Secondhand style vs. first-class appeal

Mariana Enriquez

Aardvarks and Nordstrom have the same amount of syllables in their names and that’s about it, because the rest is nearly incomparable in the fashion world.

Now don’t misunderstand me, each store has great qualities about themselves but they are not at the same level to be compared.

Nordstrom begun planning for success, investing, and soon become one of the biggest and best family chain stores nationwide.

Beginning in 1901 as a shoe store only, Nordstrom is now known as an upscale store. It offers the best customer service, finest apparel, shoes, jewelry and a price tag match guarantee.

If an item that Nordstrom offers is found anywhere else at a lower price, they will gladly match its price. This excludes exchange stores, thrifts stores, eBay…only valid retail stores. On the other hand, Aardvark’s came about in 1986, beginning in a whole different way.

It started with an average Joe who was just trying to get through school and pay his bills at the same time. Sound familiar?

A concept came about! He got through school by selling his clothes to flea markets and soon after opened his first store.

Today he has seven stores serving only Californians. Aardvark’s falls under the category of vintage/thrift store, offering fashions from almost every era starting in the 1940s.

It has funky, retro, offbeat (some casual) clothing for men and women (no children clothes) suits, jeans, dresses and much more.

Including women vintage swim suits and purses the hats, glasses, and jewelry are all new and inexpensive. No shoes. And, unfortunately all sales are final.

The difference between these stores is not only a century’s gap, how they came about and their styles but the overall experience. Going to Nordstrom, you get a royal treatment, valet, and then you enter a beautiful bright marbled flooring entrance that is highlighted by organized goods.

You get three levels for all your needs in a one stop shop.

Although most employees look super polished and a little snobbish, just remember, they are all on commission so they need you!

But… if it’s just not your scene because you are not into labels or trends like Juicy Couture, Dolce & Gabbana, Citizens of Humanity and more it’s really worth getting your basic needs there. It’s casual yet chic but unfortunately the cheapest men’s Levi jeans I found were 138 dollars.

Prices run the cheapest from 15 dollars for basic tops going up as high to a thousand dollars because you mostly get quality name brands, but if you go for the Nordstrom brand it’s cheaper.

And one thing that you can wrong with is Nordstrom’s return policy. It just goes to show how a receipt goes a long way.

Nordstrom’s believes so highly in customer satisfaction that if anything goes wrong with their items including shrinking after one use, return it… and they will refund your purchase.

It was hard to find my experience at Woodlands Hills’ Aardvarks, as it was a small compact store!

It was like a treasure hunt: you have to keep looking and looking until something is found with value, but it was fun.

It seemed to me like a party store…where it would be great for Halloween key pieces. The clothes you can find are some name brands like Adidas, Nike, Rampage, Levi’s that ran as low as ten dollars but mostly vintage clothing.

The prices started at one dollar for accessories but went up as high to 75 dollars for dresses and more vintage items.

At aardvarks, girls can definitely find key pieces for their outfits for fall 2006 and the coming seasons. Recent trends like unique clutches, belts, and dresses.

Men can find comfortable inexpensive work or school clothes, even a date shirt…but all selections are minimal.

Overall, price vs. quality is what distinguishes each store. You can have a lifetime warranty with Nordstrom’s quality clothes, latest trends or have unique affordable clothing that get you through school all year round.