PRACTICAL VIEW : Making Sense of Store Departments

What’s in a name? When it comes to those plastered above the departments within big stores, many are as cryptic as personalized license plates. Brass Plum, Visionaries and Club House, for example, don’t tell shoppers anything about the designer labels, price range or quality of the clothes they might find there.

It seems some of these non-informative headings were selected long ago, to suggest lifestyles. Marie Joyce, a Nordstrom spokeswoman, points to her store’s Brass Plum, a.k.a. the junior department, as an example. Whatever meaning the term once had is lost on first-time shoppers today.

Cutting through the jargon requires strategy:

* When you find a garment you like, make a note of the department for future reference. It also helps to remember the name in the label.

* Before shopping at a new store, call ahead. Ask the store operator which department carries your favorite labels.

* If you are looking for a particular label, call the designer’s headquarters and ask for the names of the stores in your area that carry their brand. Fashion magazine ads often list the phone numbers of designer’s corporate offices.