Excuse the shaky pics, my hands were probably frozen!
So yes, I did it. I was one of the crazy, fanatic Lanvin lovers who lined up the night before for the big H&M opening Saturday morning at 8am in Vancouver. I blogged, ogled and strategized over the collection for months, so I figured I better shit or get off the pot! And so I went, but alas the path to Lanvin nirvana was not all smooth sailing…
The snow…
(Big) Misfortune #1: The normally mild Vancouver got hit Saturday morning with its first snow storm of the season. The forecast called for 5 cm by morning and a low of -3 C. I can attest that it snowed almost non-stop all night! It was cold, wet and I often wondered if I would take off my shoes to reveal frostbitten toes…
Misfortune #2: My partner-in-crime who planned and plotted with me to line up for weeks bailed due to said snow. Luckily, my bro said yes so I would not have to suffer through the night solo.
That being said, it was still a worthwhile experience for Lanvin and H&M had it fairly well-organized. I lined up close to midnight after hearing a lot of buzz that the line was growing. There were about 50+ peeps ahead of me with various levels of preparation – full-on tents, blankets, lawn chairs, etc. I don’t know how devout everyone was about Lanvin or if they were just interested in nabbing the stuff to resell. But everyone was generally in good spirits and I met a few, nice people who were super-excited for the collection. And H&M had two security guards the entire night handing out umbrellas and magazines.
The line at about 5:30 am about 50 people or so in front of me… yawn.
At 6am, I was given a bracelet to secure my shopping time in the third group of 20 shoppers at 8:40 am, after which, I was able to break free from the line – finally! I went inside to the men’s line to battle the free-for-all crowds with my brother and a cute couple next to us. At 7, H&M brought in Starbucks coffee and pastries, which was nice and welcome.
At 8am, the men’s collection opened to total madness, most things were snatched up within 5 minutes. Either there wasn’t that much stock or the men were rabid… After 20 minutes of being body-slammed for bow ties, I had enough.
Thankfully, the women’s shop was much more civilized in comparison as there were only 20 shoppers allowed to shop for 20 minutes. I managed to grab most things on my list (leopard print heels, black heels, short-sleeved black dress, lipstick, etc.) and have a few regrets of things I didn’t try on (the one-shouldered purple and black dresses).
Adding to the overall quality, H&M did not cheap out on the packaging. Dresses and shoes came with a pretty cover with an Alber sketch and everything else came in a nice sturdy branded white box. I also received a free red scarf in a gift tote bag, a nice touch!
All in all, if it weren’t Lanvin and Alber Elbaz for H&M, I don’t think I would have gone, especially not under snowstorm conditions!
sarahdanslenoir 