High-end store dresses up community

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SHOES, CLOTHES, MORE—Laura Russell of Agoura Hills and Jean Williams and Charissa Hill, both Westlake Village residents, compare shopping discoveries during the Nordstrom grand opening gala. Nordstrom was hoping 1,500 customers would pay $100 each to attend its opening gala and be the first inside the newest store at The Oaks mall. Instead about 1,750 excited shoppers turned out.

The opening also served as a fundraiser. The Alliance for the Arts, the nonprofit fundraising arm of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, and the Centennial Guild of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, a philanthropic group that raises money to help seriously ill or injured children, will share an estimated $175,000.

Among those who came to the event were Susan and Jerry Ashcraft of Simi Valley, who met at a dinner for singles. Nordstrom came up during the couple's first conversation. When Jerry said he once took off work to attend a Nordstrom opening, Susan knew he was the man for her. Their wedding rings were purchased at Nordstrom in Santa Barbara and they've enjoyed many happy shopping days since.

Serenaded by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the couple strolled around the newly minted store that displayed items for sale in perfect order.

"He surprised me with gala tickets," Susan said.

Tiles artistically painted by children whose parents donated $75 to the Boys & Girls Club decorated the floor of the children's department.

Male and femal models wore Nordstrom clothing and stood as still as mannequins.

Cocktails, appetizers and desserts—candied apples, cakes, tarts, malt balls and chocolate truffles—were served in abundance as guests walked around and shopped. The shoe department was filled mostly with women who spent the evening trying on high-end footwear.

Thousand Oaks resident and Nordstrom sales clerk Angie Thompson was ready for the shoppers. She said she and the other Nordstrom employees had received extensive training for their positions.

Her department displayed clothes by Vera Wang, Milly and other designers. One dressing room even was even fitted with a throne.

Sales clerk Mariam Edgar, a Newbury Park resident, said she was excited to be working at the new department store and thrilled to be at the gala.

"Nordstrom took over two months to train us about fashion and fabric so we'd be ready for tonight," Edgar said.

Thosuand Oaks City Councilmember Dennis Gillette remarked about how far the city had come—once an open field, then a mall, and now a Nordstrom.

"I remember a woman chaining herself to an oak tree on this site before the mall was built to try and stop it," Gillette said. "Now look how beautiful it is."

Those oak trees have been preserved and are still at the mall site.