H&M Fifth Avenue: A Bargain Any Day of the Year

Exterior of the H&M Fifth Avenue location.

Interior of the three-level store.
(photos credit: TheHopefulTraveler)

Besides being a shopping destination, H&M is probably the best place to find pieces that you may have forgotten or find you need after arriving in the city all at a most reasonable price. Back in September 2004, the store was a savior in finding more cool, comfortable clothing than those I had packed while the city was in the midst of one its muggiest days of the year.

This Swedish clothing retailer is known for its fast-fashion clothing (designs that move from the catwalk to store in the fastest time to capture trends of the market). Because the merchandise can be very trendy, many pieces are likely to be fashionable for a season or two. Quality varies so consider the care of the fabric and its durability.

The Fifth Avenue branch was the first to open in the U.S. in 2000. The location devotes two floors to women wear and accessories and one floor for men. Today nine additional stores are located in Manhattan alone and much smaller than the Fifth Avenue branch. Worldwide H&M operates over 2,300 stores in 41 countries (a location has yet to open in my home state of Hawaii). Collections have been launched for H&M by designers as varied as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo and Versace.

My purchases today were the two hats photographed below. At $17.90 for both hats, I don't know where I could find a better bargain back home.

Visit hm.com for more information and to shop their online store. The Fifth Avenue location at 51st Street is open Mon-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 9am-9pm and Sun 10am-8pm. H&M stands for Hennes & Mauritz. Hennes (which was the original name of the company in 1947) is the Sweidsh word for "hers". In 1968 the company was merged with a Stockholm hunting equipment company store Mauritz Widforss.