Everything You Need To Know Before Heading To Mumbai's New H&M

It’s finally here. The mega-store that Delhi had so far been hogging. H&M is launching in Mumbai at the Phoenix Mall in Lower Parel on August 13, but we managed to elbow our way into their opening party last night. Here’s five things we learnt about the new brand’s presence in Mumbai.

Sprawled over two floors, it took us two hours of wandering around before we were well-acquainted with the layout of the new store. The way the clothes have been spread-out doesn’t help either. It’s a little disorganised, so we would advise you not make any rash decisions assuming you’ve seen all there is to see. We randomly found a line of lingerie next to the boots section on the first floor.

However, the selection is diverse enough to satisfy most tastes. We loved their shorts and jeans section. This is the place to go to to stock up on some bottoms. The left side of the ground floor alone had nine shorts, ranging from frayed to high-waisted, and the right side had another line of multicoloured shorts. We also like their shoes selection, and the fact that they seem to have adapted for Mumbai’s lack of interest in heavy, closed shoes. There are plenty of open-toed sandals, flats, strappy heels and yes, some chunky sneakers on the first floor. When it came to the men’s section, the shirts were pretty non-remarkable, but we did like their jacket and blazer selection.

One word of caution – their party dresses leave a lot to be desired. We’re sorry, but slapping on Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful on a grey dress is something we expect on Colaba Causeway, not at H&M.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky. We found everything from XS to XL for most items, though nothing beyond those two, so if you’re an XXS or XXL, you’re probably out of luck. They do appear to be very well-stocked {probably in anticipation of the rush} and an attendant was kind enough to find us a Medium in a hoodie when it had already been grabbed by another over-eager shopper. However, we did find a few XXL sizes in the men’s department. Go figure.

Some of their clothes, though, seemed a bit randomly sized? A size 10 pair of jeans fit us, but a size 10 pair of shorts refused to go beyond our knees. Do we put this down to magic, our body changing shape, or bad tailoring? Some questions will never be answered.

Also, ladies, when it comes to the lingerie section, the sizing was…selective. We didn’t find anything above a D cup, and nothing above 32 inches. So if you’re rocking a 34DD, please shop elsewhere.

Good god, the changing rooms. One, they’re everywhere. H&M has kindly not made the mistake we’ve seen at many other shops and thrown changing rooms like confetti throughout the two floors. Two, the lighting is flattering and the mirrors are plentiful, with even the back of the door being mirrored, and the AC is at full-blast, so we weren’t sweating while we struggled with those shorts {bitter? Us? Never}.

They also have a high limit on the clothes you can take in, so grab as many as you like when you head there.

Yowza. Okay, it wasn’t really that bad – We got a couple of really nice shirts for INR 700. But everything else – and we do mean everything – was above INR 1,000, without exception. The shorts were at INR 1,800, a dress we briefly eyed was for INR 2,800, and a pair of clunky boots threatened to set us back by INR 1,900.

The men’s selection was also pretty much the same – a shirt we liked was for INR 3,000, and a beautiful jacket didn’t seem so beautiful once we realised it was for INR 4,500.

We still see the appeal though – while their stuff is simple, a lot of it is well-cut and flattering, with great and comfortable material. We would suggest keeping H&M prices in mind while shopping.

If you want to buy just one ring at H&M, you’re flat out of luck. While their earrings {they start at INR 400, but mostly hover around INR 800} are available by the pair, the rings and toe rings at the shop have been bunched together a bit randomly. We liked one ring with a small sun symbol on it, but for that ring we had to buy three more, two of which were wildly different in size and didn’t fit us. Maybe at least sort the rings by size? Just an idea.

We did love their sunglasses section. Wickedly retro and blingy, please keep an eye out for their cat-eye sunglasses, as well as the reflective ones which will disconcert the person you’re talking to.

Definitely head to H&M. Their selection offers a lot that we won’t get anywhere else in Mumbai. But keep an eye on the tags for both sizes and price.