Debt And Credit Facilities (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended
	Feb. 02, 2013	Jan. 28, 2012	Jan. 29, 2011	Apr. 28, 2012 Series 2007-2 Class A & B Notes [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Series 2007-2 Class A Notes, one-month LIBOR plus 0.06% per year, due April 2012 [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Series 2007-2 Class A Notes, one-month LIBOR plus 0.06% per year, due April 2012 [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Series 2007-2 Class B Notes, one-month LIBOR plus 0.18% per year, due April 2012 [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Series 2007-2 Class B Notes, one-month LIBOR plus 0.18% per year, due April 2012 [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Series 2007-A Variable Funding Note facility [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Series 2007-A Variable Funding Note facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Nordstrom Federal Savings Bank variable funding facility [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Nordstrom Federal Savings Bank variable funding facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Senior notes, 4.75%, due May 2020, net of unamortized discount [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Senior notes, 4.75%, due May 2020, net of unamortized discount [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Interest Rate Swap [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Interest Rate Swap [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Commercial Paper [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Senior notes, 4.00%, due October 2021, net of unamortized discount [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Senior notes, 4.00%, due October 2021, net of unamortized discount [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Series 2011-1 Class A Notes, 2.28%, due October 2016 [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Series 2011-1 Class A Notes, 2.28%, due October 2016 [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Commercial Paper [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Short-Term Borrowings [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Nordstrom private label card receivables [Member] Restricted [Member] Series 2011-1 Class A Notes, 2.28%, due October 2016 [Member] Series 2007-A Variable Funding Note facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Nordstrom VISA credit card receivables [Member] Restricted [Member] Nordstrom Federal Savings Bank variable funding facility [Member]	Feb. 02, 2013 Nordstrom VISA credit card receivables [Member] Restricted [Member] Series 2011-1 Class A Notes, 2.28%, due October 2016 [Member] Series 2007-A Variable Funding Note facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Percentage of company interest in credit card receivables used as collateral to secure debt																										100.00%	10.00%	90.00%
Repayments of long-term debt	$ 506	$ 6	$ 356	$ 500
Book value of office building used to secure mortgage payable	70
Accumulated adjustments to the associated debt, amortized as a reduction of interest expense																72	60
Notional amount of interest rate swap agreements																650
Maturity date					April 2012	April 2012	April 2012	April 2012	June 2016	January 2014				May 2020	May 2020	2018			October 2021	October 2021	October 2016	October 2016
Fixed interest rate																6.25%
Debt instrument interest rate																one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 2.9%
Basis spread on variable rate																2.90%
Total short-term borrowing capacity																									800
Current borrowing capacity									600	200		100						600
Option to increase the maximum capacity of revolving credit facility									100
Maximum borrowing capacity									700
Covenant terms									leverage ratio, defined as Adjusted Debt to Earnings before Interest, Income Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and Rent ("EBITDAR"), of less than four times.
Debt covenant leverage ratio									4
Covenant compliance									As of February 2, 2013, we were in compliance with this covenant.
Outstanding borrowings or issuances									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0					$ 0					$ 0	$ 0
Debt instrument interest rate					one-month LIBOR plus 0.06% per year	one-month LIBOR plus 0.06% per year	one-month LIBOR plus 0.18% per year	one-month LIBOR plus 0.18% per year		one-month LIBOR plus 35 basis points.
Basis spread rate on one-month LIBOR					0.06%	0.06%	0.18%	0.18%		0.35%