Thursday, February 16, 2006

O, Filenes! O, Nordstrom! O, Happy Day!

I've been a fan of Nordstrom for more than 15 years. When I lived outside Washington, DC, I fell in love with the two stores in Northern Virginia, most particularly the one at Pentagon City Mall. (The mall you can reach by subway. Very nice.) I'm not a big clothes shopper now, but those were my suit-wearing days, and all my suits came from Nordstrom. Usually on sale, but always sharp and impeccably tailored. I looked goooood.

Shopping there was always a pleasure--helpful and friendly, but not pushy, customer service. You could return just about anything, at any time. Clothes in all sizes, styles, and prices. And the SHOES! Oh my. Plus there were those too-pretty-to-giftwrap boxes with the cool make-it-yourself bows.

When I moved to Lubbock, Texas, I still had a $40 credit on my Nordstrom card, and when customer service found out where I lived (hundreds of miles from the nearest store), I received a check in the mail within a week. But I continued to shop by catalogue and, eventually, online. When we traveled to Denver, I made a point to go to the Littleton (yes, the home-of-Columbine Littleton) Nordstrom. Shoes, jackets, and the most delightful perfume-shopping experience of my life: not just perfume, but all kinds of samples of cologne, soap, and body lotion. I even went to Mall of America in Minneapolis--largest mall in the world--and spent a good hour of my two-hour visit in the Nordstrom there.

When Federated announced the sad news that they'd be closing Filene's (which I like) in favor of Macy's (which I don't), my dearest wish was that the good people at Nordstrom would pick up some of the anchor-store slack and fill that empty space. So imagine my delight when I learned that not only is this going to happen, but that the first store to open will be the one near my house, at Burlington Mall. From today's Globe:

Upscale department store Nordstrom will move into three Massachusetts malls, taking over spaces that Federated Department Stores Inc. is vacating as part of its acquisition of Filene's, according to local officials.

Nordstrom Inc., which grew from a Seattle shoe store into a nationwide chain, already is constructing one location in Natick and plans to open new stores in Burlington Mall in Burlington, Northshore Mall in Peabody, and South Shore Plaza in Braintree.

Nordstrom plans to stagger the openings of the new stores -- one every year, with the first one to open in Burlington Mall likely in 2007 -- according to local officials and real estate executives who did not want to be named because the deal is not yet public.
If northern New England (I say "northern," because there is a Nordstrom in Providence, R.I.) has lacked for anything in the way of the acquisition of apparel, this was it. Forget Barney's, forget Newbury Street. I want my Nordstrom, and I'm finally going to get it.

6 Comments:

Blogger Alison Rose said...

It's so true. The SHOES!! Even for tough-to-fit people like me.

I've always wanted to go to the store in Seattle--the flagship. Or should I say, the Mothership? :-)

5:46 PM  
Blogger Tish Grier said...

Hi AR! I wonder what's going to happen out here in The West with the Holyoke Mall's Filene's. I think we're getting the Macy's, but we still have a huge, empty anchor store where the old Lord and Taylor used to be. I doubt they'd put in a Nortdstroms--not too many folks out here could afford Nordstroms. It's nice, though, that we're getting a bigger Bananna Republic rather than an expanded Forever 21. Yeah, it's been about Forever since I could fit into the clothes from a store like Forever 21.

6:21 PM  
Blogger Alison Rose said...

You and me both, sister! And to think when I was little, I was so skinny my folks thought I had some sort of wasting disease. (Really.) Now, it's more about the waist than the waste! :-)

4:46 PM  
Blogger Tish Grier said...

My mom used to give me such garbage about being "too skinny!" when you're 19, and about 110 lbs (I'm 5ft30) that made me a size 3 but certainly not too skinny. Probably our moms were wishing they were still thin when they were telling us that stuff. Without a daughter to yell at, I really have no idea,...;-)

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nordstrom going into THREE Massachusetts locations! I lived on the North Shore..let me tell you that for 80% of the people there, "luxury" stores and boutiques are NOT necessary! Nordstroms will find this out. Peabody Mall? Burlington mall? LOL. Target will suffice there. Talbots will do better. I doubt Nordstroms realizes this but they will. Go look around in Stoneham, Lawrence, Medford, Melrose, Peabody, North Andover, Wilmington, Gloucester, Billerica, Woburn-you will find mostly Walmart-attired people. I LIVED there for over 30 years. I know. Those NShore towns are NOT all Wellesleys, Lexingtons, Lincoln, Westons, far from it. Even in nice towns like Lexington or Lincoln, the little prim n proper turtleneck rules (think Talbot's!)! So "tishg" don't put western Ma down, most people on the NorthShore CANNOT afford a Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom's, or a Neiman's-trust me. It is laughable that these high-end stores think of Massachusetts as being all Brahmin John Kerry's-try mostly King of the Hill types. GO LOOK.

12:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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NordStrom Coupon Codes to save money on clearance and Sale offers and get discounted products.

1:12 AM  

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