Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale: Top Picks

Nordstrom’s end of Spring and Summer season sale is here, and there is some great stuff on offer. Here’s a list of top picks across a range of departments and styles. I posted top picks for the designer clearance sale yesterday, but threw in some extra designer pieces here too. 

Visit the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Nordstrom Designer Clearance Sale: Top Picks

The Nordstrom end-of-season sales are NOT to be confused with the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. The Designer Clearance and Half Yearly Sales discount end-of season-merchandise (the former is starting today, and the latter starts tomorrow.) The Anniversary Sale (or NAS), on the other hand, starts in July, and that’s when hot off the press Fall and Winter merchandise is discounted for a couple of weeks before prices go back up in August. 

Here are my top picks from the Designer Clearance Sale: 

Visit the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Lovely Loose Layers for Summer

Designer Eileen Fisher is known for her fashionable and somewhat avant-garde, unstructured silhouettes made of natural fibres. The palette is generally neutral, but pastels and brights feature in every Spring and Summer collection. The outfit below is a typical Summer Eileen Fisher outfit. I think it’s fabulous. 

The outfit is an excellent way of keeping covered AND cool on a hot, sunny day. It’s made of a soft linen, but a version in cotton, silk or blends of those fabrics would work equally well. Of course, you have to be at peace with the crease and the casualness of the vibe.

Lovely Loose Layers

This is not a traditionally flattering outfit because it conceals the shape of the body. In fact, it’s a look that’s beyond body type. When the proportions are right — anyone can wear it. Here’s why the outfit works well:

  • A Tonal Colour Palette: The white and pearl grey are low contrast to one another, creating an elongating and harmonious effect. The key word here is TONAL, and you can create the same effect with any colour palette. Think of it in black and navy linen with black sandals, for example.
  • Perfect Pant Lengths: The shorter length of the wide crops — two to four inches above the ankle bone — goes a long way to creating just enough structure in the outfit. 
  • The Open Topper: The unfastened topper creates a vertical line down the front of the body, drawing the eye up and down and visually streamlining the look.

If I were to nitpick about lengths — which I am infamous for doing — I’d have shortened the length of the tunic so that it’s a couple of inches longer than the topper, but not as long as it’s shown here. That would create a slightly more polished appearance. 

Petites can absolutely wear the combination when they keep the lengths of the tunic and topper a little shorter. In cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, these types of outfits are not uncommon, and the women that wear them are typically very petite. But they adjust the proportions, which makes the difference. Casual flats look fab so no need for heels. A slubby linen scarf in the same tonal palette would be a nice addition, as would some casual jewellery. 

Although I personally prefer to wear a linen, silk or cotton casual shirt dress or sack dress with sleeves and collar for sun protection when it’s hot and sunny, I like this look on others. How about you?

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Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

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Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

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Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

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Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

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Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

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Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

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The Relentless Sneaker Trend

The sneaker in all its forms — athletic, fashion and hybrid — is the shoe of our fashion eraIt’s worn across all genders, body types, and ages, across the globe. I can’t think of another style of shoe that has made a bigger impact on modern fashion. The trend has gone way beyond the iconic Converse, Adidas and Puma. There are millions of styles of sneakers to choose from these days, and it’s fashionably acceptable to style them into just about any outfit. We live in a sneaker obsessed world. 

The Sporty Luxe Trend, which mixes luxurious and dressy pieces with sporty accents like fashion sneakers, was born about four years ago and is still going strong. The Athleisure Trend, which encourages us to sport uber casual athletic wear as regular casual wear, was born at about the same time and is as popular as ever. Now there’s the trend that dress-code-wise fits in between the two. It simply encourages us to wear fun fashion sneakers with any regular casual outfit. For lack of a better description, I’m calling it the “Modern Casual Trend”.

Sneakers are the most worn shoe on the street in urban and suburban settings. Workplace dress codes have relaxed right up to the point that sneakers are becoming more and more acceptable. You can wear sneakers to work at most tech and software companies these days. Commuting by foot, public transport or bicycle often means that you’ll wear sneakers for the commute and change into dressy shoes at the office. If you lead a casual lifestyle, you might  wear sneakers several times a week. If you walk a dog daily, you’ll change into sneakers for the walk. If you wear business casual or business formal all week, you’ll probably wear sneakers over the weekend. And if you’re in a very creative profession, you’ll enjoy the juxtaposition of casual sneakers in all sorts of weird and wonderful avant-garde combinations. 

I was visiting my Dad in the Netherlands a few weeks ago, and Spring collections were in full force. EVERY footwear store had a large assortment of white, pink and metallic fashion sneakers. Sneakers dominated display windows, most of the mannequins were styled with sneakers, AND most of the people in the street were wearing fashion sneakers. I took some pics of sneaker displays while I was shopping with Inge in Arnhem.

Arnhem Sneakers

I used to wear Converse Chuck Taylors regularly until their fit stopped working for my feet. I went for years without wearing fashion sneakers because I couldn’t find a style that I liked more than that magically streamlined and Modern Retro All Star Converse. I also found most sneakers too wide and uncomfortable. As always, all good things come to those who wait. Converse recently changed the fit of their fancy leather hi-tops and now they work well for my feet. I have three pairs that I love and wear regularly in cold weather. 

I also love the look of crisp white low-top sneakers, but the Stan Smiths were a bad fit and slightly too athletic looking for my style. I was after a prettier sneaker, but battled with fits that were too wide in the styles that I liked. I eventually found the perfect white Spring and Summer sneaker from Frye and they became instant wardrobe workhorses. I wear them daily to walk our Yorkie, Sam. I love these Frye sneakers so much, that I just added a pink pair to my sneaker capsule. I’ll keep those for nice and not take them on muddy dog walks. Here’s my current collection of fashion sneakers. 

I’m THRILLED that fashion is acknowledging our need for comfortable and practical footwear that looks fun and fabulous. As long as sneakers do not become the only shoe on the market, and there are plenty of other styles to choose from, I support the relentless sneaker trend. Over to you. What do you think of the modern sneaker trend, and do you wear fashion sneakers? If so, how regularly do you wear them?

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Ensemble: Casual Pastel Pink & Blue

This ensemble was inspired by my own pastel pink and blue casual outfits that I’ve enjoyed wearing over the last few weeks. The palette is for those who like to wear pastels from head to toe, which is an acquired taste. The effect is soft and pretty, and extra crisp with white. No hard edge at all.

The exact items from my wardrobe are in the collection below. I mixed and matched these pieces to create lots of different outfits.

Create your own outfits by remixing light blue, blush pink and white. Note that faded denim is a great way to provide the pastel blue component of the look. And if you like the idea of pastels, but prefer wearing them in small doses, combine dark blue jeans with a white top, and pick up the pastels in accessories like a scarf and bag, like I have done in the ensemble on the right

Here are the components: 

Bottoms: Think light wash, white or regular blue jeans or skirt. Blush jeans are fab too. 

Tops: Think pastel blue, blush or white blouse, shirt, tee, knitted top or pullover. Create a contrast or column of colour with the bottoms. 

Toppers: This is an optional extra. We usually need some type of topper in Seattle because Spring is chilly, but by all means do without. Think light-coloured trench coat, moto, blazer, cardigan or another style of jacket that works with the palette. A metallic topper will also work, and so will a denim jacket in a different wash to the bottoms. 

Footwear: Keep the footwear LIGHT in colour. Add white, blush, nude, tan, pearl grey or metallic shoes to the outfit. 

Accessories: A Spring & Summer scarf in the colours of the palette is a great way to pull the look together, especially when you’re wearing pastel pink shoes. Choose a LIGHT-coloured handbag, like white, blush, nude, tan, dove grey or metallic. Add jewellery, watch and eyewear as desired. 

I’ve chosen light pink and blue because they’re my favourite pastels, but the formula works as well with pastels like mint and lilac.

Ensemble: Casual Pastel Pink & Blue

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