Le français moyen - Back to School Shopping my way

I love shopping and I love my kids, but they don't always mix.  I remember being  little and going back to school shopping with mom and brothers to Sears and Miller's Outpost.  It took an entire day, at least, and the only bright spot was we got to go out to lunch.   I hated it even though I loved getting new clothes.

One of the best things I've discovered in the last few years is doing our back to school shopping at Nordstroms for the kids.  When I was working at the fancy firm, I used Nordstrom's Personal Shopping Service. (It's free, did you know that?)   The gal I used was awesome, and totally understood working within a budget.  She mentioned the very best deals are during the Anniversary Sale that takes place in Late July.   Ever since then we make an annual trip to Nordstroms for back to school shopping.

I tried using the Personal Shopping Service for the kids clothes, but I found the personal shoppers are used to working with mostly adults.  I've had the best luck just calling  in the morning, and talking to someone in the children's department to see if they can pull some clothes for my kids and letting them know what time we want to come in.  My kids love walking into the dressing rooms with outfits all laid out for them to try on.   They try on the clothes and decide which ones they love.  This year AK loved the accessories the most and the shopper showed her different ways to wear her outfits.  Most of Mr. Boys shirts were on sale and about the equivalent price of a Target shirt ($12 bucks) , but better quality.  AK's wardrobe was a mix of sale pieces and non sale pieces, but I swear I want to steal some of the clothes she got.  We finished in about an hour and no one felt tortured.

My very favorite part was when AK walked out in an outfit that was a little mature for her.  She LOVED it, Mr. Boy did not.   Mr. Boy turned to our shopper, and said, "I think this is a little too teenager-ish, perhaps you could find something with kittens on it?"  

 

 Would you believe that our shopper came back and said, "Mr. Boy, I couldn't find any dresses with kittens, would you settle for ponies?"  If only, we could keep AK wearing dresses with ponies and kittens forever.

FYI - The Anniversary Sale is going on NOW!  Also, if you get a Nordstroms Credit Card, you can shop the presale days and earn double points! 

**Disclaimer** All opinions are my own, I was not compensated by Nordstroms, nor am I affiliated with Nordstroms.  However, I am totally open to being compensated in the form of shoes, si vous plait.