Hello sweet sweet friends! I hope you all are having a great week so far. I am here to give it to you straight, real, honest, whatever – my personal breakdown of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (pre-sale?) and what I think so far.
Let’s be honest, k? I am by no means in any place to be an icon member, however, I am lucky enough to have a fabulous mother-in-law who is and who let’s John and I tag along to her benefits, thus, resulting in the fabulous ability to shop the sale in-store before basically everyone. Now, in case you missed that…I was only able to shop in-store, meaning I only shopped what was here at the Charlotte Nordstrom, so keeping that in mind, know that I have not seen what is online just yet, but I will be sure to give a full low-down on that as well once I get a good feel for it.
Okay, so let’s dive right in!
The themes for this year are bright colors (yellow, blue, and fuchsia), florals, mix of patterns, lots of animal print (think cheetah), and plaid.
When I shop, I like to get a full lookie-loo before I start deciding. Knowing that I have a budget, I need to make sure I buy smartly. Thus, I am very methodical about how I pull items and view the store. The first step is always having a list and knowing your budget, but then the key is when you are in the store. I typically first circle my favorite section which includes Top Shop, Free People, Leith, Wayf, denim (specifically noting the denim), etc. I will then grab clothes I might want to try on or that are on my list and send them to the fitting room. Then I head downstairs to look at accessories, beauty, and home items. I personally like to always go here second because many times this is where I invest a lot of my money (I love a good bag). While I am doing this I am grabbing any must haves (for example, I definitely needed to check out the home section because I was eyeing a Barefoot Dreams blanket) and taking note of any possibilities. I then head back to the clothes section and do the remaining sections. I follow that with a try-on and then lastly is shoes! I always make sure to save some of my budget for this section!
So. What was my honest opinion you ask?
Let’s go by section.
Clothes – Lots of repeat offenders. It is essentially all of your fall essentials, so this doesn’t surprise me. I personally, just took note of what I bought a lot of last year and avoided it for this year. Some of the same things from last year are included in the sale this year. I will be sure to link a lot of the popular ones, once everything goes live. Two sections I think that were done super well – the trend section and the Halogen, JCrew, NYDJ, etc section. The trend section had a lot of on point pieces that I hadn’t seen before. This section, however is going to be your investment section. There are UH-mazing deals here though, so while it is great to get a lot of things, it is also really great to get investment pieces which is what I opted for this year. The junior section (and Madewell, Free People, etc) section was a lot of repeat items which I think is okay to do for some, but I definitely could have stood for some versatility.
Shoes – I think the shoes were pretty good this year in store. I felt like the styles were a little bit more fresh and I liked that there were booties, but also shoes you could buy and wear now. There were a lot of tennis/athletic shoes too, which I thought was good, given that trend is currently going strong. They also had some really great boot options this year, including the Stuart Weizmann over-the-knee boots you see everywhere during the fall season, but can’t afford because they are ridiculously expensive (obvi should buy).
House – I think this is always an area that they did well in, but I may be biased given that the only thing I was really concerned about was the Barefoot dreams blankets (which are in the sale and yes, you need them immediately). They do have some other beautiful blankets, some great bedspreads and towel options, and then of course the Anthropology Volcano candle which is perfection.
Jewerly – In – store I wasn’t super impressed with the jewelry this year. I think there could have been more options and I was sort of frustrated that my store didn’t have any watches because that was something I was super interested in. I have seen the online watch option and to be honest I was also disappointed in that. I mean…I think it’s great that your Michele watches are on sale, but like….thats over a grand and…ya know. Give me some more Tory Burch and Michael Kors options and I would have been happier here.
Fitness – The anniversary sale is alwayssss a great time too stock up on your fitness gear basics. I would not say that they are providing anything ground breaking, but if you are in need of some new gear, this is a great time to shop some great quality products.
Loungewear/Undergarments – You know…this may be an underrated area….I think I definitely realize that this year. I was in need of some new bras and not only did I feel like my store had some great options, I also felt like it was an area I never really shopped. Ladies. I got such a great quality bra for such a good deal! I am probably going to buy a few more because one, I don’t think people really shop this section super intensely, and two, undergarments is something that can get put on the back-burner for all of us. I also think that their loungewear options are super on point and you knowwwwww your girl loves her some comfy classics.
Handbags – This was probably my biggest let down. I was ready guys. I mean full on ready to get myself a cut new bag and sadly I was super let down by options. I did find a cute one that I think will be great moving forward, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for. I have also seen online and am still like ehh…you could have done a better job. I especially feel strongly about this given that a lot of women are ready to spend when it comes to bags and I think handbags are a huge money maker in situations like these because they are such a good deal. It makes me question what the real situation is going on behind closed doors because compared to years past, that handbag selection in store was a flop for me.
Accessories – Alright, I am going to be honest here. Unless you are looking for A) something specific B) sunglasses, or C) a cashmere scarf I do not think this is where you want to invest your money. They do have a lot of sunglass options, but I don’t think they are great for the price. I think you can get better options for similar prices at Sunglass Hut. I also felt that the scarves were the exact same from last year and awkward to style. The ONLY thing I would consider about investing in, would be a fun hat for fall, however, the ones I did try on at the store, all were super wide brimmed so they felt really loose on my head, so just keep that in mind.
Beauty – Last, but not least. Now, this is a GREAT investment section if you are looking for specific products. The beauty section is also doing fun events and gifts with purchase throughout the sale, so you will definitely have a good time here. I personally was hoping for more hair tools, but alas, was unsuccessful. I think the theme for this year is simple colors (think nudes and baby pinks with lots of warm hues) for the everyday face and skincare, but when I say skincare I really mean like skincare tools versus skincare products. Definitely put aside some of your budget for this section though because I think you will find something worth the investment for sure.
Wow guys. I can’t believe it is here. I have been thinking about this since last year! Despite being a little bit let down with a lot of the same styles from last year, I think I need to remind myself what we are doing here. First, we are re-stocking our fall and winter basics and second, we are restocking basics within our closets.
Don’t forget to read back on my previous posts in regards to the Nordstrom sale. You can find them here and here, and if you are curious what I bought last year, head on over to this post!
As always, feel free to message me with any questions and happy shopping!
xoxo,
Melissa
