyday and any improvement is greatly appreciated. I also do my part in helping to keep the stores I like around by shopping there way too frequently. I thought I could single handedly save The Limited but alas no such luck, I really miss that store...

Quote:

Yup.

I go there only under desperation for something, usually at Sears tools or Radio Shack (before they got rid of their parts section), and then only if I can get it back by bike rather than paying those a**holes for parking. When I gave him my ritual parking complaint (which I distribute to every vendor), the doc at Sears Optical says the parking isn't run by Simon, I find this difficult to believe.

When Home Depot opens, I'll probably see the inside of that mall once a year if that.

lipstick on a pig

I agree. And with the addition of the Coach store perhaps the mall become more upscale.

I searched the archive and didnt find any discussion of the Newport Mall renovations that are ongoing.
So far I really like what they have done with the more open space layout, the new floor tile, and who knew paiting the brick columns would be such a subtle yet effective change. New glass barriers, lighting fixtures and signage are quite nice as well.

The makeover is quite becoming, I tip my hat to whomever is making the choices.

I do scratch my head about the choice to use curb yellow as the color on the signage. With the muted tones of creme and grey I would have thought they might have left the sign naturally metallic in color instead of painting. Even now, assuming that the sign is meant to grab attention, the bright yellow is an odd choice.

But overall, really well done.