Nordstrom held a pre-opening gala at their Eaton Centre store on Wednesday featuring shopping, fashion shows as well as delicious bites. Proceeds, which totalled over $270,000, are going to various organizations including the Hospital for Sick Children, Covenant House and Women’s College Hospital.
A (small) crowd shot
Shot from the fashion show featuring interesting headgear (apologies for its blurriness)
It was a busy night – especially in the women’s shoe department (and not to mention delightful treats (both passed by servers and in food stations), ranging from mini pizzas (okay, it was a bit cold, but still good) to devilled eggs and savoury parfaits and mini-desserts). There were also drinks passed around as well as sangria stations and items from bars. A little strange that sparkling water was not passed, though). I didn’t even end up spending much time in shoes (even though Nordstrom is *KNOWN* to carry an excellent selection of tiny sizes) because it seemed every attendee was there. I headed almost immediately to womenwear just to check out the clothes. There was also a fashion show under tents, held across the street. The show as about an hour long, featuring brands carried by the store. Unlike the late Toronto Fashion Week, every attendee was treated with respect and we all received bottles of water. However, the show was also an hour long – I didn’t stay for the whole thing – and we didn’t know which brands were being represented. We just saw clothes, shoes and accessories.
The good news is Nordstrom Eaton Centre, at 220,000 square feet, has petites, albeit very small – and petite brands one might not get in other stores (e.g. Vince Camuto) – good news for us short ladies. Other favourites of mine include Theory, DVF (I thought it was a bit smaller, but it could also be due to the lack of reduced-price items as the store is brand new) as well as Madewell, a brand owned by J.Crew’s parent company. Currently, Nordstrom is the only place in Canada to find Madewell. In addition to clothing, shoes, accessories and cosmetics, Nordstrom Eaton Centre also boasts three restaurants including its cafe. One is a bar on the second floor (which houses menswear) and another on the third floor. The third floor restaurant is definitely one I will be trying very soon – probably some time in October.
Gala results
Nordstrom’s reputation of excellent customer service definitely showed last night. I bought two pairs of jeans but the associate who rang my purchases forgot to take the security tags off. I didn’t realize this and the security alarms didn’t go off when I left. However, shortly after I got home, I received a call from them (since my contact information is in their system) apologizing and informed me that I would have to go back to get them removed. Not an issue for me, since I’m not that far away (just a short subway ride down to Yonge and Dundas). I’ve never had a store CALL ME to APOLOGIZE before!
I am looking forward to checking the store out in more detail over the next few weeks and will report back on one of the restaurants once I try it out. I went to the one in Ottawa and it was pretty good. Nordstrom Eaton Centre officially opens to the public on September 16. Other locations in Toronto include Yorkdale (opening in October) and Sherway Gardens (opens in 2017). A Nordstrom Rack will debut in 2018.
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