Friend's Friday - Marcia's Shopping

Marcia

Guest Post - Marcia

For many of us, shopping is an addiction. We’d rather shop than do about anything else. However, transition can be hard, and shopping for a decent wardrobe can be daunting, especially now that the anti-trans forces are feeling emboldened. Going out as our true selves might not be in the cards for some of us.

When I was in that stage of my transition, I was scared to death to go out. I finally worked up the courage to present in public as my true self while I was in Chicago on a business trip in 2013. While I was there, I wanted to add to my wardrobe and scheduled an appointment with Nordstrom Personal Stylist, Alice Moran, at the Nordstrom Michigan Avenue store. 

Alice knew this was my first time out in public and my first real shopping experience. She met me at the entrance with a warm greeting and showed me to a room. Before that time, we had talked about style, and my likes and dislikes. I gave Alice my sizes. When I arrived, Alice had several pieces already selected. The outfits were perfect. I wound up buying quite a few pieces. Nordstrom has free shipping, so Alice shipped my purchases for free to my home town. 

In the three and half years since that initial visit, Alice has been an invaluable friend and ally in my transition. She has helped me slowly build a wardrobe. The pieces she picks coordinate with other pieces she has picked over the years. This allows me to mix and match while building outfits. When I feel the need for a new outfit, or a new dress, I e-mail Alice and share ideas with her. She then picks outfits or pieces, photographs them, and sends me the photos by e-mail. I make my selections based on her photos. Alice then ships the clothes to me for free. I must say, actually meeting Alice in person was very beneficial to this process. If you have a chance to meet your personal stylist in person, I am certain you will have a better experience.

When I make purchases with my Nordstrom card, I build Nordstrom points to apply toward future purchases using Nordstrom Notes. To top it all off, if I do not like something, or if it does not fit, I can take it back to my local Nordstrom where I have never encountered a problem making a return.

I encourage you all to use a personal stylist. It has been a wonderful experience for me. 

________________

Marcia, good advice and it helps all of learn good styling sense.  Thank you for the post.