Nordy!
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
I always had style... just not fashion, and I got away with wearing Amazon button ups and Old Navy chinos at the most elite department store outside of Barney's.
Washington Square was my hometown mall, one of the biggest in the region. It hosted multiple rotating stores, but Nordstrom was always a mainstay. While as a youth I could not justify paying $250 for a pair of jeans, many students in my incredibly affluent high school would.
Always a rebel, I contradicted this materialistic mentality by SHOPPING at the local Goodwill and Value Village instead of BUYING the latest big name brands. I found some good pieces, that translated to compliments and appreciation of my own style. If you know what you're looking for, you can find it.
When I was 16 I got my first job so I could get what I want, so I started working a retirement home as a dining room server. This high end assisted living center hired me as 'the grandson they never had'. With this 5-8 PM shift, I could still workout with the other football lineman after school in preparation for the upcoming season. I would use these paychecks to buy the latest LRG T-shirts from Zumiez, and save up for what I really wanted, the Nike Dunk Hemp's
I would stand outside the shoe store Journey's and just look at them from afar, waiting for the day when I would cough up the courage to pull the trigger and swipe my card ($150). Like any insecure teenager, I questioned myself, and when I brought them home to show my family, they said I looked like I was wearing Triscuits on my feet (I also was naive to know that hemp was affiliated with marijuana). Nonetheless, I refuse to sell them because some things are more than money... to me these shoes are priceless.
While I lacked the fashion that highlights 5th Avenue, I did understand what 'works'. That includes contrasting colors, prints, and layering. I got to experience many kinds of customers that all devoted time to going to the mall to find their look. Anywhere between teens looking for the Essentials to people dressing for interviews to couples taking their engagement pictures... I saw it all, and sold it all.
Some people go into a job with experience, at Nordstrom I was basically going in blind. Most of the brands were foreign to me. I made a map of which clothes were where, and constantly circled taking in the products and pursuing customers to make my commission. My favorite part of the job was that it was competitive, an arena I thrive in. I got a great reference from someone outside my LinkedIn connections, and was hired as a seasonal employee for the holiday push.
While the sales floor had multiple characters, my favorite was Gordon, who I questioned whether or not he had showered daily. Mr. Victoroff was an aspiring tattoo artist, former commune inhabitant, and pot shop employee who had little to no sales experience or acumen. He made me crack up during our shift and upon reflection of my day, I would chuckle to myself on something that Gordon had done amongst returns and restocking. We trained together, and we finished together. Some people get you through the day.
Upon analysis, the mall is still a place for teens to spend their allowance on a Sbarro piece of pizza. Nordstrom has its own clientele, and some of the 'lifers' that have worked in the store since high school have had customers for years.
Seth had his own Personal Book and had many customers asking for him. He was his own stylist who would regularly ring the register. Once again, I had a customer asking for Seth, and I explained Seth isn't here but can I help you with something? After some conversation, I came to understand that her son was colorblind and Seth had helped him understand and appreciate what clothes could bring out his persona. So after helping them find what they need, I explained that you could be Seth's client and work with him exclusively. So they wrote him this note, which I then Dollar Tree framed and gave to him as a present in appreciation of his influence in the industry.
With only a couple comma transactions, I made a lot of transactions that equated to about $400 a purchase. These expenses might seem expensive but Nordstrom is its own investment.
I am proud to work at such a prestigious establishment and will remember my time at the mall during Christmas with appreciation and perspective on the many different types of people that enter the doors of Nordstrom.
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