Miss Rehoboth Beach Maria Cahill—better known since June as Miss Delaware 2011—can’t get enough of her adopted hometown. Especially when it comes to shopping.
“I absolutely love the fact that everything is right at your fingertips,” says Cahill. “The beach, shops, food and games are all right there for you to enjoy.”
Always in search of a bargain, Cahill loves to explore the 2,200-plus stores at Tanger Outlet Centers. But she has uncovered her best treasures at small boutiques like Tiger Lili. For shoes, she hits the outlets’ Charlotte Russe and BCBG. Cahill has also scored cute handbags at the Nine West outlet. “Shoes and handbags,” she says, “I can never have enough of either.”
Some of Cahill’s favorite finds have come from unlikely places. “Don’t be afraid of thrift stores,” she says. “Some pieces still had the original tags on them.”
Don’t get the wrong idea. There’s fun fashion, then there’s high fashion. That’s when Cahill turns to stores like bebe and to designers like Valentino and Nina Ricci. “For a look with a clean cut, I love Calvin Klein,” she says. “Elizabeth and James has my favorite ‘everyday with a twist’ look.”
Cahill also can’t resist Macy’s at Christiana Mall. (That’s where she found the dress she’s wearing in the photo below.) Cahill relies on Sal Cutrona of Michael Christopher in Wilmington to tame her curly locks.
“Sal teaches me how to do ‘beach hair,’” she says. “Now I can go out on the beach all day and enjoy Rehoboth without my hair turning into a frizzy mess.”—Drew Ostroski
