LANVIN + H&M Hiver 2010

Saturday, November 20th, 2010, Miami Beach, Florida, 4am.

No matter how aurally pleasing even the most delightful alarm may sound when selected, upon hearing it in the dead hours of the night, one might equate it with that of an air raid siren; an ominous shriek prompting a quickening of the pulse, momentary disorientation, and an immediate innate need to gather one's wits.

bzzzzzzzzz cathedral bells bzzzzzzzzz cathedral bells bzzzzzzzzz...

I blearily flail a blindman's arm to my bedstand, searching for my iPhone 4 to turn off the alarm.  Once accomplished after what seemed like another Pleistocene era, I think: "(Expletive! Verb me Adj.!) Is this really going to be worth it?" I was undecided as to why I had chosen to sadistically wake myself up on a Saturday morning but remembered the opportunity that lay ahead of me, should I choose to accept the quest...

The Lanvin <3 H&M collection was only going to be available in two Florida locations: Orlando and West Palm Beach.  The closest to Miami Beach was located in the Gardens Mall, in Palm Beach Gardens, at a driving (maybe speeding) distance of about about an hour and a half.  I had called the store the night before and when I inquired into their expectations for crowds arriving for the launch, I was told to arrive "5am-ish".  Now that I was awake--I mentally committed to go, mostly because what I aspired to acquire, if I were so lucky to enter when items were still available, were almost entirely going to be Christmas presents for others. (I did however very much want the Creme suit jacket; the Navy version makes an appearance below.)

I arrived to a mostly deserted parking lot around 5:30, and, fully committed to getting a competitive place in line, got out and walked to the entrance of the mall to wait it out.  My exit from my own vehicle was apparently all the motivation others needed, and as if choreographed, multiple car doors opened at once, and people made their way tentatively to the mall entrance to queue up.  It was an eclectic but friendly and well-behaived group (for savage haute couture fashion piranhas hungry for Lanvin meat).  Fortuitously, I had the opportunity to sit next to an impeccably-styled gal whose encyclopedic and intimidating knowledge of obscure fashion, made passing the hours before the opening a true pleasure.  I highly recommend her blog.

We made a pact to attempt to stick together in line and to try to snag pieces for each other, if it came to that.  Promptly at 8:00, a door opened and she and I were one of the very first ones to run through the deserted mall (think McCallister family racing to catch a flight in Home Alone), and arrive at the velvet ropes of the entrance into H&M.  Our sprint was not in vain for we secured the coveted entrance bracelets of the first group to enter, meaning, whatever this store had received, would be available to our group first.

To shop the men's collection, a bracelet was not needed, though a group was forming to be the first into that section of the store as well (possibly to be the first to get their hands on the highly coveted trench or the rare tuxedo of which this particular location had only received six examples?)  I decided I was to make the best use of my place in line and shop the women's collection first, making efficient use of my whirlwind 15 minutes.  Sufficed to say, everything from the women's collection that I had sought to get, I left with.  There will be some very happy people come Christmas morning this year.

Upon securing the items from the women's collection, I promptly made my way downstairs to the men's. As I surveyed the area, it was fascinating to see which items had gone the quickest and which had been left almost completely untouched.  The tuxedos were of course the first to go, as there were only six examples, one in each size. Second, (oddly) were the sunglasses, and third, were the navy suit jackets with satin lapels and pocket detailing. (The creme jackets went to other stores I was told.)  Predictably, there were many examples left of both of the extremely (and dare I say, of questionable taste?) purple t-shirts.  It was possible that these could have been immensely popular and that H&M had simply restocked the items, but I didn't believe that to be the case.  The neckties with sequins and the draw-string pants almost universally sat ignored.  As I perused the khaki trench coats, the long navy overcoats and the plaid blazers, I spotted, hidden, a tuxedo, complete with pants.  My hand broke the sound barrier reaching for it, haute couture sonic BOOM!  I originally had not intended to get the tuxedo as I believed the flower details was a bit much for my tastes.  As I examined it, I was pleasantly surprised two-fold: first, the flower was actually a removable pin; and secondly, it was thoughtfully and tastefully designed and added a conversation piece to an otherwise safe, albeit it superbly-cut tuxedo.  Additionally, I noticed that one example of the navy sport coat remained, in my size no less.  Upon trying these two complete looks on,  it became very apparent how small the sizes ran: it necessitated that I go up two sizes in the pants.

As a final memorable touch, H&M graciously encouraged me to take the hangers home with me, and gave me a canvas garment bag each for my purchases from the men's collection, pictures of which, can all be found below.

Merci bien Monsieur Elbaz.

Even the garment bags were thoughtfully designed. 

Hangers for pieces in the Men's collection featured blue hearts; for the women's collection it was pink.

Beautiful detail on the removable tuxedo flower embellishment. 

Satin buttons complimented the satin lapels, and were an understated surprise touch.

The midnight blue suit will also features satin details throughout.

The pocket detail which I initially planned to remove is growing on me.