Shopping Tips From A Nordstrom Stylist
By Kelli Luu | 22 Jul, 2026

Think Nordstrom is only for luxury shoppers? Think again. In this episode, we break down the free services, styling secrets, and shopping tips I wish every customer knew.

Kelli (00:00)

Hi everyone, welcome to the Gold Sea Podcast. My name is Kelli and if you've ever walked into a Nordstrom and felt completely overwhelmed and didn't know where to start, or maybe wondered if shopping there was only for people with large budgets, then this episode is for you. I've spent six years as a personal stylist at Nordstrom, and during that time I've worked with hundreds of clients.

I've helped hundreds of people shop for everything from their first job interview to their homecoming to weddings to vacations and complete wardrobe makeovers too. So today I wanna share everything that I've learned about. So today I wanna share everything that I've learned while working there and give you guys some of the best shopping secrets that most people don't know.

I'm going to tell you how to actually shop at Nordstrom, how to save money, and why I think everyone should use one of the personal stylists and why I think everyone should use the personal stylist services that Nordstrom offers. And why I think everyone should use the personal stylist services that everyone offers. There are so many perks. There are so many perks that come with shopping at Nordstrom, so let's get into it.

First up, we have the free personal styling services. Everybody doesn't know this, but the biggest secret is that Nordstrom offers free personal styling. I can't even tell you how much celebrities spend on personal stylists. And at Nordstrom, all you need to do is book an appointment.

This service is completely complimentary. There's no fee. You can book an appointment with a stylist, and that stylist will pull out all different kinds of product for you. You just have to tell them all of your measurements, then you tell them what you're looking for. If you're looking for a complete wardrobe makeover, we can make that happen. The appointment is completely personalized around you.

We also ask you about your budget. We ask you what kind of brands that you like. We ask what your typical style is. And a lot of the time, personally speaking, I like to get people out of their comfort zones. So I will always pull specific items that I think they wouldn't choose on their own. I always make it a goal of mine to get customers to leave with something that they wouldn't usually pick out themselves.

When you arrive to your appointment, your fitting room is completely prepared. There's a bunch of different tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories. And instead of wandering around the entire department trying to figure out if this matches with this, we have everything there for you. The stylist also puts together different outfits, different pairings.

The appointment is pretty much going to allow you to discover what looks good on you. I think everyone should probably use this service. Stylists are not for wealthy shoppers only.

Some of my favorite appointments were helping people build a wardrobe for their first corporate job or even just finding an all black outfit for a wedding.

Basic wardrobe refreshes are also very fun because people know what they like, so it's a lot easier to choose items that they from brands that they would originally like.

And honestly, just having another set of eyes can make shopping so much less stressful and more fun.

Once you have your appointment, you can either decide if that stylist was right for you, or you can go ahead and book with a different stylist and see if that person would work better. You definitely want a stylist that you can trust. You want a stylist that you can build a relationship with and keep shopping with them. If you keep shopping with Nordstrom, I'm going to later go on about all of the amazing perks that you can find and I'm going to really explain to you.

How Nordstrom is not just for wealthy shoppers. A good stylist is going to be able to learn your size, learn all your favorite brands, and learn what you would really gravitate towards. They know your lifestyle and just the items that they pick, you totally love. The shopping becomes easier. They know what you're gonna like before you even walk in. So I definitely recommend sticking with one stylist that you really trust.

When it comes to booking an appointment, I recommend booking an appointment during the peak times of the year. It's very important to book one during the anniversary sale, which is the half yearly sale, which happens around July to August time. And also I would recommend doing it during the winter season because so many things go on sale. You want to shop smarter, not harder. And I see a bunch of people buy random pieces because

They think that it's really cute, but they don't have all the pieces back at home to style that item.

So when it comes to building a wardrobe, I recommend the essentials first. Great denim, a blazer, maybe a pair of white sneakers, trousers. For men, I also would recommend basic white tees, basic black tees, and also some layering pieces.

Once you have those, everything else kind of becomes a little bit easier. You can start buying pieces that would go with your capsule wardrobe is what we call it. Your wardrobe should feel like it all works together instead of just a wardrobe with a bunch of random pieces.

That's pretty much what a stylist is for. A stylist will help you build that entire capsule wardrobe and from there we can pull different pieces that we think would go with your style and go with your entire aesthetic of what we already know that you have.

I will definitely admit that working at Nordstrom completely changed the way that I shop. I used to buy a lot of trendy pieces because they were always inexpensive. Fast fashion was very in, but at Nordstrom, a lot of the brands definitely give quality. Quality over quantity is very important when it comes to shopping. I would rather own one amazing, nice-fitting blazer that would last over five years.

Then five blazers that lose its shape after one season.

Just because some of the prices at Nordstrom are a little bit higher doesn't mean that you won't get use of it. Denim is a huge purchase that I feel like people look over, but a good pair of denim jeans will last you so many years. It will look good with so many pieces that you have in your closet already. I really do believe in investing in well-made, good quality basics.

It will save you money over time because you're gonna be replacing them less often. At Nordstrom, a lot of items go on sale. Honestly, pretty much everything goes on sale after a period of time. I always recommend people to get the app and I always recommend for people to download the app and add items to their wish list because then you can get a notification that tells you exactly when an item goes on sale.

Of course some may get sold out by the time it's on sale, but if you just play the waiting game and you really want this item and you don't want to pay full price for it, I promise it eventually will go on sale. Whether it is six months from now, that item may come back and it might be on sale.

I recommend waiting. During anniversary time, a lot of basic items go on sale. Denim goes on sale. T-shirts go on sale. Leather jackets, denim jackets, a lot of great capsule wardrobe items go on sale. So this is definitely a good time that I recommend buying these items. It's a great time to start to restock.

Now another thing that people look over is the alteration services that Nordstrom offers. So when you sign up for the Nordy Club,

when you buy a full price pair of denim, you can get those altered. I recommend taking advantage of the alteration services because

Tailoring items to your body can make a reasonably priced outfit look incredible just after a few simple alterations. Hemming jeans is completely free at Nordstrom as long as it's full price. The fit of something is often more important than the brand on the tag. So if you are looking for somewhere to get your alterations done that isn't too expensive, I definitely recommend going to Nordstrom.

Another thing that people don't know about Nordstrom is that the beauty department offers a lot more than just shopping for makeup. Depending on the location, a lot of the time brands are offering free complimentary beauty services like beauty events where you can get free skincare, free makeup products, samples,

You can get makeup applications or touch ups and even fragrance experiences.

Nordstrom card holders are always invited to more of the events. We do product educations, we do fashion shows,

Gifts with purchases, we do special beauty events where you can get personalized recommendations. There are so many different beauty services that Nordstrom offers that you can really take advantage of.

I recommend checking your local stores beauty event calendar to see what kind of activations are going to be happening soon in your area.

I've been mentioning this throughout the episode, but the biggest advice that I have is to join the Nordy Club. When you join the Nordy Club, you open up a membership with Nordstrom. It's free to sign up and you start accumulating points, which turn into notes that you can use at Nordstrom. From there, you get invited to a bunch of different events. Obviously, the more money that you spend, the more perks that you get.

You get alteration credit,

You get to book your styling appointments.

And even during anniversary time when you're a Nordi club member, you get early access to sale items. It's one of those things that costs nothing but can actually save you a lot of money over time.

As an Nordstrom stylist, my biggest styling advice is to really not follow trends. The best dressed clients aren't the ones that are spending the most money. It's understanding what worked for their body. They understood their lifestyle. They understood what clothes they should buy and what they were actually excited to wear. Confidence always puts an outfit together. If you're constantly buying clothes that you don't feel comfortable in or feel like you have nothing to wear it with.

then you shouldn't be buying any more, you should just be buying better.

Working at Nordstrom has taught me so much more than just how to style

It's taught me more about confidence and communicating with clients and really understanding people's lifestyles so that you can help them feel like the best versions, so that you can help them feel like the best version of themselves.

Whether you're shopping at Nordstrom once a year or every month, you can find so many great pieces at such great prices. Don't let the luxury label scare you away because if you shop smart, you can get some great deals. You can really build that capsule wardrobe up and you can build that confidence up every time you step out of the house.

I hope these tips helped you shop a little bit smarter and feel a little bit more and feel a little bit more comfortable walking into a Nordstrom.

Thank you guys so much for listening and we'll see you in the next episode.