I’m sorry Belk, I was ignorant; I didn’t know how fabulous you were. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago where Marshall Fields was THE store and moved on to the West Coast where I was introduced to Nordstrom, and then to the Northeast—hello Bloomingdales. Nordstrom and Bloomindales have been my department stores of choice ever since. I was first introduced to Belk last weekend at a birthday party for my 6 year-old daughter at Libby Lu (for those not knowing, a girly-girl explosion of pink, sequins and feather boas). Being that I am a bit of an Intown snob, and this Belk was in what I call a “mall-mall” (the malls of my mid-western youth with Orange Julius, photo booths and Claire boutiques vs. the Buckhead malls that I frequent today), I didn’t even give Belk a glance as I dropped my daughter off and breezed through. My husband, pre-teen son and I were off to enjoy the best reason for coming to such a mall: Orange Julius and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

But after retrieving my daughter from the party, we passed through the shoe department. Wait! Cute shoes on sale! BCBG sandals, Yellow Box flip flops! I quickly looked around: Prada! Cole Hahn! Donald Pliner! ALL ON SALE! I knew that I couldn’t get my family to stay and shop for shoes, so I made a plan to go to the Belk in Buckhead later that week. Yes, there was a new Belk in Atlanta’s chic mall, Phipps Plaza and I hadn’t ventured in because, well, it used to be a Parisian. I used to go with my grandmother to shop for shoes at Parisian during my summers spent with her in Alabama. Admittedly my grandmother had a thing for nice, high-end shoes, but after I moved to the south, I stayed clear of Parisian….any place my grandmother shopped was not really my style. Every once in awhile I would venture into kids department when my son needed dressy clothes and Nordstrom couldn’t accommodate him, but that was about it.

But those shoes on sale I saw over the weekend were reason enough to give Belk a try. So, my daughter and I made a mommy-daughter date to go shopping and see a movie together. I tried on about 20 pairs of shoes from their vast shoe selection. There is a whole alcove devoted to Donald Pliner shoes. Most of the summer shoes were on sale 30-50% off and I got these cute Pelle Moda shoes that were originally $119 for 50% off. Can you see the bling?

I got them to go with a long slinky sundress, with the hope that my husband will take me out to dinner at the new W hotel (wistful sigh) and more likely, to wear to dinner while we are on vacation in Mexico later this summer.

Right across from the shoe department was the purse department, and I had to have a look. I told myself that I needed a new wallet for an upcoming vacation, and Belks didn’t disappoint: I found a Coach wristlet pouch for 50% off. But, my hallelujah moment came when finding my way to the bathroom; I wouldn’t have even ventured into the clothes section otherwise. I saw signs that caught my eye: Free People, Lucky Brand, True Religion. And ever better, smaller signs: CLEARANCE. I still can’t believe that I got this Free People shirt (one of my favorite brands) for $9!!!!

So, forgive me Belk, you classy Southern lady, I didn’t know.

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