How do I hunt particular clothing items, but in different sizes?
January 25, 2011 8:28 AM Subscribe
How do I hunt particular clothing items, but in different sizes?
As an example, I will see a shirt in Nordstrom's and say, "Wow, I really want that shirt! And I will pay money for that shirt!" and then I will look and see that the shirt is not in my size. Then the nice people at Nordstrom's will tell me that they get what they get, they cannot order anything. Clothing arrives in trucks and they find a place to put it. I check back a week later, then a week after that. Nothing.
So I will write down the designer's name and whatever style numbers I can find, but when I go to Google: nothing. The designer's webstore: nothing. eBay: nothing. Check eBay a week later to see if any of the auto-searches have picked up anything: nothing. Zappos: nothing. Amazon: nothing. Nordstrom's online store: nothing. I will spend many hours looking to no avail.
I know this is more than a little obsessive and that the high turnover in the fashion industry means that, more than likely, an item is only on sale for a short period of time.
How have you tracked down that particular item? What are your most useful strategies?
As an example, I will see a shirt in Nordstrom's and say, "Wow, I really want that shirt! And I will pay money for that shirt!" and then I will look and see that the shirt is not in my size. Then the nice people at Nordstrom's will tell me that they get what they get, they cannot order anything. Clothing arrives in trucks and they find a place to put it. I check back a week later, then a week after that. Nothing.
So I will write down the designer's name and whatever style numbers I can find, but when I go to Google: nothing. The designer's webstore: nothing. eBay: nothing. Check eBay a week later to see if any of the auto-searches have picked up anything: nothing. Zappos: nothing. Amazon: nothing. Nordstrom's online store: nothing. I will spend many hours looking to no avail.
I know this is more than a little obsessive and that the high turnover in the fashion industry means that, more than likely, an item is only on sale for a short period of time.
How have you tracked down that particular item? What are your most useful strategies?
Best answer: Something I've learned over the years - Many of those style codes are per retailer. So a style code could be for Nordstrom only, and the same style could have a different code for other retailers, for their own site, etc. Usually to overcome this I go to the retailer's website and find the item, and resume my searching by name rather than style code.
posted by msbutah at 8:46 AM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by msbutah at 8:46 AM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Nordstrom's has looked things up for me, found the item in a nearby store, and had it shipped directly to me (they did charge a shipping fee, however). Not sure why they didn't offer you the same service.
posted by statolith at 8:53 AM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by statolith at 8:53 AM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yeah, n-thing that I've had even low end places like Burlington Coat Factory call around to other stores. Places with super high turnover, like Forever 21, really don't seem like they know what they have, but I've never had a department store tell me there's nothing they can do.
posted by MadamM at 9:07 AM on January 25, 2011
posted by MadamM at 9:07 AM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: Depending on the level of designers you're looking at, ShopStyle can be used for this.
posted by libertypie at 9:21 AM on January 25, 2011
posted by libertypie at 9:21 AM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: I'm actually surprised that a Nordstrom salesperson would tell you they get what they get and not call around or check their computer to see if another store has it. Any time I've found something there that is out of stock in my size, the salesperson has offered to do so without my prompting, even if the item is on sale. So, my first recommendation would be to ask them to do that.
For me, if I'm looking for a hard-to-find item or another color or size of something that's on sale at the end of the season, I check online (and sometimes in-store) at all of the stores that I know carry the brand, and if I'm unsuccessful, I just Google around until I find it or something similar. That's how I ended up finding the last two pairs of a discontinued style of Spanx tights I was looking for - they'd been discontinued for months, and I tracked down two pairs at an online shop I'd never heard of by searching for the style number that was on the interior tag.
posted by bedhead at 10:22 AM on January 25, 2011
For me, if I'm looking for a hard-to-find item or another color or size of something that's on sale at the end of the season, I check online (and sometimes in-store) at all of the stores that I know carry the brand, and if I'm unsuccessful, I just Google around until I find it or something similar. That's how I ended up finding the last two pairs of a discontinued style of Spanx tights I was looking for - they'd been discontinued for months, and I tracked down two pairs at an online shop I'd never heard of by searching for the style number that was on the interior tag.
posted by bedhead at 10:22 AM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: Nth-ing the "I think you got dud clerks there." It is absolutely common practice at the Nordstroms I shop at, and at Macy's, and at Lord & Taylor's, for them to check the computer and/or call around and get items in sizes they don't have in stock delivered to the store from other stores in the chain.
The next time some clerk says "We get what we get" ask to see the manager. That is not how department stores work, and indeed the idea that they can find stuff for you from other stores in the chain is one of the market differentiators between them and off-price/discount stores.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:49 AM on January 25, 2011
The next time some clerk says "We get what we get" ask to see the manager. That is not how department stores work, and indeed the idea that they can find stuff for you from other stores in the chain is one of the market differentiators between them and off-price/discount stores.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:49 AM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: Just a note: if you are asking at Nordstrom Rack, then you're probably on your own for finding one in your size.
posted by advicepig at 11:40 AM on January 25, 2011
posted by advicepig at 11:40 AM on January 25, 2011
Response by poster: Salesclerks aside, assuming I did manage to faithfully copy down all tag information and the like and would like to search online, how do I go about it? So far, wading through acres of search results has not helped.
posted by adipocere at 12:20 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by adipocere at 12:20 PM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: Many of the tag numbers, if you are shopping at a large chain store like Nordstrom's, are almost certainly unique to that chain's order, so most of them are noise rather than signal. It may also be that a particular item (let's say a Smith Sisters cotton jacket in lime green) was manufactured only for that chain; the Smith Sisters folks may have had their factories make the same jacket in navy blue for other stores, or the same jacket in lime green rayon for other stores, or what have you. So the item of clothing may not actually exist anywhere outside of the Nordstrom's supply chain (which, again, is one of the unique selling propositions of chain department stores--that they use their purchasing heft to ensure that they have goods you can't find elsewhere).
The reason nobody's giving you a good answer to your question is that there isn't a good answer to your question. It's really hard to trace any individual item of clothing back beyond retailers' supply chains, even for people who are working in the retail clothing industry.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:52 PM on January 25, 2011
The reason nobody's giving you a good answer to your question is that there isn't a good answer to your question. It's really hard to trace any individual item of clothing back beyond retailers' supply chains, even for people who are working in the retail clothing industry.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:52 PM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: I will see a shirt in Nordstrom's and say, "Wow, I really want that shirt! And I will pay money for that shirt!" and then I will look and see that the shirt is not in my size. Then the nice people at Nordstrom's will tell me that they get what they get, they cannot order anything. Clothing arrives in trucks and they find a place to put it. I check back a week later, then a week after that. Nothing.
The internet is your friend.
Snarking aside, my general M.O. with shopping is to figure out what brands and styles I like, have a vague sense of knowing what size I take in that sort of thing, and then order the item itself online. (I mean, unless I see what I want in my size right there in the store.)
Yes, you still will sometimes run into conflicts. Sometimes they don't have your size in the color you want. This is especially true if it's a sale item. But your chances are a lot better than in the stores.
posted by Sara C. at 1:43 PM on January 25, 2011
The internet is your friend.
Snarking aside, my general M.O. with shopping is to figure out what brands and styles I like, have a vague sense of knowing what size I take in that sort of thing, and then order the item itself online. (I mean, unless I see what I want in my size right there in the store.)
Yes, you still will sometimes run into conflicts. Sometimes they don't have your size in the color you want. This is especially true if it's a sale item. But your chances are a lot better than in the stores.
posted by Sara C. at 1:43 PM on January 25, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you're asking them "Do you have any more of these?" and they just say "no" without offering to check, then you have to prompt them with "Could you check with the downtown store?"
Seriously, I've had salespeople spend 30 minutes looking for items for me, going so far as to actually call the other stores and have them hold the item, for example. In an upscale store like Nordstroms you shouldn't even have to ask, in my opinion.
That said, I have also found that clothing does disappear quickly these days, and that there must be smaller runs of things too. Fewer and fewer stores seem to restock anything. Thus, you have to act fast.
posted by cabingirl at 8:38 AM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]