1
                                                                     EXHIBIT 5.1



                                                               November 14, 2000


Nordstrom, Inc.
1617 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, Washington  98101-1742

Dear Sir or Madam:

We have acted as counsel for Nordstrom, Inc. (the "Company") in connection with
the preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the
registration statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration Statement") under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), relating to the registration
under the Act of the offering of an aggregate 2,537,000 shares of Nordstrom's
common stock, no par value (the "Common Stock"), for the benefit of certain
selling shareholders (the "Selling Shareholders"). These Selling Shareholders
acquired the Common Stock in connection with the acquisition by the Company of
Faconnable S.A. on October 24, 2000.

In rendering this opinion letter, we have relied as to matters of material fact
upon the representations of members of the Company's management; however, we
have no reason to believe that any such representations are incorrect or
incomplete. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity
of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original
documents of all documents submitted to us as copies and the authenticity of the
originals of such copies. In connection with this letter, we have concerned
ourselves solely with the application of the laws of the State of Washington and
the laws of the United States, and no opinion is expressed herein concerning the
possible effects of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

Subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Common Stock has been
validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

The opinions contained in this letter are given as of the date hereof, and we
render no opinion as to any matter brought to our attention subsequent to the
date hereof. We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and further consent to the use of our name wherever
appearing in the Registration Statement, including the prospectus constituting a
part thereof, and any amendments or supplements thereto.

                                        Very truly yours,

                                        /s/ LANE POWELL SPEARS LUBERSKY LLP
                                        ---------------------------------------
                                        LANE POWELL SPEARS LUBERSKY LLP