Shopping Hacks and Tips at Nordstrom Rack

My shopping hacks at Nordstrom Rack and savings with Slickdeals coupons plus shopping tips for sales in popular department stores.

Contents

Alaskans Shop When Being Out of Town
Use Coupons for Saving on Wardrobe Updates
Examples of Great Things I Found at Nordstrom Rack
Finally, the Most Important Things for Shoppers from Rural Areas

Disclosure: This post is sponsored. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Alaskans Shop When Being Out of Town

Many people from the Interior fly to Anchorage or the Lower 48 for buying clothing, shoes and even home goods in popular department stores like Nordstrom Rack. Anchorage has a handful of department stores on 5^th Avenue. Shopping options in the Interior like in many other rural areas of the US are very limited. After the closing of Sears and Gottschalks, Fairbanks has no department stores anymore. 🙁 Thus, whenever I am out of town on a trip to the Lower 48, I plan for hunting for great deals on my favorite brands in the evening. In this post, I will share what I have learned along the way to get the best deals!

Use Coupons for Saving on Wardrobe Updates

There are plenty of coupons and deals to be had from popular department stores such as Nordstrom Rack! Thus, prior to a trip to the Lower 48s, I browse for coupons to my favorite stores at the destination to make sure to have them ready; just in case, I find something that I love.

Be smart, use coupons when clothes shopping. #budgetfashionista #smartshopping Click To Tweet

Yes, it’s a Do. Especially, when you intend to buy several pieces because you are on a shopping trip. The savings made by coupons may often mean you can buy one piece more than when paying without coupons. No, don’t feel cheap about using coupons! The price of a piece is set with the typical percentage of coupon users in mind. In other words, not using the discounts means that actually you pay more than you should. In other words, you would pay for the existence of promo codes. Or like Uncle Scrooge would say

I don't give discounts, I use discounts. #savings #fashiononabudget Click To Tweet

Examples of Great Things I Found at Nordstrom Rack

Living in Interior Alaska means below freezing temperatures from September to mid May(ish). Thus, scarves are a Must-have. When I saw real cashmere scarves on sale at Nordstrom Rack on my Boulder trip, I bought five (!) at once. Three ribbed oblong scarves for my husband – a gray, brown and a black one. I picked two chevron cashmere scarves for me; one with a gray, pink and burgundy pattern (see photo below) and one with a white, gray black pattern. These scarves all still look like new after being in the rotation for more than six winters. Great quality! These were insane deals! <3

Nordstrom Rack chevron pattern cashmere scarf styled with shearling coat — Shearling coat, Nordstrom Rack chevron cashmere scarf, LeatherCoatEtc leather gloves with cashmere lining, burgundy beret, GNW tight, structured bag found on eBay, and Söfft shearling booties

leather glove with cute bow — Zoom-in on the trendy gloves with bow that I found at Nordstrom Rack

Other examples are the turquoise-black tweet pencil skirt (photos below), Sam Edelman flats, Coach Chelsea booties, and a pair of beautiful leather gloves (see photo above), just to mention a few. Over the years, I also bought at least 10 pairs of shoes for my husband when being on shopping trips in the Lower 48s.

blogger in popular department store fashionable tweed skirt and leather jacket — Front view outfit with tweed skirt in statement color

nordstrom Rack pencil skirt with motorcycle jacket, cashmere sweater — Outfit details: Lookbook Store motorcycle leather jacket, Halogen tweed skirt found at Nordstrom Rack, GNW tights, Salamander shearling booties, GNW Luxe sweater, floral print silk scarf, and Akoya saltwater pearl necklace c/o The Pearl Source Inc.

Practical Advice to Navigate Sales

The following list will help to save time while looking for great deals in popular department stores.

Browse brands you like prior to the sales so you know how they fit you. Moreover, you know which brands don’t fit you.
When the sales are on, save time by browsing only your size, style and colors.
Know your measures and have a tape measure handy. Then you can quickly check whether or not a garment from a new for you brand is worth standing in the queue for the fitting room. Just lay it flat and measure the hip, waist and chest. Multiply these values by two to have the circumference. If the values match your body measure plus 1 inch (2.5 cm) ease, take the clothing item to the fitting room for a tryout. Measure the leg length from the crotch, skirt length and shoulder width to decide whether a try-on is worth your time.
Dress for the item you are hunting to save time in the dressing room. See my guide on how to dress for clothes shopping.

style blogger in green blue white sweater, green pumps, yellow bag brown cardigan — Look of the day details: Moda International silk cashmere cardigan (dyed), Brooks Brothers sweater, Oliveo leather skirt, Nine West pumps, Hipstik pantyhose, Hermes collier de chien bangle, Longchamp Pliage, Rebecca Collins necklace

The following list of tips will help you to find the best discounts.

Check a coupon and promo code website like, for instance, Slickdeals for discount codes of the brands you love and store them on your phone. Some sites even offer to sign up for personalized (by you) deal alerts. This hack saves not only money, but also time. Love it!
Befriend a sales person to get notified when they will have a sale.
When you are in love with a piece that’s not on sales, ask how many they still have in your size and whether the piece will go on sale any time soon. It’s also worth asking whether they would get it for you from another of their company’s stores. Just in case, it is already sold out when the sales come. Depending on the answers decide whether to wait and take the risk or bite the bullet paying 100%.
Last, know the typical prices of the items of your favorite brands. Thus, you can recognize the best discounts. This knowledge also helps to distinguish between a discounted real and a knock-off.

As a rule of thumb, medium and high-end brands never are 70% off. #sales #discounts Click To Tweet

Finally, the Most Important Things for Shoppers from Rural Areas

When you have to fly to get to popular department stores, know what your airlines weight limits are on your baggage. Pack as few pieces as possible on your flight to your shopping destination. You need space to carry your purchases home. There is a reason why many outbound Alaska Airline flights from Fairbanks, are “light weight flight”, but never inbound. When you buy large items, ask whether the store does free delivery to your destination.

Happy saving while shopping!

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Photos of me: G. Kramm