We went to a Nordstrom, actually, and worked with their designated stylist who did quite a bit of the picking. The value for the hired stylist was not working for Nordstrom, which meant being able to say "that looks good, here's something that will look as good and cost half as much, and also here's why that looks good on you and where you can find it elsewhere".

EDIT: I really also want to stress that the stylist was just... nice. Completely non-judgmental about me waffling over things, offering lots of advice beyond just the clothing — how different postures affect fits, being able to explain to me why layering was sometimes uncomfortable and how to alleviate it, how to better adjust my fit when my body's size changes, even a gym recommendation. The in-shop stylist was also very nice, but the hired stylist got me through the door to the shop, and for me at least, that was worth the $175.

Interesting, I have a preferred stylist at Nordstrom in Seattle and there’s never been even a suggestion she would charge $175 (or anything) for services. Definitely possible to not take along your “hired help” and be successful!

I spend 60-90 minutes with her a handful of times a year and it’s been awesome - something I wish I’d started doing a decade ago in fact.

I also never felt entirely happy with Stitch Fix, or shopping the racks myself in stores. It was harder for me to find items which work well together and which fit well.

Nordstrom also tailors almost everything I buy in at least a minor way — length of arms, waist size, length of leg. Really does make a difference.

I get it, and I've been back to that Nordstrom without the hired stylist and gotten advice from the in-shop stylist. I expanded my answer a bit, but I never would've gone into the Nordstrom to shop if it hadn't been for the hired stylist. I didn't know what I didn't know.

Maybe $175 wasn't a good objective value for that, but for me, it worked.

You got a lot of personal value precisely because of

> I didn't know what I didn't know.

so it was money well spent.

> I didn't know what I didn't know.

I think that’s a good point, some things are extremely obvious for some people and they don’t need any consulting on that subject. Good for them, but it may not be obvious for other people. That’s normal and that’s fine.

It is completely normal to hire a trainer for learning a new sport, why shouldn’t you do that for other skills. If you’re bad at picking clothes, you can easily spend way more than $175 on stuff that isn’t comfortable and you will never wear.

And if you look at people on the street, at least one third seems to be bad at shopping clothes ;)

Serious question: Do you tip them? Is there an expectation to?

No, I’ve never tipped them. Once asked if that was expected and she said no.

I believe Men’s and Women’s is 8-10% commission rate, but believe Kid’s is higher. Shopping in Men’s a single jacket from Armani runs about $1500-1800, formal trousers in the $350-500 range, decent jeans or shirts seem to be in the $150-250 range, tees they carry from e.g. Robert Barakett around $70.

It adds up and I feel like it’s hard to get out of there with a few new outfits for under $2000. It’s worth using their loyalty program [1] and worth considering their store card, although “Icon” status means spending >$15k per year on their store card.

If you end up liking Zegna then you’re up into the stratosphere at $3500-5500/ea for many of their items.

I guess it’s possible tips are appreciated if you’re going to visit, take an hour of their time and emerge with one $70 tee at the end? That’s not been my shopping experience, I don’t wear Zegna, but I usually buy a few pairs of Paige jeans and some Bugatchi shirts, perhaps a new merino wool pullover, probably some shoes. By the time I’m ready to spend 90 minutes in Nordstrom shopping and getting the tailor to measure for alterations, I’m usually looking for enough new stuff that the stylist will make $200-500 in commission.

[1] https://www.nordstrom.com/browse/nordy-club/manage-card/icon...

Usually they work for commission, at least where I shop. They either go to the cash register with you or put stickers with their personal number on the price tag.

Which means they will give you the clothes with the highest commission, and are going to tell you that those look best on you.

Would an associate on commission give you good advice on budget though?

I have no experience here, but I'd guess they would. It would be better to guarantee a sale than alienate a customer who would consider returning of the experience went well.

A lot of current season clothing will have MAP (minimum advertised pricing) agreements in play meaning you’re probably paying list almost anywhere which is an authorized retailer.

Now, what you can do is figure out what brands suit you and fit well, what sizes are good, then shop past seasons in Nordstrom Rack or elsewhere. Popular sizes and colorways may sell out quickly so it’s a more frustrating experience, but you can see items marked down 55-75% too!

Ymmv with that though - I found some were just trying to get you to buy anything even if the size was completely wrong altogether.

I used to work at fairly expensive furniture/houseware retailer. They had a big squad of interior designers who all worked for free. They drove so much additional revenue that we didn't need to charge customers at all.

> (especially Nordstrom)

I might be missing the point but aren't you talking upwards of $200+ per outfit (shirt, pants) when shopping at stores like this?