Best Buys
Our savvy shopper finds an Oscar de la Renta look at a fraction of the price
I knew the look was good when I spotted the sporty three-quarter-length sleeve jacket on the fall fashion rack at Nordstrom in the Galleria. When I tried it on in the dressing room with a pair of black slacks, I knew I had a winning outfit. But I had no idea that it would be mistaken for an Oscar de la Renta or some other snazzy designer.
When I walked into the CultureMap office, the high-fashion bargain immediately caught the eye of Clifford Pugh, our editor-in-chief and fashion guru. "Well Shelby, that's really nice," he purred, obviously assuming that I had spent a month's salary on a single piece of clothing.
"Oh, it's just a little something I picked up at Nordstrom," I revealed, pleased with his approval.
But when I went to lunch at La Griglia and PR honcho and serious fashionista Dancie Ware thought for certain that I was wearing Oscar, I was over the moon with my find. "Just a little something from Nordstrom!"
The Laura Max jacket (and they showed it in a number of different fabrics) was $108. The well-fittted slacks with a hint of spandex (which actually don't wrinkle, just as the saleswoman promised) were $99. That sum total wouldn't even buy an arm in a big-name designer jacket. The last time I checked the price on an Oscar de la Renta sweater, it was more than $2,200.
Just call me savvy shopper.
A staircase in Gucci's signature Rosso Ancora leads shoppers to the second floor. Photo by Pablo Enriquez for Gucci
Houston Galleria will be one of the first boutiques to open with Gucci’s latest store window concept, Endless Narratives.Photo by Pablo Enriquez for Gucci
