Like Boys

Getting back into the swing of life was disappointingly easier than I had hoped. After being carted around Japan as a passenger on the left-hand side, I thought at least I’d walk to the wrong side once…nope. Or maybe when I purchase something at a store, I would drop an accidental, “Arigatou gozaimasu!”...negatory. I want to seem all cool and well-traveled, but alas, I am not. Ah well, can’t fight the bum rush…what?

After seeing the fashionable beings in Tokyo, I have become inspired to put more thought into dressing with style. (Please quit laughing now.) Part of this inspiration is due to the visits I made to the shops down in Aoyama, particularly COMME des GARCONS. While I can’t financially make the transition to shopping only there (yet), I must find reasonable alternatives in my price range…and I found it. While riding back from Vancouver one day with Jean, I noticed a billboard that made my jaw drop…(similar to this…I’m not still in Japan, afterall):



For those of you unfamiliar, those dots are the mark of a designer…collaborating with H&M. Here’s the answer (if you can read it):



COMME des GARCONS…at H&M prices. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.

Previewing the collection, I was really excited about the pieces that would be coming up for sale for the mid-November release:


Yippee! I want! Hoshii!

There have been several collaboration collections with H&M in the past – Madonna, Karl Lagerfield (Chanel), Viktor & Rolf, and Roberto Cavalli – each selling out in less than 10 minutes. From what I could tell from the hype on the internet, this one was going to be huger than them all. Oh no! I hate battling shoppers for goods. Horrific images of that Arnold Schwartzegger Christmas movie flashed through my mind where he was fighting with some lady over a toy. I never actually saw the movie, but it was prevalent in the previews.

Come launch day, I woke up bright and early and battled insane morning traffic all the way into Vancouver’s downtown. I arrived 20 minutes before the store opened…and there were probably over 200 people in line, waiting to get in. This…sucks. I stoically took my place at the end of the line and the people kept coming. There was a security guard to made sure no one cut the line…people tried.

I knew the doors were opened when I heard a loud “WHOOOOO!” from the front of the line. The line began to move.



Once I arrived in the store, I was struck with panic – people were grabbing loads of hangers and the racks were quickly being stripped bare. In my haste, I just started grabbing at stuff too, making sure it was my size and moving onto the next rack which was quickly being whittled down at a record speed. In five minutes, it was all over.

Once the dust had settled, I had eight items in my hand and dutifully took my place in line for the changeroom. I made a line-up friend who was eager to chat with me about his experience in loving COMME des GARCONS and was carrying a book about it and whatnot…I can’t relate to this guy, but he was nice. There were four massive b’s in the change rooms who just stood around and talked…in the clothes they were trying on, so the lineup took forever. I ended up with just four of the eight pieces – even though the line was sold through H&M, they weren’t exactly the prices I had hoped for. Eeep.




I also bought one of these in black.




I adore this trench. This picture does not do it justice at all.

After my excursion, I raced home to regroup, (take the above pictures), and regroup. Having also just finished my most recent cleanse, it was time for lunch.