On July 25, 2013, H&M opened its newest location just outside of DC, in neighboring Old Town Alexandria. With the promise of a free gift card and cupcakes, it caused the first people to arrive at the function to camp out the night before since 8 PM.

Old Town Alexandria just keeps getting better and better. This past Thursday, July 25, 2013, they added a new addition to the fashion community. The grand opening of H&M took place on King Street, and everyone found out about it. It’s moments like these that make you regret liking their page on Facebook and following the fashion chain on Twitter. Because this is how the line of over 200 people found out about the great event. With the promise of a free gift card and cupcakes, it caused the first people to arrive at the function to camp out the night before since 8 P.M. As crazy as it sounded, blankets and iPhones can get you through the night. But it was all worth it from my experience.

My day started by taking the metro at 7:30 A.M. to arrive at King Street stop at 9. After the 15 minute walk, it took me to get to the destination, I arrive at a line of what looked like 100 already. But to my luck, I was number 75. Why is this important, you ask? The first 100 people standing in line got a free scratch-off ticket to determine the amount of money they receive to use at the H&M for the day; with the highest amount being $300. Even though I didn’t win the $300, my $75 ticket still made me happy. You also received a gift bag with a variety of different H&M gear, including bags and an H&M t-shirt that was also worn by the employees on opening day. But if you weren’t the lucky 100, you were not left out of the loop. They passed out cute bottles of water to the people standing in line that was covered in a paper with the H&M logo, and Georgetown Cupcakes provided their famous chocolate and red velvet cupcakes with a topping of the H&M symbol on it. If you got to the store after the noon opening, your purchase at the cash register ended with you receiving a free gift bag of an exclusive H&M pouch, and two discount cards. One was a discount card providing $10 off a purchase of $50 or more at any H&M location (not hard to do). The other was a 20% discount card for their new store that is going to be in the DC area on August 1, 2013. As a special hint, you should arrive early to the Chevy Chase Pavilion if you want to get that $300 ticket.

Did you attend the H&M grand opening on King Street? Tell us about your experience at DC Life Magazine.