{Shopservations

What we saw

I brought my boyfriend with me because we thought it might be fun to check the shops out together.

I had no idea NR had rolly carts. I checked and they really do roll!

Although the ceilings aren’t too low because the store’s so huge, their height, along with their office building inset light style felt pretty warehousey.

Our first stop was

Nordstrom Rack.

It’s a strange entry with separate sets of doors on two almost edges of the same corner of the building.

The real shocker: Of all the places we went, including the modern Apple store, when I asked my boyfriend which he’d store he’d like his house to be like, he said the Rack! Because it was the lowest pressure!

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed the security entrance sensors before !

Fuego creeped me out

because it had my number. My boyfriend’s impression was: cluttered! My feeling was, ooo, pretty here, pretty there, pretty, cool, and interesting everywhere.

I can’t believe anything at Fuego is $149 !

Sloth animal in front of modern art piece. Totally unrelated. This is just how I decorate! Really pretty freaky. I feel so marketed to.

My boyfriend noted that they used vertical space and none of the other stores did.

The interior was cozy with an emphasis on warm wood tones. I felt invited and free to wander.

Only one store dared not to post it’s name above.

Apple.

I was surprised to find that our store’s lighting looks like film sprocket holes!

The interior was minimalist when it came to product, but packed with employees...who were just milling around.

I also hadn’t realized that, like AT&T, Apple employs a fulltime, in uniform security officer. He wouldn’t let me take his picture. How had I missed him all this time?

Sunglass Hut

isn’t a shop either of us frequent….

Neither of us had much of an impression of it. My boyfriend felt its vast emptiness made it unapproachable. I guess I felt like something should be going on in there.

Their idea of impulse buys was eyeglass cleaner…. This store struck me as conservative and doomed to fail.

The severely worn floors and all about business attitude of the employees at

Bath & Body Works made it clear this business was in it for the very

short term.

Clearly the oddest thing of the night was walking by a bank with…a crane inside it. Note the crane front and central in this image. I’m sorry to say that it was my boyfriend who observed this. People were working on it as we were walking by.

After that, three hotel security guys were chasing a guy in a green Adidas jacket. I didn’t get a picture, though, as I was too shocked. Things like this just don’t happen in Portland. Or…apparently they do. Crazy night! Thanks for making us get outside to witness it.