Friday, November 14, 2008

Comme des Garcons for H&M comes and goes (off the racks)

My trip to Wien this week was the best break I could've had. We arrived late on Wednesday evening, and headed right to the hotel, via the new speed train Cat, that connects the airport to city center.



We stayed at the delightful Sacher hotel, one of the most important historical hotels in Wien, the birth place of the famous Sacher chocolate cake. Of course, we tasted some of their sweets before going to bed to be ready for the Tuesday morning Comme des Garcons launch at H&M.



Being in Wien, I expected the line not to be as long as in other more fashiony cities like NY or Paris. And I was right. We had our breakfast (with lots of delicious sweets, for energy of course) at eight o'clock. And at around 9AM there were only 2 persons queuing in front of the H&M we choose. So we decided we have time for a Starbucks Christmas flavored coffee. At the time we returned, there were around 4-5 persons around the H&M windows, so we were practically in front line.



We've waited for around 40 minutes for the opening of the doors at 10 AM, and by that time the queue was quite big and scary. But definitely not big comparing to the ones I saw in pictures from LA, NY, Milan or Paris. There were around 70 shoppers, but I was confident that being in front I will get what I wanted. The H&M staff took pictures of us waiting, and we took pictures of the H&M staff inside. All through glass doors, of course.

My plan was to grab first a wallet (cute, really!) and then to head over to the jackets (only one version of deconstructed jacket was available at that store in Wien). I managed to grab the wallet, but it was harder than I imagined, because everyone had the exact same plan as me: Wallet, then jacket :). By the time I arrived near the rack with the boiled wool jackets, a lady had the entire lot in her arms. But one of the jackets (she had around 10 of them in her arms, crazy!) slipped a little, so I was lucky enough to be there to grab it.



Then I went near the shirts, because I really wanted the pink one, being the pink fanatic that I am. There I had more luck; everyone else seemed to be more focused on the dots, so the pink shirts lasted the longest.

Oh ya! And I got also what it seems it was a highly coveted piece of the collection: the polka dotted scarf. They were put in a hidden corner, and when I arrived near them, all of them were still on the rack. Later, all the scarves seemed to disappear though.





I got also a plain black long-sleeve t-shirt and a polka dot cardigan.

My husband on the other hand had a more calm atmosphere in the men’s department. Although he fought with an old man for a pair of sneakers (and won of course, I teached him well how to shop), he managed to get his hands on several shirts that he likes very much. He tried one the white buttoned suit, but it didn't fit him quite right.

All in all, a great shopping experience, calmer then last year Cavalli. By 10:40 AM, our shopping ended, we carried the 2 large bags back to our hotel. Because we had some time to kill, we decided to take a long walk, to visit some more shops and eat some Maronies. That's when we discovered a second central H&M, which carried as well the Comme des Garcons collection. And among the leftovers: the shirts with the diagonal line on their chest that weren't available at the first H&M. My husband is saying that he has shirts now for at least 2 years to come. I can't really agree, because I know that next year it will be another designer collaboration, and I am sure there will be shirts in it too...

By the way, who do you think (or want) to be the next designer to collaborate with H&M?

7 comments:

Dana (MODAna) said...

BEST
BOOTS
EVER!
I didn't like the CDG collection for H&M you know? I loved the Cavalli one though

Ivelina FriChic said...

I was last year in Wien for Cavalli's launch :))) And this H&M shop is my fave in Wien, lots of space, very organized and greater selection...
So happy for you that you had so much fun and managed to grab everything you wanted!!!

Dana said...

Cavalli was more my style as well. I was in love with almost all the pieces. But then the women fought like mad, so i didn't get the chance to buy everything i wanted. Btw, how was Cavalli launch in Wien (i was in Dusseldorf)?

And about CdG, all that polka dots are not really my thing, but i liked very much some pieces, like the zip jacket or pink shirt. But my main interest was the men collection, because i liked all those nice shirts and sweaters for my husband. And he likes them as well, considering that he wears only CdG shirts since Friday :)

Lisanne Dickson said...

Hi. I enjoyed reading about your experiences at the Comme launch! I waited in line at the Chicago store and it was a little crazy. I managed to buy several things and I have really enjoyed them. You are one of the only people I have found who actually bought a polka dot scarf at the H&M store, and I wondered if I could ask your advice. I bought one on ebay, and it just arrived. However, I am not sure it is authentic. It is a large piece of knit that is folded over, so that both sides are finished. The material does not feel like wool. I could take some photos if you would be willing to offer an opinion! Thanks... L

Dana said...

I can take a few close up pictures in the morning, so you can have a better idea of how my scarf looks. It has dots on one face only, the other is the "back", however it is large enough so i can fold it in three so that you cannot see the back of the material.

Parisbreakfasts said...

A very late question...
how long is the scarf and how wide..These hong kong knock offs look skimpy
Where was my head when these sales were going on...
I am sooooo late :(
I'm a wreck now!
thanks very much
Carolg

Dana said...

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog!

The dotted scarf is quite long (>1m) and wide (aprox 30cm) so that wrapped around the neck it has a lot of volume.

The men's scarf (simple navy) is smaller, but wide just the same.