Last night, Nordstrom held a charity opening gala for its second Boston-area store at the Burlington Mall to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The Junior League of Boston and The Links, Incorporated. 1300 people attended last night’s event and helped raise $160,000 for the Boston-based charities. The store was filled with everyone from suburban socialites, stay-at-home moms away from the kids, business men, local celebrities and young women channeling their favorite Sex and the City character all dying for a glimpse at the new fashion beacon north of Boston.

Guests in attendance were able to partake in a dinner buffet and hors d’oeurvres circled the store. A full bar was strategically placed for all of your beverage needs and a selection of champagne and wine where available when you first entered the building. Nordstrom knows how to throw a party. Because honestly, who doesn’t love to drink some champagne, while munching on dinner and trying on shoes all at the same time? Bostonist did and we have the cutest pair of sandals to prove it! We’ve heard nothing but good things about Nordstrom’s shoe department and couldn’t help but smile ear to ear when the sales person walked out with our size. They had everything from sneakers to stilettos from Nike to Nanette Lapore.

Picture taken by Jocelyn Celeste. More about the fashion show after the jump!

The highlight of last night’s event was the fashion show held outside of the store. The giant white tent took over a section of the parking lot and transformed mere concrete into Boston’s version of Bryant Park--or at least something close to it. Introduced by store manager, Cindy Gelb, the show highlighted the Spring collections from Diane Von Furstenburg, Tracy Reese, M Missoni, and Robert Rodriguez to name just a few! Bostonist was in awe of the collections and loved watching the models stomp down the runaway knowing somewhere Miss Jay would be pleased.

Nordstrom will be open to the public on Friday, March 28, 2008, at 10 am. Prior to the opening, at 8:30 to 10, they will be holding their Beauty Bash , where you can come in and get the scoop on the new products and meet with consultants and check out some demonstrations.