At Last....My Love Has Come Along

Hello lover.


This weekend (Friday, actually) launched the long awaited arrival of Nordstorm to my local mall, the South Shore Plaza.


I remember hearing about this in 2008 and seeing the 2010 launch date and being miffed that it was so far off. WTF. Sure the website is easily navigable but there is something about shopping in person! I also know there is one at the Natick Collection but I have never felt any desire to go there. Let the people west of 128 have their Nordstrom, I will wait patiently for mine.



And now the wait is over!


My mom and I went over to check it out on Saturday and right when we walked in it was like "ahhhhh". So nice. So clean. So crisp. So modern. We entered on the bottom floor (menswear) and took the escalator up to the first floor which housed cosmetics, shoes and accesories.


Right away I was drawn into the sprawling shoe department which is just chock a block with any kind of shoe you would want (and a vast price range as well). From there we headed over to handbags (where I lusted quietly over the candy colored Dooney & Bourke duffles) and then it was off to the headband and scarf department.


Let me say this about the collection of headbands at Nordstrom: it is as epic as it is fabulous. Which is KEY for a gal who might be still recovering from an unfortunate self-bang-cutting experience? We spent a long time trying them on before settling one one sparkly floral number.




Their stock of scarves is also extensive, almost overwhelmingly so. I saw so many I loved that ultimately I could not choose. I am ruminating on it though and will be back.

Then it was upstairs to the women's clothing departments. I find their selection and price range to be similar to Bloomingdales, i.e. if Macy's and Saks had a baby this would be it. People on a budget can shop and still find cute fashionable items for a good price but if you wanted to splurge you could certainly do so. I left with a leopard print Michael Kors top


We took our leave of the store shortly after....however later that night I returned with Adam after a leisurely dinner at Joe's to peruse in depth the shoe department where I found the long searched for perfect red patent leather flat. Yay! And then down to the men's department where I tried to browbeat Adam into purchasing a pair of Sperry's. I was not successful but there is always next time.


The only downside to my shopping experience at Nordstrom was the agressive sales people. Now, I admit this may have just been because it was opening weekend. And I also know the perils of commision based sales and that sista gotta get paid. But there were at least two occasions where I repeatedly told a sales associate I did not need help but would come find her if I did, and she still followed very closely to me and still continued to bring items to be without me wanting/asking her too. I could see this being useful if you were in a rush and looking for something specific and thus needed a super attentive salesperson.... but when you are just browsing, being closely followed and presented with items every minute or so can get kind of tiring.

And in the shoe department they are big fans of the upsell, meaning when you ask for a size of the shoe you want, they bring out several similar but different shoes for you to try on as well. In my case when I asked for my size in the red flat I was presented with that shoe as well as a leopard flat and a neon yellow gladiator sandal (?). Again I understand the tactic (I worked in commision shoe sales too at one point) but you want to be mentally prepared when you walk in!


In any case despite that, I had a lovely time at Nordtrom and look foward to draining my savings there in the very near future!