When I showed up at Nordstrom for the Spring Fragrance Festival, the line already snaked through men’s apparel and was headed toward the escalator. The event was billed as a celebration of “our sister state of Hawaii, with lively music, tropical drinks and appetizers”. Soon ukulele music drifted out from the skybridge, where a few dozen tables from fragrance vendors lined the edges.
I was excited about the event. The invitation promised the “timelessness of favorite classics” as well as the latest scents. When the gate lifted, a stampede of ladies hightailed it for the back of the skybridge, where mai-tais and hors d’oeuvres were laid out…