Nordstrom

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Winter florals from Oscar de la Renta.

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Printed knits from Missoni.

Remember when designer collections at our Nordstrom (Mall of America, 952-883-2121) barely filled the tiny second-floor place allotted to them? Sure, it was respectable—Armani, St. John, Michael Kors—but it wasn’t what you’d call a must-shop destination. But by some stroke of fashion luck, during the past few years the goddesses of style have decided to shine their love upon our great state’s lone Nordstrom. The Seattle–based department store is now a local haven for designers high (Oscar de la Renta) and low (Tory Burch), well-known (Chanel) and indie (Alexander Wang). “We believe that women in the Twin Cities want what women everywhere want, and they embrace the trends in fashion,” says John Banks, store manager at Nordstrom Mall of America. “We are thrilled to offer customers a comprehensive mix—apparel, shoes, and accessories—of designer merchandise.”

 

 

What We Love: FOR FALL! +  Bold floral dresses by Oscar de la Renta +  LBDs from Lanvin and Proenza Schouler +  Schoolboy looks by 3.1 Phillip Lim and Alexander Wang

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Handbags, sunglasses, and jewelry in the Chanel accessories boutique.

Nordstrom started the evolution in 2006 with a chic Chanel accessories boutique—stocked full with supple lambskin quilted 2.55s as well as the latest runway hits—and quickly added a Gucci accessories boutique and a designer handbag area (Balenciaga, Chloe, Lanvin), as well as ready-to-wear boutiques for Chanel, Gucci, Chloe, and Yves Saint Laurent. Not content with providing fashion for just the upper echelon of buyers, Nordstrom brought in its popular Via C department in 2007 and with it a slew of young and emerging ateliers, including M Missoni, Lela Rose, Alexander Wang, Rachel Roy, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tracy Reese, Anna Sui, and Milly.

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Patent leather booties by Chanel.

But while handbags and ready-to-wear are great, the first floor Salon Shoes department is where the real candy is—riding boots from Chanel, sky-high stilettos in glossy leather by Jimmy Choo, evening styles from Stuart Weitzman, and so much more—Barbara Bui, Tory Burch, Prada, Miu Miu. Beyond that, Nordstrom is constantly hosting designer trunk shows and has recently worked to expand its designer jewelry department.

While Nordstrom has signed a letter of intent with Ridgedale, for now a trek to Mall of America is our only outpost for mixing our Gucci with our Guess.