Can someone explain the allure of Nordstrom Rack (and other discount stores)?

[Anonymous]

I consider myself pretty thrifty but it’s all such junk. Feels gross to even shop in these stores. And such a waste of time. I feel happier at and have more successful shopping experiences at regular flagship stores.

[Anonymous]

If you have a good eye, you may occasionally find something perfect for you.

[Anonymous]

The allure is that Nordstrom Rack has better (quality, style) stuff than Old Navy and Target, and I can only get to certain stores and that's one of them. It's very rare I can find anything at Macy's. Bloomingdales is out of my price range, and I'm sized out of places like Reformation and Madewell and/or don't want to pay shipping just to return stuff that doesn't fit.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, there's some junk. But a lot of these Racks carry designer stuff that didn't sell at the local Nordstrom. I mean, I saw Giorgio Armani at the Rack in SF. Very expensive for being RTW.

[Anonymous]

If you don’t understand why people shop at discount stores then you aren’t that thrifty.

[Anonymous]

Feels like shopping at a dollar store.

[Anonymous]

I have had good luck with Theory, Vince, and other high end brands. You have to know what is well priced and what is polyester crap

[Anonymous]

Why do you need to understand someone else’s preferences or decisions? If there is no “allure” for you, why are you not simply moving on with your day?

[Anonymous]

The store is jammed full of items and I don’t care for “the hunt.” I prefer to shop online. I have found some nice dresses that I have worn to a wedding, bridal shower, etc.

[Anonymous]

If you have certain quality brands you like and can find them at Nordstrom Rack or TJ Maxx, it’s worth periodically popping in.

[Anonymous]

I like Talbots outlook (lol so clearly I don't belong in the fashion forum) but you can get decent work clothes for very very cheap

[Anonymous]

These stores are a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Nordstrom rack in Tysons is nicer than Nordstrom in Tysons L O L.

[Anonymous]

A few weeks ago I dropped my dog off at the groomers in a weird part of Fairfax, and, given traffic, if I drove home I was basically going to have to turn right around and come back to get her. So I decided to kill time.

There was a Burlington (branded "Burlington" now, but used to be "Burlington Coat Factory") right around the corner. I decided to play a game with it to kill time -- because I had a couple of hours I would go through the whole store, looking carefully at everything, to see if there could possibly be anything I might want. I did it -- looked at basically everything. Even grabbed a cart just in case. Do you know what I bought? A notebook -- so that I could kill more time in the cafe around the corner journaling. The entire -- very, very large -- store was full of nothing but trash.

Burlington is, of course, a few notches below Nordstrom Rack--the store named by OP. I'd rank NR over TJ Maxx and Marshals, and TJ Maxx and Marshals over Burlington. But still -- I found nothing to buy.

The last time I was at Nordstrom rack I got some pink joggers that I loved. But then I washed them once and they were like tissue paper. You could see straight through them -- totally unwearable, at least in public. It was the NR at Tysons. I'd been to the one on L St a few months before that and found nothing. The last time I was at TJ Maxx was around the same time, the one on Leesburg Pike, and there was nothing good at all. Nothing I would want, anyway.

FWIW, I enjoy fashion and clothes, but I'm no real stylist or anything. So I'm not being snobby when I say these places were full of trash. They were full of trash.

[Anonymous]

Pre-kids, I loved to hunt at Nordstrom Rack and high-end resale shops. Now, I prefer to go to Nordstrom once or twice a year and arrange with a stylist to have some work and casual clothes ready for me to try on.