Archive for November, 2010
I’m not going to mince words: I was one of those crazy people who showed up to wait in line in the middle of the night. I arrived at 2 a.m. to take my place. Although I was originally 22nd in line, after people started showed up to join their friends in front of me around 6 a.m. I fell to 50th. I can’t complain about being in the third shopping group because I was able to get every piece I came for, including the “Anna Dello Russo” hot pink cocktail dress in the window display.
I originally planned to arrive around 6 a.m. but I was unable to fall asleep. I was just lying in bed, mind racing as I thought about how I would soon be owning a Lanvin dress designed by Alber Elbaz himself. At around 1:30 a.m., I finally gave up on trying to get some shut-eye. I popped out of bed, threw together a bag with some essentials, and jumped in a taxi. I directed the cabbie to take me to H&M on Michigan Avenue. He was puzzled: “But ma’am, it’s after midnight. The store will be closed,” he said in a Middle Eastern accent. I explained to him that I was going to wait in line until the store opened at 8 a.m. “You mean a sale?” he said. Not quite, as I begin to tell him about how Lanvin, Paris’ oldest living couture house, partnered up with fast-fashion goliath H&M to produce a special collection. “Half off?” he asked, thinking I was a smart little cookie heading down to save money.
Oh, how little he understood about fashion consumers. “No,” I said, “it costs at least twice as much as it normally does because production is limited – only one batch of dresses will be made, and they’re sold on a first come first serve basis.” Traffic on the southbound Lake Shore Drive was light and we were approaching the store. I could see that sleeping bags and tents were already out. The cabbie looked back at me and asked, “are you going to join the people who look homeless over there?”
That sentence reverberated with me for the rest of the evening as it perfectly defined the experience. I was squatting like a homeless person on the streets of Chicago in near-freezing temperatures. I am a seasoned music festival-goer so I’ve stayed outside overnight under some pretty weird circumstances, but I can honestly say I’ve never camped out in the center of a city during the winter. Was I crazy? Well I know I am certainly fashion-crazed, but when my toes started to go numb around the fourth hour outside I really started to question my sanity. Luckily I met a great group of girls who happened to be in line next to me and we became friends fast. Together we came to the conclusion that this was the fashion equivalent of running a marathon; a grueling ordeal that builds character and just finishing (in this case, purchasing a dress) is a personal victory. For all of you out there laughing at how “hard” this was (I’m looking at you Mom) – I would like to see YOU survive being awake for thirty-six hours in a row, seven of them in the freezing cold without access to a bathroom. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
I was so cold I ended up walking to Walgreens to buy a Snuggie – something I promised myself I would never purchase, much less wear in public. I must really be losing it, I thought to myself. Mentally I cracked the whip: if you want to win and get your dresses, you must be willing to survive in 36 degree weather. If that requires wearing something as humiliating as a Snuggie, then that’s what it takes. And you know what? The Snuggie was critical to me surviving outside to finally reach the 8 a.m. finish line when I could enter the heated store. The view from my spot in line didn’t hurt either. I spent most of my time in line staring up at the Hancock Tower or engaged in lively conversation with fellow shoppers.
At around 5:30 a.m. people started showing up in waves. At around 6 a.m., I spotted my friend Isa from Chicago Looks with an armful of lawn chairs ready to wait and a camera to photograph street style. You can check out the photos she took of people at the event on her blog. My streetstyle photos of Paul, Sam, Jenna, XieXie, designer handbags, and Isa and Ayaka are posted below this entry.
Isa of Chicago Looks
Starbucks was paid by H&M to cater the line. Baristas passed out fresh coffee, danishes and croissants to keep us warm, awake, and ready to spend! It was eerily reminiscent of how casinos ply gamblers with free alcohol to encourage them to play the slots.
Finally, at around 7:30 a.m., H&M employees began handing out wristbands to designate shopping groups. The people at the front of the line, including myself, received gift bags containing a limited edition silk scarf, an H&M magazine, and one of either an umbrella or a foldable raincoat. The person who actually placed the wristbands on shoppers was a well-dressed hulk of a man, who himself was flanked by two security guards. Clearly they were not taking any chances with crazed fashionistas jumping them for Lanvin. After all, this is Chicago we’re talking about…
There were several gorgeous designer handbags waiting in line for Lanvin at Chicago’s Michigan Avenue H&M. In addition to XieXie’s Alexander Wang Rocco and Ayaka’s bubblegum pink Balenciaga City, I spotted two more breathtaking Balenciagas and a drool-worthy Chanel.
Paul is wearing a scarf and sunglasses from Louis Vuitton, red shoes from Prada, and a Missoni cap. He is the ultimate male fashion consumer!
