I am taking my 18 year old sister on a shopping trip for graduation so that she can buy some fun clothes to start college in. We want to make a trip of it, and not just shop at home. I want us to go to a fun city that has somewhat affordable shopping, plus other fun things to do. Any suggestions?

Very good outlet shopping about 1 1/2 hours south of San Francisco in Gilroy, CA. Plus all the fun and excitement of SF. You can find some pretty unusual clothes in the city as well--try Union Street and Fillmore.

Where are you traveling from? My daughter and some of her sorority sisters from North Carolina State just did NYC on Spring Break and hit Macy's One Day Sale. WOW did they come home with some great deals. Of course they had an inexpensive room at a Brooklyn Marriott, and my daughter knows how to get around the city on the subway. Another thought would be the super-mall in Minneapolis...and here in the MD/DC area, there are awesome outlet shopping opportunities near the beach on the Del-Mar-Va peninsula (you could fold a beach trip in with your shopping).

Lancaster, PA can be a fun trip...lots of outlet shopping and no sales tax on clothing.

There is a huge outlet mall about 75 minutes north of San Francisco in Vacaville. I agree w/ Kam that Union Street/Fillmore Street in SF have wonderful boutiques.

If you're traveling in Texas, loved shopping at San Marcos and New Braunsfels (in btwn San Antonio and Austin)-these two little towns are right next to each other. Both cities are lots of fun, too.

My favorite thing to do with my daughter!! Give us an idea of where you live and how far you want to travel.

Thanks so much for all of your ideas!! A few of you were wondering where we're from--its Alabama. I don't really care how far we go. However, I am on a slight budget--so higher airfare prices(ie--like to CA) might prohibit us from going too far from home. We could probably do NYC,Chicago or anywhere in between though. Again, thanks for your ideas--keep them coming.

If you can get a decently priced flight, consider Toronto. It's about as fun a place as I've been, and with the Canadian dollar so low, your US dollars will buy a lot of clothes.

One suggestion: fly Southwest from Birmingham to Portland ($99 or less each way via the internet) and shop in Oregon. No sales tax! Plus, Oregon is beautiful.

Fort Lauderdale! What better place for someone about the start college. The Sawgrass Springs mall is a HUGE outlet mall (like the Mall of America) that has tons of stores and good prices and styles that are good for college age people. (E.g. j crew, saks, dkny, bebe, bijou-bijou). There are also a lot of regular malls in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. In addition you can take in the nightlife in South Beach which rivals New York for coolness (wearing your new clothes of course). summers are a hot time of year in FL, but the cost of airfare and rooms are lower at this time. You will need to rent a car, but that is ususally inexpensive in the area.

Sawgrass Mills outside Fort Lauderdale is a great suggestion but I have a better one: Chicago. You cannot beat shopping on North Michigan Ave. It's just as much fun without the same type of frenetic bustle as New York. Plus there is a great outlet called Gurnee Mills (same owners as Sawgrass Mills) outside of Chicago that is also very popular.