Posts Tagged ‘Madonna’

The latest guest designer collection at H&M drew a crowd last Thursday. As expected, the Summer line from the British designer was on display for adoration and purchase. Matthew Williamson created a beautiful collection of wares for the hot days of summer. I was looking forward to checking it out and seeing what all the buzz has been about the fab designer.

To my disappointment, the H&M store near me only stocked about half of the collection. The Williamson display included some of the swimwear selections, a couple styles of tunics, sunglasses, and a couple of dresses and sleeveless tops from the line. Where were the colorful jeans and beaded vests and tunics? I spoke to a salesperson who confirmed to me that they would not be getting any more shipments of the exclusive collection.

Even though I was lucky enough to find the floral dress that I had wanted, I would have like to have seen more of the collection available. A couple of years ago the same thing happened with Madonna’s designs for the Swedish retailer. I had been waiting for the must-have trench coat and other items from the singer’s line. Then I discovered that my local store only stocked a few pieces of the entire collection, which did not include her trench coat.

Some of the Williamson items that were not available in the store are now available for a hefty price on eBay. I saw a pair of the turquoise jeans on auction for almost double the original price. These days many of us are looking for ways to save money while we shop.We are very selective of our purchases because we want the items to carry us beyond next season or even next year. The incentive of a capsule collection such as Williamson’s, is that recessionistas like myself have the opportunity of owning a piece of unique fashion at an affordable price. A designer dress for $300 is not fashion on the cheap!

The demand and the excitement grew for Williamson’s line over the last few months. However, the supply was definitely limited when the clothing was finally shipped and available to eager shoppers. It is a shame that the items that we covet the most are only available to us if we surrender to a mark-up in price. Maybe the next exclusive collection will be better distributed to all of the H&M stores.