Chaos Reigns at H&M's Jimmy Choo Preview

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OK, deep breath, that was freaking insane. We just got back from the preview for the Jimmy Choo/H&M collaboration at the newly renovated H&M Fifth Avenue flagship, and we might need a few minutes to recover. It was an invite-only press preview, so we figured it would be sane and orderly and full of jaded fashion types, but then we went into the shoe corral and almost lost an arm to a girl from US Weekly. We might not have gotten out with our sanity or faith in humanity intact, but we did get out with pictures. So take a look above and let us know what you think of the line.

The collection is almost universally better in person than in photos, even the official campaign pictures. So the clothes are better looking than we expected them to be, but they don't seem to photograph as cute as they are, so you might look great at a party but not on your MySpace page. The best pieces were the gray suede one-shoulder dress for $249 and a black chiffon tank top layered over a silver sequin one for $69.95. One of the PR girls looked very cute in the black leather leggings, $199.

People were quite grabby for the gray suede dress and the leather leggings, but it was nothing compared to the scene in the shoe corral. Yes, there was a shoe corral. It was blocked off with gates and only a few people were let in at a time and everyone was only allowed one of each style, but it was still madness. There were only 15 pair of the $299 over-the-knee boots available tonight, and they were gone immediately. The woman we spoke to said they would be restocking in the morning, but there would only be about 20 pair available tomorrow.

The shoes tended to range between $129-$149 for the heels, and we found a studded belt for $59.95 and a scarf inexplicably and surprisingly priced at $49.95. Then a nice man appeared with a glass of pinot grigio and a platter of bite-sized bacon cheeseburgers, and we swear to god we'd have gone home with him. Instead we followed him up to the second floor, where the men's collection was entirely intact. They had a suit jacket for $250 that was inoffensive but didn't look much different from any other black suit jackets we've seen. The main draws to the guy's floor were some black and brown textured leather bags and a leather jacket with plenty of pockets for $299.
· Jimmy Choo for H&M [Racked]