In the suburb of Chicago where I grew up, few places were frequented as much as Nordstrom. It was the main hub at our local mall where everyone and their mothers (literally, my mom

used to drive me there far too frequently) shopped for everything from True Religion jeans and Free People henleys to Uggs and BCBG prom dresses. I ate lunches at the Nordstrom café with my friends and got my makeup done in the beauty department before my freshman homecoming dance. Suffice to say, the Seattle-based department store holds a special significance to me. So you can imagine that I'm no stranger to its seven-floor, 320,000-square-foot flagship store in New York City. 

With the holidays arriving faster than expected, I thought I'd put my familiarity with the store to good use by scouring its hundreds of racks to find the crème de la crème of pieces available. Three-plus hours and one too many caffeine breaks later, I compiled a list of worthy contenders for whoever you're shopping for right now. Keep scrolling for 42 Nordstrom items you don't want to miss.