I had the chance to attend the Nordstrom Calgary opening gala last night, along with 1,800 other fashion-forward people. What a party!

Fun floor stickers were scattered through out the store

I will be writing a series of posts about my experience, but first, here are some comments from two of Edmonton’s most prominent fashion experts, who also attended the Gala.

“I was really impressed with the open concept of the store, but also the effort to create an intimate and unique experience in each department. This is the kind of department store design we haven’t seen much of in Alberta and it’s exciting to see stores like Simons and Nordstrom leading the way. Also, kudos to Nordstrom for the Canadian artwork I spotted in the fitting rooms.”  — Janis Galloway, Dress Me Dearly.

One of several custom designed fitting rooms at Nordstrom

“I think Nordstrom will fill a gap in the Calgary and Alberta fashion scene – it’s not The Bay, it’s not Holt Renfrew, it’s not Simons. It feels youthful, but still carries the established, high-end labels we’ve formerly had to travel to the States for. And did you see that shoe department?!”  — Caroline Gault, Alberta editor, Fashion magazine

Ladies wear!