My fashionista pal Melissa Thrailkill made her way to Dallas from Harlingen this past weekend to see the Gaultier exhibit at the DMA. That sounds good, right? She came to see a major art exhibit. But not really. Really, really, she came to shop Versace for H&M. Versace’s less expensive line started drawing lines at 3 p.m. the day before it launched in Philadelphia. And a woman in Hong Kong employed goons to beat up a security guard who kicked her out for line-jumping.
So I asked Melissa to write up an account of the Dallas scene. Here is her story:
The store opened at 8 a.m., so we got there at 7. When the Missoni for Target line launched in September, the store’s website crashed and stores sold out in minutes, mostly because people gobbled up all the pieces in one swoop, leaving nothing behind for others. In no time, the Missoni designs were on eBay, selling for three and four times the retail cost.
H&M set ground rules for shoppers at the Versace collection, in an attempt at controlled chaos. The first 280 people in line were assigned wristbands. Once inside, 20 at a time, shoppers had 15 minutes, and they could only purchase two pieces per style. The wristbands applied only to the women’s collection, so the men’s collection was a free-for-all.
The line to shop Versace for H&M at 7 a.m. Saturday
Mom and I began chatting with others in line, and we all had different reasons for being there. One woman was a costume designer, with a measuring tape wrapped around her neck. Her director had sent her there for the coveted men’s pink suit. Another woman was there for the other most-coveted men’s item: a bomber jacket Kanye West sported. Neither would be so lucky.
We watched shoppers pass us with their leopard-print garment bags. Most of them had two each, and the men’s collection was gone in less than hour.
Compared to other cities, we had it easy. In New York City, people began lining up before 4:30 a.m. in cold weather. We only had to wait a few hours inside a weatherproof mall.
The weekend confirmed, as the costume designer put it, “People underestimate Dallas.” Dallas has style and stylish people. It has people who do not tear each other apart for a pink suit jacket.
