Jimmy Choo for H&M
This morning I sacrificed sleeping in (a necessary Saturday ritual) to try and get my hands on some of the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection that launched today. Just so you know, dear reader, this sort of thing is very much out of character for me. Lines? Crowds? Shopping in an actual store instead of doing it online? These are things I do not care for. Yet, the call of accessible luxury goods called to me and I picked up the line.
I arrived at the store just after 8:30 AM and the line was already about 300 people deep and wrapped around the block. With my Starbucks Awake tea in hand (poser), I would now prepare for a long long morning of standing and waiting.
The store opened at 10 AM. The first 160 people were given wristbands and first access to the collection for a set amount of time. Needless to say, I did not get a wristband. Once the line started moving it only took about 45 minutes to get into the store. Unfortunately by that time the bulk of the clothes were gone. Just a few lone pieces were hanging on the racks and H&M employees were stripping Choo clothes off the mannequins and replacing empty clothing racks with non-Choo merchandise.
Like most shoppers, I was really after the accessories. Specifically shoes, bags and belts. The Chicago H&M is three floors: women's clothing on the first level, juniors and accessories on level two and men (and children, I guess) on level three. Choo clothing was on the first floor right at the door and Choo accessories were on the second floor in a portioned-off section of the store. It turned out that the wristbands really only applied to the accessories. The handy pamphlet I was given explaining the "rules" for shopping the collection did not make this entirely clear. As a non-wristband person I was not going to be allowed to shop the collection until all the wristband shoppers had shopped the accessories during their specified 10 minute increment. The last wristband shopping time ended at 12:10 PM. I settled into the crudely formed line to wait yet again.
Getting closer. At about 11:30 AM H&M management started to shift us non-wristbanders around into a better formed line that weaved us away from the escalators and back into the bowels of the store. We were told that after everyone with a wristband had shopped, they would let us into the accessories area 20 at a time for ten minutes only. This was an innovation in organized chaos. The accessories area had at least ten sales associates (see the cobalt shirts) stationed to assist you in getting and trying on merchandise. This prevented people from tearing through the racks, ripping through shoe boxes and generally creating a mess. They had mirrors and benches for you to sit and try on shoes. An associate got your size for you and took back and repackaged your cast offs. Despite the crowd, it was the most organized shopping experience I've had in a long while.
I was in the third group of non-wristbanders allowed in to shop. By that time the belt I wanted was gone along with two of the clutches, a necklace and one of the strappy heels but they still had limited quantities of all the other shoes. Really, I was surprised at the amount of stuff they had left for us tardy folks. I think even the H&M staff weren't expecting to still have Choo items in stock by the time noon rolled around. I was able to grab up the shoes I wanted and the handbag I had my eye on and allowed myself a moment of sadness for missing out on the belt. It was a pretty kick-ass studded belt.
My spoils. The city sales tax killed me though. I nearly had a heart attack when it added almost $20 to my total. Needless to say my credit card was smarting quite a bit by the time I exited the store in search of food at nearly 1:00 PM.
And lastly, from our "capitalism at work" file, after I got home and took a load off (these old dogs were barking pretty bad) I did a quick search on eBay to see if any of the collection was up yet. Indeed it is. My shoes alone are now "retailing" for the Buy It Now price of $199.99!
I arrived at the store just after 8:30 AM and the line was already about 300 people deep and wrapped around the block. With my Starbucks Awake tea in hand (poser), I would now prepare for a long long morning of standing and waiting.
The store opened at 10 AM. The first 160 people were given wristbands and first access to the collection for a set amount of time. Needless to say, I did not get a wristband. Once the line started moving it only took about 45 minutes to get into the store. Unfortunately by that time the bulk of the clothes were gone. Just a few lone pieces were hanging on the racks and H&M employees were stripping Choo clothes off the mannequins and replacing empty clothing racks with non-Choo merchandise.
Like most shoppers, I was really after the accessories. Specifically shoes, bags and belts. The Chicago H&M is three floors: women's clothing on the first level, juniors and accessories on level two and men (and children, I guess) on level three. Choo clothing was on the first floor right at the door and Choo accessories were on the second floor in a portioned-off section of the store. It turned out that the wristbands really only applied to the accessories. The handy pamphlet I was given explaining the "rules" for shopping the collection did not make this entirely clear. As a non-wristband person I was not going to be allowed to shop the collection until all the wristband shoppers had shopped the accessories during their specified 10 minute increment. The last wristband shopping time ended at 12:10 PM. I settled into the crudely formed line to wait yet again.
Getting closer. At about 11:30 AM H&M management started to shift us non-wristbanders around into a better formed line that weaved us away from the escalators and back into the bowels of the store. We were told that after everyone with a wristband had shopped, they would let us into the accessories area 20 at a time for ten minutes only. This was an innovation in organized chaos. The accessories area had at least ten sales associates (see the cobalt shirts) stationed to assist you in getting and trying on merchandise. This prevented people from tearing through the racks, ripping through shoe boxes and generally creating a mess. They had mirrors and benches for you to sit and try on shoes. An associate got your size for you and took back and repackaged your cast offs. Despite the crowd, it was the most organized shopping experience I've had in a long while.
I was in the third group of non-wristbanders allowed in to shop. By that time the belt I wanted was gone along with two of the clutches, a necklace and one of the strappy heels but they still had limited quantities of all the other shoes. Really, I was surprised at the amount of stuff they had left for us tardy folks. I think even the H&M staff weren't expecting to still have Choo items in stock by the time noon rolled around. I was able to grab up the shoes I wanted and the handbag I had my eye on and allowed myself a moment of sadness for missing out on the belt. It was a pretty kick-ass studded belt.
My spoils. The city sales tax killed me though. I nearly had a heart attack when it added almost $20 to my total. Needless to say my credit card was smarting quite a bit by the time I exited the store in search of food at nearly 1:00 PM.
And lastly, from our "capitalism at work" file, after I got home and took a load off (these old dogs were barking pretty bad) I did a quick search on eBay to see if any of the collection was up yet. Indeed it is. My shoes alone are now "retailing" for the Buy It Now price of $199.99!