Above the Fray: Total Lack of Chaos for Rykiel, H&M

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Sonia Rykiel and H&M unleashed their new lingerie collection onto the world this morning. Fearless Racked correspondent Fawnia Soo Hoo visited the H&M Flagship at Fifth Avenue and 51st St to document the line chaos, but they let her right through the doors. It's an Xmas miracle!

9:00am: Good morning! I just got here and there's a small crowd gathered outside H&M as opposed to a line. To be honest, I can't tell if they're here for Sonia Rykiel or they're out of towners waiting for the H&M to open.

9:00am: Oh wow they're opening the doors and letting us in. Guess I'll find out.

9:02am: The adorable rosette bra is $34.95 and the panties (hate that word) are $24.95. Oops. I forgot about holiday shopping hours. It opens at 9am.

9:02am: The matching mules are adorable for $49.95. I think the majority of that crowd is just here for regular H&M as they booked to other parts of the store. There are probably a handful of people (I hear French) looking at the Sonia Rykiel.

9:05am: The peach two-toned underside bra is $24.95, the matching thong is $14.95, the matching back-zip body suit $34.95, the spanx-looking high-waisted bottom (w/an uncomfortable looking back zip also) is $24.95.

9:08am: There's a pretty see-through matching loose tank that could make the bodysuit outside clothes with layering. The tank is $29.95.

9:10am: A couple staffers are down here surveying the scene, but there really are only about 5 ladies perusing hte collection. The rosette line nd the peach ar epopular so far. Now to check out the blue/black one.

9:16am: Not sure how I feel about the velvet pants ($49.95). They're pleated, too!

9:19am: The purplish blue and black lined collection feels a lot more comfy than the peach slightly binding numbers. The bras come in underwire and more comfortable elastic numbers and there is some rhinestone embellishment ("belle" on the bra and "en Rykiel" on the bottoms.) The bras are $14.95-24.95 and the bottoms are $9.95 to $12.95. There are also see-thru drawstring pants for $34.95.

9:21am: Cute velvet embellished flats for $29.99.

9:22am: Now I'm checking out the floral lacy black set. These are definitely for show and not to be worn for long periods of time because they're pretty stiff.

9:23am: The sports bra looking one is $34.95, thong is $12.95, the corset is pretty hot looking with underwire and grosgrain ribbon straps for $34.95. The lace front and mesh-back hipsters are $17.95. The underwire bra with a gathered front is $29.95.

9:25am: Ooh, the silk translucent chemises with a pleated front and hidden buttons is lovely at $49.95. I checked and it is indeed silk.

9:26am: There's almost more press here than shoppers. A video interview is taking place and I saw a photographer holding a professional-grade camera, too.

9:29am: So the black velvet short robe with a silk tie belt is $69.95.

9:30am: This is the polar opposite of the Jimmy Choo hysteria last time I was here.

9:33am: These stretchy horizontal stripe numbers feel super comfy (it's a polyester blend), but not sure how flattering tight horizontal stripe camis are on.

9:35am: The boy-cut shorts are $12.95, underwire cami $24.95, underwire bra $17.95 -- there's also a super cute bow on the front of that one. The boy shorts have the bow on the backside, too.

9:36am: The 100% silk black transparent robe is $49.95. A better choice than the velvet one, I think. Despite being see-through.

9:40am: The blue and black underwire zip bra is really hot, too. These two-tone numbers look really well made in person. The zipper has a small grosgrain ribbon pull and the two-tone detail is elegantly finished. The bra is $34.95. Again, can't say how comfy it is, but it looks good.

9:43am: Ooh! First sighting of a man here. He quickly picked up a couple black bedazzled g-strings for $9.95 each and hightailed it out of here.

9:47am: Just noticed a couple hair accessories. A thin headback with a very large bow with a bejeweled middle for $24.95 and an even bigger bow clip for $29.95.

9:48am: It's still pretty quiet in this section. Just overheard g-strings man, and he's speaking Italian.

9:50am: I think they're taking press shots here because staffers and assistants keep moving these floral centerpieces around. Not a ton of shoppers, but the ones that are are stocking up. H&M is offering shoppers large, see-thru plastic bags to hold their loot.

9:52am: The stock on the floor gets disheveled pretty easily, so staffers are quick to reorganize displays. Haha, some tourists are taking pics posing next to the sexy mannequins. And they just walked out of the store without even looking at the collection.

9:55am: One thing that's curiously missing is the long, one-shouldered velvet dress. It's on a mannequin, but not on the floor. Just asked a staffer and she's checking downstairs, but they may not have it.

9:57am: Holy cow, the bejeweled rosette with ribbons attached to a hair comb is ginormous!

9:58am: Ah, a staffer just brought up a bunch of the dresses. They are $90 and can totally be worn outside.

9:59am: The stripey collection is very popular with shoppers. I'm thinking that comfort and wearability wins in the end.