H&M opens its doors in downtown Portland

Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), known colloquially as the “IKEA of fashion,” is set to fling wide its doors at noon on Nov. 11, unleashing a Pandora’s box of Aztec-print mini skirts, jeggings and affordable basics upon the unsuspecting populace. The mega-retailer will occupy the 25,000 square-foot space formerly held by Saks Fifth Avenue (known colloquially as the “rest home of fashion”) at the corner of Southwest Third and Morrison.

Many Portland fashion-philes see H&M’s local launch as a validation of our little mountain town as a real city, since with H&M’s 200 U.S. locations, most big cities already have one. To Nylon Magazine enthusiasts and denizens of websites like Lookbook.nu, H&M is a familiar face in the industry and you’ve likely been salivating over its impending arrival since the official announcement went out in May. For the uninitiated, however, here’s a little northern European history that has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings.

Hennes, Swedish for “hers,” was established as a women’s clothing store in Västerås, Sweden, in 1947 by Erling Persson. In 1968, Persson bought the Stockholm hunting equipment store Mauritz Widforss. Included in the inventory was a large supply of men’s clothing, so Persson expanded the store to include menswear and renamed it Hennes & Mauritz; later abbreviated to H&M. The company went worldwide in the 1990s and is now the third-largest fashion retailer in the world, with around 2,000 stores in 37 countries employing more than 76,000 people. H&M opened its first U.S. store in New York on Fifth Avenue and 51st Street in March 2000. There are now nine additional stores in Manhattan alone and as of August 2010, H&M has nearly 200 individual stores in the United States.

H&M describes its mission as “fashion and quality at the best price.” The tactic of providing trendier and more avant-garde pieces than traditional discount retailers at comparable prices seems to be a Swedish institution and is the reason behind the company being nicknamed the IKEA of fashion. Since its opening, H&M has promoted collections by many well-known designers such as Comme des Garçons, Roberto Cavalli, Viktor & Rolf and this week unveils its fall preview featuring work from renowned French fashion house Lanvin.

So, just how good are the prices? While most clothing retailers raise prices this year, H&M is vowing to do the opposite. H&M, which already carries fairly inexpensive clothing, will begin lowering prices, starting with their fall line.

Jennifer Uglialoro, the H&M’s PR manager, says of the company’s decision to lower prices: “This season, we bumped up the fashion and lowered the prices even more. It’s the same business concept we’ve had for over 60 years, but this season we’re focused even more on a lower price. We’re very cost-conscious; for fall you’ll be seeing trench coats for $20.”

In addition to $20 trenches, the store also famously announced it will be carrying dresses that cost less than $5. Though the example I saw pretty much looks like it cost less than $5, based upon most of H&M’s vast catalog, there are sure to be some in that range that are pretty cute. Uglialoro explains why prices can be so low, saying; “We have over 2,000 stores in 37 countries. This provides high volume and there is no middleman. We have our own team of over 100 in-house designers and we do all our own production.”

Some fashion blogs (those faithful bastions of journalistic integrity and historical veracity) have criticized H&M, saying that a Manhattan location had been “slashing unsold clothing items and throwing them in the trash.” The company denies this practice, and the January New York Times article on the topic cites a homeless woman saying bags of discarded clothing behind the store are “sometimes” cut up when she finds them as their only source.

The Portland grand opening event will feature t-shirt and gift certificate giveaways and other special discounts. Most importantly, it will feature H&M clothing. Whether you’re in the market for some skinny cargos, moderately priced Jimmy Choos or that floral mini you saw on Lookbook and absolutely must have, H&M is the place to be (as of noon Nov. 11). The line starts right behind me. ?

*This article has been edited since its publication, altering it from the version in print.