Shortly after I graduated college I moved to Charlotte, NC for a job and ended up finding an apartment half a mile from SouthPark mall, Charlotte’s premier shopping destination. The job turned out to be less than ideal so let’s just say I did my fair share of retail therapy up and down those beautiful corridors. I knew only a handful of people in the area and with no family or close friends nearby and no children yet to take care of I had some free time on my hands. I would go to work, work out and typically drive over to SouthPark mall to eat, piddle, walk around and shop. Honestly what do you expect when one lives so close to the largest shopping center between Washington D.C and Atlanta, GA? I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it’s my favorite shopping destination and it just also happens to be in the same town as one of my dear friends, Lindsey Regan Thorne.
I’m not sure how Lindsey and I first met but what began as a casual instagram friendship lead to us texting (and voice-texting) every other day about all things makeup and eventually blossomed into a full-on real life, we know each other now, type of friendship. I love Lindsey so much not only for her wit and beauty knowledge but also because she truly has one of the kindest and sweetest spirits I have ever met. She’s also a pretty bomb makeup artist and owns her own company in addition to running her blog.
Lindsey and I typically meet up once every couple of months to chat makeup or grab dinner and this time we were both working on beauty campaigns for our blogs that required us both needed to make a stop at Nordstrom and decided to make a day of it. Today I’m teaming up with SouthPark mall to show you a little peak into our day and give you some tips for planning your very own girls’ day!
Located in the heart of the SouthPark area, SouthPark, is anchored by Nordstrom, Belk, Dillard’s, Macy’s and Neiman Marcus department stores. The stores inside range from high-end luxury fashion such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry to all of my favorite staples including J.Crew, Madewell, Sephora and Anthropologie to name a few. My strategy for parking and shopping at SouthPark mall is always the same. I park at Nordstrom off of Fairview Road because it’s easy to hop onto I-485/I-85 or I-77 from Fairview. I park, use the restroom in Nordstrom, grab a coffee at ebar at the entrance to the main mall area and then get to shopping, saving Nordstrom for last. This way I don’t have so far to walk with my Nordstrom haul! This is also a great strategy for if you have kids with you as well because the bathrooms at Nordstrom are great and ebar doesn’t only have great coffee but also great snacks for kids. Whenever I have the girls I will let them get a strawberry lemonade or box milk, some animal crackers and we’re on the way!?
If you’re the type of person who likes to walk into a day of shopping with a meal-plan in action then I respect that. If you want to eat before you shop, eat after you shop or eat before, during and after you shop then there are more than enough options at SouthPark mall. There are 6 full-service restaurants, my favorites being Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar & Reid’s Fine Foods & Wine Bar, plus a dining pavilion.
Reid’s is a great spot to grab a bite to-go or get a delicious salad or sandwich and rest your feet awhile. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer box lunches to-go. There are treats and snacks galore and they have an impressive selection of wines. If you’re in the area and you need a gift basket or a cute bottle of bubbly tied with a ribbon to take to a party, they have that too! My favorite spot is without a doubt The Cowfish which is located a road over from the main shopping center near the Crate & Barrel. You cannot go wrong with their sushi rolls or bento boxes!
I am a fierce supporter of the “don’t bring your small children to the mall” policy if you have anything that actually needs to get accomplished. However, if your kids must crash your shopping trip or girls’ day then SouthPark has all the resources you need to survive. The best of which is a 2,000 square foot outdoor play area where you can take a break and let them “get the wiggles out”. It’s located right outside the food court with enough things to climb on to keep them entertained for days including a pirate ship. Inside SouthPark mall you can grab end-of-shopping bribes from the American Girl Store, Disney Store & Leggo store. Or if your kids are tiny adults like mine they will really go wild over the bedding, stuffed animals and mini-chairs at Pottery Barn Kids.
Now for my plan of attack on the stores. As I mentioned above I typically leave Nordstrom and head straight to Anthropologie (located next door) and then hit up Vineyard Vines before turning the corner to head to Loft and Lululemon. After that I will cross back over the center section and go to Tory Burch and Neimans. Once those stores are conquered I will make my way over to Sephora via Kate Spade and then Madewell, J.Crew and Gap. That area is also where the Sugarfina and Starbucks are so you can get a little pick-me-up before you get your try-on on. If you’ve exhausted the clothing you can pop in to Pottery Barn which is just a couple doors down from Sugarfina and then after that head on over to Dillards where Ballard Designs and Sur La Table are. I will typically save H&M for when I need to head to the food court for an apple (I mean cookie) and leave Nordstrom for last so that I can soak up every last inch of my shopping time.
I hope this post has helped anyone planning a shopping day to Charlotte in the near future! Thank you to SouthPark mall for sponsoring this post! And thank you for reading and supporting the brands that make this blog possible! If you want to follow SouthPark you can find them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
Have a great day and if you have any other good tips for shopping at SouthPark mall leave them below!
Pin this for later!
