Shoe Department Battle: Barneys, Bloomies, Neimans, More!

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Hunting online for shoes can take you pretty far, but to really tell if a pair will work on your foot and with your wardrobe, you need to try them on. In tune with this week's shoe theme, and in the spirit of friendly competition, we set out to find how the shoe departments of LA shopping meccas Barneys New York, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue compare by the numbers. After all, when it comes to shoe shopping, selection is key.

What we found: Bloomingdale's Century City takes the crown, err stiletto, for sheer volume, carrying some 30,000 pairs of shoes (a shoe lover's dream!), while Nordstrom at The Grove wins with most brands, stocking more than 100 different women's shoe labels from high-end designers like Jimmy Choo and Valentino to middle-of-the-line favorites like Sam Edelman and Michael Kors and budget-friendly brands like Steve Madden.

Of course, there are other ways of slicing and dicing the shoe data. Who really has the best shoe department? Judge for yourself, based on these four stats.—Jessica Estrada

4. How many women's shoe labels do they carry?
Nordstrom: Around 100
Barneys: Salon 54, CO-OP 29
Bloomingdale's: 50
Neiman Marcus: 47
Saks Fifth Avenue: Over 30

3. How many shoes do they have in stock at any one time?
Barneys: Salon 12,500 pairs, CO-OP 4,000 pairs
Bloomingdale's: 30,000 pairs
Nordstrom: Exact number unknown, somewhere in the tens of thousands of pairs.
Saks Fifth Avenue: Over 25,000 pairs
Neiman Marcus: 1,500 pairs

2. What's the size of the shoe selling space?
Bloomingdale's: 7,400 square feet
Neiman Marcus: 4,500 square feet
Saks Fifth Avenue: 2,800 square feet
Barneys: Exact size unknown. They have two shoe selling areas: Salon (first floor) and CO-OP (third floor).
Nordstrom: Exact size unknown. They have a total of 5 shoe departments, three of which cater to women: Salon Shoes, Women's Shoes and BP Shoes.

1. What exclusive lines does each store carry?
Barneys: Barneys New York collection, Alexa Wagner, Maiyet, Prabal Gurung, Narciso Rodriguez and many exclusive styles and colorways from designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Fendi.
Bloomingdale's: Some of their newer offerings include Chloe, Gucci, Ruthie Davis and an expanded collection of sport-inspired pieces from Ash.
Neiman Marcus: Exclusive vendors include Laurence Dacade and Roger Vivier.
Nordstrom: No exclusive lines, but they carry a wide variety of labels including Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Valentino, Jimmy Choo and Stella McCartney in Salon Shoes to Sam Edelman, Cole Haan, Michael Kors and Jeffrey Campbell in Women's Shoes and Ash, Steve Madden and DV by Dolce Vita in BP shoes.
Saks Fifth Avenue: They offer exclusive styles, colors or materials from some of their top brands and each season they launch a limited number of exclusive or up and coming designers such as Nicholas Kirkwood, Jerome Rousseau, Alexandre Birman and Sophia Webster.
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