H&M hits Halifax on August 13

On Thursday, August 13 at noon, the doors of Nova Scotia’s first H&M will open in Dartmouth’s Mic Mac Mall (21 Micmac Blvd., 902-466-2535) and, you know what? I’ve got mixed feelings.

It’s blasphemy, I know—we’re too often ignored over here on the East Coast and I should be celebrating with the giant “Thank you!” H&M billboard I spied earlier this week. But I just can’t. That same jealous twang that popped into my childhood heart when I realized my BFF had other friends and, gasp, they had matching friendship bracelets, too (!) is holding me back. You see, I’m admittedly selfish about my relationship with H&M.

Every month or so, we see each other, spend a few beautifully chaotic hours together, and, after a too-long exhausting affair in the dressing room, I leave with a shopping bag of anonymous finds: adorable dresses, perfect hats, unexpected bowties and big-buttoned coats, all of which are simply from “Toronto” or “Montreal” when asked from where I scooped them up. But now, with H&M a mere 15-minute drive from downtown, the jig is up.

And so, with the towel officially thrown in, I must leave behind the schoolyard sentiments, buck up and get excited with the rest of you lot. I mean, really, it’s H&M. Here. Finally. I’ll just have to adjust my shopping MO: instead of stocking up purely on the kelly green raincoats or neon sweater dresses of my H&M past, I’ll opt for blendable basics—items I won’t see en masse on the Hali streets—and toss in a few of those on-trend pieces that H&M’s low prices make entirely alright.

In the spirit of my new outlook, rather than keeping my finds (and their whereabouts) to myself, I’m sharing a few of my favorite pieces that will be lining our H&M racks. Feeding my long-standing love for vests, my first pick is a black sequin vest ($50) that slinks and glints and already has my black brogues pining. Second up is a frothy blouse in a smoky warm grey ($40) that, with its classy lines and long bow-tie collar, will slide elegantly into my at-work attire. Here on the East Coast, we’re mindful consumers and so my final find is cut from organic cotton: a lovely loose tee ($20) with a faded black print of a bizarre contraption that spews out flower pots and tugs at my nerd strings.

I may not bang down the doors on Thursday, but H&M, this little thing we’ve got between us is still going strong.

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