Elizabeth Foley took a pre-dawn flight from Kaua'i to be among the first shoppers in Nordstrom's new department store that opened yesterday morning in a rousing event at Ala Moana Center.

"I'm a shopper, and I came for shoes," proclaimed the restaurant owner from the Garden Isle. "I couldn't wait for this to open."

Foley was among an estimated 1,200 or more consumers who turned out for the opening that attracted some die-hard fans to the store more than four hours before its 9:30 a.m. opening.

Many in the throng came for free cosmetic makeovers hosted by Nordstrom outside the entrance to the new 210,000-square-foot store. There were roughly 100 makeover stations that began operating shortly before 7:30 a.m.

The pre-opening production also offered complimentary strawberry-frosted mini cream puffs, coffee, orchid lei and a disc jockey spinning records for the crowd.

"It's crazy," said Paul O'Sullivan, whose California-based company Good Vibrations Mobile Music was hired to pump up the crowd. "I walked out here and thought, 'Wow. There's a lot of people.' "

The much-advertised and awaited opening of Nordstrom's first full-line store in Hawai'i indeed was a big production for the Seattle-based retailer known for exceptional customer service.

Nordstrom's opening ceremony was similar to others around the country — except for the Hawaiian blessing — but the retailer's president, Blake Nordstrom, said the Hawai'i store is special because it took close to 15 years and three attempts to establish.

"It's hard to describe," he said. "Almost 13 years ago I was here trying to find a location. We've never in the history of our company had this much time or this much effort go into a new store. It was so difficult, but it feels at this very moment worth it."

It took 10 minutes, with continual clapping from employees, for all waiting customers to enter the store through an entrance connected to the mall's main level.

Addy Malloe, 55, came from Waimanalo to visit the new store. "I love to shop," she said. "I love their products. The people are nice."

Before the store even opened, Malloe had received a free makeover and purchased a $26 pikake-scented soy candle made by Maile Kaua'i.

Eva Kama, a retiree from Honolulu, said Nordstrom's opening was like a carnival for adults. "We're really excited to have Nordstrom because it gives us another choice," she said.

Kama received a guided tour through the store from Nordstrom regular and old Punahou School classmate Marsha Finley, who was born and raised on O'ahu but moved to Nordstrom's home state of Washington decades ago for college.

"She was the one who said we have to go to (Nordstrom's opening)," Kama said of her friend Finley, who lives within walking distance of a Nordstrom in Bellevue, Wash., but spends half the year in Hawai'i.

"They've done an excellent job (introducing new clothes) for Honolulu," Finley said.

Nordstrom emphasizes mid-priced to luxury designer fashions with a particular focus on shoes. Price points in the store range on the clothing racks from the lower-priced $12 Nordstrom-brand cotton tank tops, to the higher-priced $4,270 dress from Lanvin, a Paris firm that had only one U.S. boutique outlet (Bergdorf Goodman in New York) until Nordstrom Ala Moana opened.

In footwear, Nordstrom merchandise ranges from a $15 pair of Havaianas rubber slippers to a $1,050 pair of Nina Ricci pumps.

Foley, the restaurant owner from Kaua'i, where shoe shopping is limited, spent $500 on four pairs of casual and dress shoes yesterday. "For a shoe department, Nordstrom can't be beat," she said.

Nordstrom was established in Seattle as a family shoe store in 1901, and today operates 102 full-line department stores in 26 states plus about 50 smaller stores including a Nordstrom Rack clearance store at Ward Centers.

The company began seeking to open a department store in Hawai'i around 15 years ago, and twice before signed preliminary agreements that fell through.

The first deal was in 1996 at Ala Moana, but got blocked when Liberty House enforced provisions in its lease at the mall. The second was a deal with Ward Centers that was canceled in 2002 when the Kaka'ako retail complex was bought by Ala Moana's owner, General Growth Properties.

Nordstrom's history in Hawai'i dates back 40 years when it ran the shoe departments at Liberty House, the local department store chain that became Macy's in 2001.

Hawai'i Kai resident Cynthia Toth wishes Nordstrom had opened sooner, but was pleased to be at the front of the group waiting to enter the store yesterday. "I've been waiting 20 years for this store," she said.

Toth used to work at a Nordstrom in California before moving to Hawai'i in 1987. "It was so disappointing moving here," she said. "Hallelujah! It's here."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.