Flashback to New Years Eve 2010... Auld Lang Syne is all set to play at the Arendell Room and the…read morewaitress has on a "crush-worthy" sequin little black dress. This LBD had major star power and made me do the unthinkable, "Excuse me. Where'd you get your dress? It's super cute." She unreservedly replies and points, "Oh, across the street at James like a few hours ago." I was taken aback that quite possibly the cutest little sequined number I'd ever seen hails from across the street. "Really!? Hrm...." Flash-forward four months to Easter weekend with some time to kill, I stop at James on a lazy, Saturday afternoon. I was immediately greeted by the 70% off rack and a chic but simple L. Space burnt orange bikini for $20! Score! As I browsed some more, the sticker shock set in as even on the 70% off rack I began seeing dresses for $60 or more. Whoa, I thought we were just casually browsing here... James specializes in high-end contemporary fashion with great, contemporary designers (and mostly American) like Black Halo, Hudson, Tart, and Ella Moss. Speaking of Black Halo, they had an ultra chic, sharply tailored Rouland Mouret-esque dress that was calling my name, except for the $340 price tag. I thought James is an incredible find, especially in Morehead City - all the fashions were unique and stylish, however just a bit overpriced. I know that's their typical price point (elsewhere) and there were several pieces I wanted but just wasn't prepared to drop $129 on a blouse or $200+ on a trendy one shouldered or drapey summery dress; maybe for a few key sought after wardrobe staples, but James isn't that kind of store in my opinion.

Another gift shop near our beach house. This one was much more apparel oriented, hats, shirts,…read morefootwear, some jewelry. Nothing really appealing to me, but probably would be to more beach oriented people, or fishers. Pricing seemed ok, just not my style. We had minimal interactions with the staff, but they seemed friendly and welcoming

When the owners/managers can't be bothered to wear masks despite the public health crisis of Covid…read more19 I don't feel like I can support the business. They have very cute stuff but as a healthcare worker who has been working in a hospital for the past year I'm gonna need these ladies to step it up a bit. I mean, you sell masks but don't wear them?!

Another local shop we found just down the street from our beach house. This one offered tons of…read morehome decor, wall art, beach bags, and clothing! The store was kind of broken up into sections, like antique often are, so I'm not sure if different vendors rent out space to sell their goods, or if it's all owned by the store. Either way, they offered a good variety of items to make your beach house or your regular house more beachy. They even sold a huge variety of sea shells, though many of those were imported. Pricing seemed reasonable, just varied based on what you were wanting to buy. The staff were friendly, as we checked out, but that was our only interaction.

My mother and I visited Elly's today while shopping, and she found two dresses she really liked…read more Both had purple dots on the price tags, so we asked a sales associate what the dots meant. She wasn't sure, went to ask someone, and came back saying the "boss" told her the items were not on sale. My mother decided she didn't want the dresses, but I knew she really liked them. I took them to the register and asked the cashier to scan them. Both items rang up at 50% off. Thinking it might be a mistake, I asked her to scan them again, and once again they rang up at half price. When I told my mother they were 50% off, another associate, Dee, abruptly interrupted and said, "No, they are not. Nothing is on sale." Even the cashier seemed surprised and commented that purple dots usually indicated sale items. Dee then said she would get the manager. When Susan, the manager, arrived, we politely asked to speak with her to the side. In a very cold, monotone manner, she told us nothing in the store was on sale and that the purple dot simply identified an internet item. I asked why the register was applying a 50% discount and why the cashier believed the purple dots indicated a sale. Her response was that the sale rack outside also had purple-dot tags. If that's the case, it's incredibly confusing and misleading for customers. I then asked if they would honor the price that was scanning at the register. Susan showed no concern whatsoever and simply said that someone would buy the items at full price and that they "might go on sale in August." The irony is...it is August. Before leaving, I asked Dee for her name and confirmed the manager's name, Susan, because I knew I wanted to share this experience. The store itself is beautiful, and the prices are what I would expect for a beach boutique. Unfortunately, customer service can make or break a shopping experience, and ours was disappointing. One of the other sales associates even apologized to me for how we had been treated. When I told her she had been wonderful and that my concern was with the manager's attitude, she quietly replied that Susan is "like that with everyone." That was disappointing to hear. I'm sure someone will eventually purchase those dresses, but after the rudeness and lack of customer care we experienced from the management at Elly's, I won't be back.

Following up on my previous review... Out of curiosity, I…read morechecked Elly's website and Facebook page the following day. I found no way to purchase clothing online or have items shipped. Based on that, the manager's response that I should have ordered the dresses online simply doesn't make sense. That response only reinforced my concern that I was not given an honest explanation in the store. A disappointing customer service experience became even more frustrating because the follow-up response failed to address what actually happened.

Over priced and obviously catering to the beach, tourist people, pricing the locals out. Everything…read moreis too expensive and the place is full of overprice junk. Would not recommend. The male store owner was ridiculously rude to me when I questioned him about the price. And then he got defensive and said you don't have to buy it. I'll never step foot in that store again and I'm a local and have been going there for years but that was the height oh rudeness.

Always love exploring this store- never know what jewels await! Wide variety of items.read more

I love this store! This is a wonderful place to find that extra special gift for a friend or…read moreyourself! I would highly recommend a visit!

Choose from fresh vegetables, beautiful cut flowers, a multitude of baked and canned goods, cute…read morecrafts and so much more. Although not on the main drag (Arendell) it is only a block away and not far from the excitement of downtown Morehead City. It is even the oldest curb market in NC and operated by the Carteret County Extension & Community Association

My boyfriend and his family love coming here every year for annual family beach vacations for the…read morequality of apparel at this shop (his dad grew up in Raleigh and came here every year in his childhood). It's the shop's 60th anniversary this year, and they had such great hoodie designs! I'm very picky when buying hoodies, but I picked up a pretty cream-colored one with a simple but aesthetically pleasing design. The quality is thick and durable, and the material outside is very smooth while the material inside is very soft and comfortable -- just the way I like my hoodies! I also bought a very light wash jean jumpsuit that was super cute and, luckily for me, the last one AND it fit! :) Staff was very nice and helpful. I tried things on in a fitting room, and the girls were friendly and talked to me there and at the register. The shop was also very clean, had a lot of different items to choose from (not just apparel, but beach equipment, too), and was set up very trendy. My only qualms are that everything is pretty pricey, and the women's clothing specifically were sort of unreasonably priced. My hoodie and jumpsuit in total were $146, which was a bit above my budget, but I hadn't seen anything like them before and having come from California, I just caved and bought them. There were a pair of olive women's shorts that were 40% of the fabric used for either of the items I bought that were $78. They were cute shorts but not really worth it for that price, and it was more expensive than any other individual item I had picked up in the store! Overall, I think it's a nice place to check out and treat yourself at once in a while. The styles are quality, cute, trendy, and very much beachwear/casual (i.e., shorts, crop tops, dresses, with some puffy jackets). They unfortunately don't have petite sizes (I'm 5'2"), so I'll be getting that jumpsuit hemmed (it was just too cute to pass up). I've also noticed that the sizes are much smaller compared to sizes I'm used to at other places in CA and even at some other souvenir shops at Atlantic Beach. I usually wear a size XS/S, but the M jumpsuit fits well and almost snugly on me. However, the hoodies are pretty oversized because they're in the men's section, so hopefully this information is useful to anyone who comes across this review!

Cannot say enough great things about our surfboard buying experience with Chuck and John at…read moreAtlantic Beach Surf Shop, Inc. Chuck spent over an hour walking us through our purchase process. He treated us like we were buying a high-end car. Will never shop anywhere else! Thanks guys!