Shortly after the National Day and the Presidential Elections, Singapore marked another important milestone — the opening of its first H&M branch along Orchard Road.
Now, how I found myself trading sleep for the chance to join the 5-hour queue still baffles me.
I’ve recently gotten into the habit of waking up early, so I figured I’d have a big shot of getting that SGD 250 voucher H&M promised if you were among the first 5 to line up. Arriving at the corner of Grange Road at 6 am, I learned that some of the kids have pulled off a Star-Wars and camped out in front of the store since 7:30 the previous night (!). You’d have to wonder — how far would they go for Rob Pattinson meet-and-greet tickets?!
I was fully intent on doing a 180 and head home to catch up on some zzz’s, but I think the jolts of excitement in the air was so contagious, that I decided to stick around. If you think about it, one rarely does get the chance to be a part of another country’s history. Plus, the fact that they were handing out free sandwiches and H&M umbrellas was not so bad as well.
Finally, 11 am rolled by and the gates were opened. The H&M staff were applauding as the giddy shoppers trickled in, after enduring almost a good half-day of waiting. With a big smile, I received my consolation prize (an SGD 20 voucher); I still can’t believe that I managed to stick around, despite just raiding H&M several times just a few weeks before. As I made my way back home, my jaw dropped when I found out that the queue outside winded around 3 times, all the way to the end of the next 2 malls! Astounding. To all the Singapore fashionistas, happy shopping, and to H&M, a big hearty congratulations!
More H&M 1st day pictures over here.
.: ishcapades 