The opening of an H&M in Park Place Mall on Thursday has sent fashionistas into a frenzy to plan opening day activities, search the website for must-have pieces and strategize the best way to get the most door prizes while in line.

H&M (Hennes and Mauritz) is known for classy, Europe-inspired, quality clothes sold at a fraction of the prices of most retailers.

On a normal day at Tucson Mall, crowds are drawn to the two-story shopper’s paradise, sifting through clearance items and scoping out the latest collections.

During the weekend, it is even worse. Women drag their whining children to the toddler section, dressing them in pastel fashions, neglecting to do anything about their other child ripping clothes off of hangers on the lower racks. Frantic shoppers exceed their seven item limit, piling dozens of options into the dressing room, only to choose one and throw the rest in a monstrous pile for the poor employees to organize.

Imagine this scene at the opening of a new store. The insanity is sure to at least triple when door prizes, giveaways and cheap clothes are on the line.

While there are some pretty sweet deals on opening day, you may be wondering if they are worth the effort. If you are daring enough to brave the event, there are some things you might want to keep in mind.

The store will open officially at noon. This means that a line will begin to form at 6 a.m., so bring a lawn chair to sit on and snacks so you don’t have to lose your place in line when you get hungry. Also, bring at least one other person with you. A lawn chair, snacks and the latest edition of “Soap Opera Digest” will only weigh you down while shopping. One person needs to bring everything back to the car as the opening nears, leaving you with only absolute necessities. Your arms must be free to pick out and carry clothes.

As the opening nears, employees will act as cheerleaders, running up and down the line, yelling with excitement and fueling the crowd with anticipation. This is when all hell breaks loose. The cheery employees will begin to throw door prizes and free T-shirts at you and into the crowd. Everyone will flurry with excitement. Be sure to remain aware of your surroundings while this is occurring. To prevent a stray door prize from hitting you in the face, remember the five D’s of dodge ball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.

Lines for the fitting room will be extraordinarily long. Be sure to wear something that you can try on clothes over so you can try on clothes around the store. Also, do not be alarmed by any near nudity you see, as H&M openings have sometimes been known to cause people to strip down in the open to try on clothes. Just ignore it and continue shopping.

Finally, be assertive. If you aren’t a bit pushy, you will never make it out alive. To avoid being trampled by the savings-hungry crowd, keep your head up and stay focused. If you follow this advice, you are sure to succeed in finding the best deals in the shortest amount of time.

H&M will open at Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., on Thursday at noon.

The first 200 people in line will receive an “Access to Fashion Pass” valued from $10 to $300 which they can apply to the first day of shopping, and all first-day customers will receive a free gift with purchase, while supplies last.

— Ashley Pearlstein is a journalism junior. She can be reached at arts@wildcat.arizona.edu.