h&m, for non-believers, offers very affordable clothing for women & men. h&m is especially popular among german college girls, making germany the biggest market for the sweden-based designers. in some way it probably could be compared to the u.s. gap store. but hennes & mauritz have better designs, are not quite so heavy on the athletic side, but offer some business dress also.
it's been a favorite of mine from german shopping times since i was a teenager. indeed, in leipzig, there's h&m heaven with three stores within a stretch of about a quarter mile. in the united states, alas, i had a hard time finding people who had heard of h&m, which i learnt only existed in the biggest cities such as new york. no wonder, only in 2000 did h&m open its first store in manhattan.
luckily, in ohio i could solace myself with seldom but joyous trips to a dealer in cleveland where i found it to be a favorite of african-americans. jackets, shirts, pants et al. were on the brighter, more colorful, and flashier side. most other of the hennes & mauritz' addictive emporia, that have been built since its entry in the u.s. market, are planted along the east coast, including washington dc.
in washington dc it rings a bell, when i ask about "haaa ooond aaam" as the chain name sounds pronounced in german. in a casual survey among twenty-something females about a good place to buy dress clothing, two answered "h&m" quick like a shot.
thus my pilgrimage started. from the hostel to the h&m. follow me:
the pale yellow inconspicuously looking building, with the bikes on the porch, is hiding a hostel in an otherwise residential predominantly black area at the apex between west and east side of the capitol.
walking down georgia avenue, which southbound bends slightly to the east, led me deeper into what one house mate referred to as "da hood". oodles of stores line up along the busy street, which is named after a state like the other avenues that crisscross the designed grid of dc.
deserted corners mix with
cheerful wall paintings that promise "the american" dream reached via education.
vegetarians are accommodated as well as
the need for liquor,
music, which oozed out of every other corner,
and the yearning for processed flesh of the über-chain,
and not to forget: beauty requirements such as hair braiding, manicure, pedicure, facials, peelings, permanent make-ups, and the whole fuss. along with the many carry-out cafés, bars, and mom&pop groceries stores [Tante Emma Läden], these pictures pretty much sum up the most common categories of items you can purchase. on the non-commercial side there are churches big and small, at least one university, some cultural gathering places.
more toward the center of town, known brands pop up. another all-time favorite in the realm of media
and a reminder that germans are not rare in this city (in addition to the german conversations i frequently overhear on the street and in the metro).
close to the heart of the city, chinatown announces itself with vertical characters for the omnipresent black flavored water dealer.
a proper gate makes for an enticing invitation to discover chinese-american culture,
which includes retails of all kinds
coupled with other classic u.s. chains.
at last, we have arrived in sweden gone america like many others on that day. it was full to the brim with young busy business women stocking up on office clothing. other than the rest of the crowd, i enjoyed seeing the familiar queues forming in front of the fitting rooms. just like in leipzig at rush hour.
by the way: although it is one of my all time favorite shopping places [Leib- und Magenladen] i'm aware of the "made-in" labels indicating origins from malaysia, china, or bangladesh, which closes another circle.
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1 comment:
thanks for the vicarious tour of section of DC. I almost feel like I just spent a few minutes there.
I was not aware of the H & M store
Spencer Anderson
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