My Best Friend Has $200 to Spend at Nordstrom—I Suggested These Affordable Items

Given my role in fashion, I'm typically the one in my friend group who fields all of the style and shopping questions. And yes, I live for it. One of my best friends received a $200 Nordstrom gift certificate as a present and wanted my advice on what she should consider buying. Given that Nordstrom is one of my go-to stores, I couldn't wait to scroll through the new arrivals to send her a list of my favorite items.
Below, you'll uncover a sampling of the pieces I told her to consider. The first five on the list were my front-runners for her. Oh, and fun fact, everything I sent her skewed on the more affordable side with an under-$100 price point.
Keep scrolling to check out expensive-looking finds from Nordstrom that are chic and modern thanks to forward design details.
This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.

Bobby Schuessler is a fashion editor with over a decade of editorial experience covering shopping, style, and beauty. He's spent 10 years at Who What Wear, currently leading the market team to deliver highly covetable and convertible content. He creates data-driven shopping guides featuring top retailers like Nordstrom, Shopbop, and Net-a-Porter and is at the forefront of Who What Wear's shopping tentpole strategies, including Amazon Prime Day. He also works on branded content initiatives and appears on camera in video and shopping livestream franchises.
-
The Classic Hero Piece That Fashion People Reach For All Summer Long
Something for every personal style.
-
I've Lived in NYC, L.A., and Boston—Here's Everything I Think Is Chic for Summer
Shop the highly curated list.
-
These 31 Rich-Looking Nordstrom Finds Are Giving "I Summer in the Hamptons"
Minus the trust fund.
-
The Perfect $16 Tank Top and More Zara Items I'm Texting Everyone I Know About
Elite finds.
-
I'm a New Shopping Editor in NYC—These 31 Gorgeous Summer Nordstrom Finds Have My Attention
PS: Everything's under $150.
-
My Mom and I Are Summer Shopping—These 30 Nordstrom, Zara, J.Crew, and Revolve Items Are the Chicest
From elevated basics to trendy staples.
-
These New Under-$100 Nordstrom Summer Items Are What I Call Fashion, Period
Expensive-looking staples.
-
The 30 Items That Will Define Style in Summer 2025
Gotta catch 'em all.