Nordstrom

Hoos · Post by **Hoos** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:58 am

2clfrwrds wrote:Brent, I've gotten some shave goods from Gumps. I suppose I could find it less expensively on the Internet, but I like buying retail when possible; it's nice to see and smell the stuff before buying.

The Nordstroms in downtown San Francisco is pretty good. Yes, the salespeople start out pushing what they're supposed to move, but when they realize I know a bit about this, they begin asking questions to find out my preferences; then they usually make some interesting suggestions. (One gentleman prepped a sample for me and said something like, "You won't want this for yourself, but I think you'll be interested in the scent just for general knowledge.") I've made several buys there.

--Glenn

Glenn -

Thanks for the info and I'm with you on supporting a local business. I've been shopping at Gump's for nearly 20 years but was unaware of the shaving products. Actually the $35 price for the soap and bowl is less than I've seen on line ($40 is the lowest I've seen on line), so maybe they're having a sale.

They were too busy to help me select, thankfully. But while making the purchase of Limes shaving soap and aftershave, the gentlemen told me that Lady Diana supposedly liked GFT Limes, too. I said, "Really? She shaved with Limes soap and used Limes aftershave?" with a complete look of awe on my face. He just went back to ringing me up.

Edited for clarity.

DirtyDave · Post by **DirtyDave** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:13 pm

They were too busy to help me select, thankfully. But while making the purchase of Limes shaving soap and aftershave, the gentlemen told me that Lady Diana supposedly liked GFT Limes, too. I said, "Really? She shaved with Limes soap and used Limes aftershave?" with a complete look of awe on my face. He just went back to ringing me up.

Edited for clarity.

Diana? I had read somewhere long ago that GFT Limes was Prince Charles' favorite. Maybe at the time she just liked it on him.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:39 pm

Brent, Yeah, suppossedly Prince Charles is, indeed, fond of Trumper's Limes cologne....and lime scented stuff in general, as is his father. When he commissioned Floris to make a special line ( the Highgrove Collection, to help benefit his youth outreach fund ), lime and lavender were the main scents he picked for it. Anyway, you mentioned Trumpers, but, does Gumps no longer carry any D R Harris's products? They used to.
Regards,
Gordon

Hoos · Post by **Hoos** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:07 pm

Gordon and all,

You're supporting my private theory that I am royalty. I have a strong preference for limes and bright citrus. See? I knew it all along.

I did not see D.R. Harris when I was there. They had Trumper's, a couple of Floris products for men, several other high-end/newer lines like Fresh, Agraria, Anthouse, The Old Apothecary.

It could have been there and I overlooked it, though. The whole men's/women's/home bath/beauty stuff was oddly arranged. And someone left his reading glasses at the office.

I can check on the next visit. Gump's is a nice lunch outing.

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:33 pm

I had a similar experience at the Nordstroms in Merrick Village (Miami) I went to get a tub of Ultimate Comfort for a friend and there was one person at the register and another that asked if I wanted to try the Jack Black. I said no that I would however like a tub of Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort. She looked bewildered. When I pointed to it on the shelf 16" from her right hand she said "Oh! Here." and handed me the testor. I opened it and noticed it was half empty and asked if she had another (I had been the day before and actually saw a couple tubs in a drawer below the display) She said no they didn't have any more. I asked if they kept some in the drawers below she got flustered and opened the drawer below the Jack Black and said nope, none there. I said what about this drawer? (Pointing to the one I had seen the day before) She again said nope and I actually had to say "Can you please open the drawer and check?" Begrudingly she opened it and pulled out a new package while muttering that she didn't work for that line and didn't know how it was stored. She then left me like I was a leper and proceded to push some face scrub on some poor unsuspecting soul. The line took a while and her short term memory must have forgotten our dealing because she approached me with moisturizer and tried to apply it to my face. Yes she actually had product on her hand and was reaching for my face. I said no thanks and turned my back to her. The Nordstoms employee was probably happier than ever that she just had to sit there and ring in sales without having to deal with actual people.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:20 pm

Charlie, Yes, one must be....a....firm with these sorts. They seem to be especially pernicious in Florida for some reason. At one point, that dreadful little Anthony Logistics man was actually working the counters at Saks on the days he was not hounding shoppers at Nordstroms. "That stuff is rubbish!...I'd rather use Barbasol!", has worked well for me, and has the advantage of being the truth.
Regards,
Gordon

LostInCincy · Post by **LostInCincy** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:26 pm

Am I to understand, then, that some of these employees actually are paid to push certain lines? I thought it was just a joke..

-Dan

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:27 pm

Brent, Yes, just the ticket on your lunch hour. I wish there were worthwhile places around where I could do that. And do double check for the D R Harris's. I know for certain that they used to stock some of it, and not all that long ago.
Regards,
Gordon

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:30 pm

LostInCincy wrote:Am I to understand, then, that some of these employees actually are paid to push certain lines? I thought it was just a joke..

-Dan

That is where it is trickey. They are not Nordstoms employees. They work for a specific product manufacturer. Like a rep or something along those lines. They want to make sure they will get exposure during the busy season and Nordstoms looks at it like free workers. Of course when they turn off a customer who would have purchased a competing product and end up walking away empty handed then you have to wonder how much they actually get from the deal.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:31 pm

Dan, Not at all. Not only do most Nordstroms have a Jack Black or Anthony Logistics guy/gal, but in most dept. stores, there will be always be 'employees' on the floor in the toiletries/cosmetics section that do not actually work for the dept store, but rather for some brand; Channel, Kiehl's, Estee Lauder, whatever.
Regards,
Gordon

merkur07 · Post by **merkur07** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:12 pm

Oh happy day. I was beginning to think that it was just me thinking that Nordies has gone downhill!

In the fragrance section, they are doing way with the high-end had-to-find stuff (I'm no even sure if I saw any Aqua de Parma on the shelf) and that includes shaving creams from England.

We have this guy at our local Nordies that is well meaning, but is very sketchy when it comes to knowlegable facts about WS. I do like the Jack Black Supreme Cream for shaving as well as their other products, but pine for the day when they use to offer those quirky treats.

They also stopped carring the Ralph Loren clothing line and have done away with Ghurka leathergoods. I'm afraid Nordies is becoming another Macy's.

Sigh.

Hoos · Post by **Hoos** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:55 pm

Alas, no D.R. Harris at Gump's. And they are having a sale, at least on the Trumper's soaps.

I did find D.R. Harris at West Coast Clothier's, though. On the expensive side - $58 for a tub of cream.

LostInCincy · Post by **LostInCincy** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:01 pm

Hoos wrote: I did find D.R. Harris at West Coast Clothier's, though. On the expensive side - $58 for a tub of cream.

Steve-o · Post by **Steve-o** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:06 pm

LostInCincy wrote:
Hoos wrote: I did find D.R. Harris at West Coast Clothier's, though. On the expensive side - $58 for a tub of cream.

At that price, buying a tub of Coate's is like shopping at K-Mart...

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:25 pm

But for $58, you get the large tub:

--Glenn

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:22 pm

Brent, I'm sorry to hear that Gump's no longer stocks any D R Harris's products. I always thought that it was pretty neat that they did, and they are still listed as a US stockist on the Harris's website. Yeah, for some reason that I never understood, the prices for this sort of stuff ( if you could find any ), in SF always seemed to be MUCH higher then in NYC. Some articles of clothing as well. No idea why, but it's been that way for a long time. Gumps is/was the one exception that I know about.
Regards,
Gordon

Hoos · Post by **Hoos** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:22 pm

OK. I had a nice chat with a young lady at Gump's today. Maria knew her stuff for the most part and didn't try to sell me anything or BS me (too much).

I enquired specifically about D.R. Harris. She said that they haven't carried their products in nearly a year. She thought they might get some D.R. Harris at the end of February and would call if they did. She said that she didn't think Harris products were available anywhere in the U.S. outside of New York. This didn't ring true. In fact, I know it's false, but did not feel it necessary to bring it up.

Gump's actually had very little in the way of shaving cream (only Trumper's), and nothing in a tub. There's a line of bath/beauty products from Spain (don't recall the name) that makes a shaving cream in a tub, but they were out. She said it had a pomegranate scent and that they also expected more of that in February.

GregPQ · Post by **GregPQ** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:29 pm

Hoos wrote:..There's a line of bath/beauty products from Spain (don't recall the name) that makes a shaving cream in a tub, but they were out. She said it had a pomegranate scent...

Funny, during my last visit to Colonial Drugs (around Christmas) I noticed they had a large selection of a Spanish shaving line with unusual scents. Saw little or no Trumpers or D R Harris or Taylors that day.

My daughter got me my first Trumpers at Christmas (Limes soap) at C O Bigelows in Copley Place, which I have yet to visit myself. The Boston store kind of sneaked up on me--it opened in October 2005 and may be (for all I know) the only Bigelow's outside NYC.

Greg

PS--Loving the GFT Limes!

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:28 pm

So, no T&H at Gumps? Only Trumpers? Looks like I am not going to have to run up to the city and visit Gumps and Nancy Boy anytime soon...

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:29 pm

Greg, Well, of course, the 'real' Bigelows is in the Village, in NYC. But there are a few of the spin-offs besides Boston. The very first was actually in Colombus, Ohio, and I know there is one in the King of Prussia Mall in eastern PA. as well. And likely, there are a few more. Yeah, it's a bit odd about Colonial Drug. Despite their extensive inventory, including the hard to get Plisson brushes, they have always seemed light in the top shelf traditional London men's lines. It was only recently that they brought in T&H and some Taylors as far as I know.....and I guess they were out when you stopped by. I've mentioned this weak spot to Cathy when we've spoken on the phone.

Again, sorry to hear about Gumps. They're clearly not carrying as much of 'the good stuff' as they were a couple of years ago. They had a fairly full range of Trumpers shaving products and a number of their colognes, as well as D R Harris's shave creams and a few other items. Obviously, a few shops outside NYC carry Harris's, although probably not many. Louis Boston, Enchante, and Knox Cigar come immediately to mind.
Regards,
Gordon