If you stay in Aruba for a long time, your clothes will eventually wear out and you'll need to buy new ones. This post gives some practical advice on how to go about doing this.

Aruba is almost exactly the same size as and shape of Staten Island, but unlike Staten Island, there are no bridges or ferries. All consumer goods come to the island by container ship or barge. This means that store shelves are "shock loaded" with whatever is on those boats, and popular goods sell out quickly. There is no concept of JIT (just-in-time) delivery. There are occasional problems with the boats, such as strikes; for periods as long as several weeks there may be shortages of items you're used to eating or wearing on a regular basis.

Consequently, unlike in the states where you go to the store when you need something, you may find that when you're down to your last set of underwear and run to the store, you won't find any. The way to buy things in Aruba is to do it far in advance of actual need; if you're browsing in a store and see your size of clothing, buy it right away if you think you'll need it at any time during your stay on the island. By 'right away' I don't mean tomorrow; I mean now. I recently returned to a store to buy more pants of the size I bought the day before, and they had sold out. Nor did any other store in the area have them.

Okay, so the first lesson is to buy in advance, not when you actually need something. Now you need to know where to buy it.

There are two categories of stores in Aruba serving two populations: (1) tourists, (2) locals. The tourist stores are all along Main Street and the side streets near the harbor, within walking distance from the school. Because they are so close to the school, students are tempted to shop there. Don't. Instead, for clothing you should spend your time in two places: PriceSmart, a membership shopping club with an annual fee of 55 florins ($31.43) and worth it, and the Certified 'mega mall' (well, according to Aruban standards), whose main tenant is a humungous TrueValue hardware store which includes a supermarket and clothing section. I don't recommend shopping for food there.

These places buy liquidation clearance items, so their inventory is unpredictable. You should go to both places periodically just to see what's on the shelves, and buy whatever you think you may need. You won't find "seconds" or defective goods; they buy pallet loads of merchandise from companies going out of business. I used to do the same thing when I was an active eBay seller.

They've tightened up security at PriceSmart. They used to let anybody walk in the store; if you weren't a member, you paid a ten percent premium on the prices, but you could use someone else's card. Now, they check membership cards upon entering the store; your picture is on the card, so you can't borrow one anymore.

In addition to clothes, PriceSmart sells a regular line of household appliances, consumer electronics, and food. The food is sold only in bulk; if you want popcorn, you have to buy a 48-box carton, etc. This is the place to buy computer consumables, like CDs and DVDs.

In addition to TrueValue, there are a couple of smaller stores which also sell clothes and shoes at reasonable prices. One is Alkanar, next to a popular restaurant called Jamaica me Krazy, both in the Certified parking lot. The other is La Aruba, which you can reach by walking to the far end of the bus terminal parking lot behind the school; you'll see a side street to the left of the Taj Mahal restaurant. Go down that street one block, past Keke's, to La Aruba on the right. Inside you'll find clothes, shoes, and housewares at unbelievably low prices. I bought my gym shoes there for 20 Florins ($11.43).

Now let's say you've bought clothes and need to have them altered. Where can you find a tailor/seamstress who won't rip you off? Do not go to Confecciones, a little tailor shop adjacent to a laundromat near the "Old Punto" apartment house; they are totally incompetent and will ruin your clothes. Instead, swallow your pride (if you're a man) and go into any of several wedding dress shops in the area; they all have regular tailoring operations. This is the routine way in Aruba of altering men's clothing as well as wedding dresses; no need to clear your throat and make believe you're bringing in your wife's dresses. It will cost you $10 (17.50 florins) to have a pair of pants shortened, which is comparable to U.S. prices. You can also go to Modna, a women's dress shop next to Botica Trupiaal, on the road between school and the Hunny Punny roundabout (traffic circle); they do alterations of all sorts there, but you must speak Spanish or bring someone who does. I had a complete zipper replacement done on a pair of pants there for 12 Florins ($6.86); you couldn't even get the time of day for that in the U.S. (but then again, in the U.S. you couldn't find a pair of pants whose zipper self-destructed on the first wearing).

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Brain surgeon to another: "Hey, this isn't rocket science".
Rocket scientist to another: "Hey, this isn't brain surgery".