Lace, embroidery, and lots of fluffy dresses: the Giambattista Valli x H&M drops online and in select stores Thursday, November 7, bringing the Parisian-based designer’s couture aesthetic to the fashion-loving masses. And San Francisco is one of only a handful of cities where you can shop it in person.

H&M’s fall designer collaborations are a kind of cult experience. Some collections have drawn overnight crowds to the Powell Street store, (we’re looking at you Alexander Wang and Balmain), while others have received lukewarm response. (So sorry, Kenzo and Erdem.) Since Valli isn’t a household name, we’re anticipating that we won’t see all night lines in Union Square before this year’s drop, but we’ll be checking in Wednesday and updating you if that changes. Here’s what you need to know until then.

The Collection

The drop includes 106 pieces, ranging from socks and sunglasses to eveningwear. While Giambattista Valli is a womenswear designer, H&M design collaborations include something for everyone. Like Erdem Moralioglu before him, Valli will be branching out to menswear for the first time with this collection.

H&M says it will be releasing 41 pieces for women, 31 for men, and 34 accessories, but we all know that you can wear whatever you damn well please, regardless of gender labels. Valli is down to see you bridging those divides. “Normally, it’s women who adopt pieces from the masculine wardrobe, so I thought my men could just pick things up from the women’s wardrobes. The animal and flower prints, as well as the sequins and the transparencies, are just the same. In fact, pieces from the men’s collection can easily be worn by women: I encourage customers to do so, because everything is meant to be exchanged,” he said when announcing the collaboration in May.

Prices range between $17.99 to $549. Check out a gallery of the collection below.

The Location

Giambattista Valli x H&M will be carried in 26 US stores, and 17 of those are in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area or New York. San Francisco’s Union Square outpost at 150 Powell Street will be the only NorCal store to carry the collection.

If you’re planning on setting up camp in front of the store for many hours to be first in line, you’re probably going to need a restroom at some point. And that can be… tricky—especially in the wee hours of the morning. Your best bet is the public toilet two blocks away at the corner of Market Street and Powell Street, just past the cable car turnaround. If that’s not your jam, there are lots of hotels in Union Square, and most hotels have a restroom in the lobby. You could either try (1) waltzing in like you own the place or, if that doesn’t work, (2) bribing the front desk to let you use the restroom.

If that sounds like too much planning to shop at H&M, just shop online. The collection will go live at 7 am PST. The retailer warns “approximately one hour before release, hm.com will be in preparation mode,” so don’t freak out if the site crashes. And if you really want to make sure you get the best pieces online, download and shop through the mobile app.

How to Get the Goods

We’ve been covering these launches for a long time. For popular collections, shoppers have queued on Powell as early as 10 am on Wednesday to be the first to shop. For the less popular collections, the earliest shoppers waited until around 2 am on launch day to brave the chill. Regardless of when the line starts, the store will open at 8 am.

If you want to endure the wait, you might want to bring your own coffee or tea for the line since the Starbucks across the street—a longtime source of food and beverages for linestanders—closed last year. Other things you might want to bring? An umbrella chair, a blanket or coat, something to read, a backup battery for your phone, and hand warmers. (You'll thank us for the hand warmers suggestion.)

Rules for shopping the collection are similar to past years. In store customers will be directed to a color-coded waiting line. In past years, the line was facilitated through colored wristbands, and shoppers were admitted in groups of 30. Each group had 15 minutes to shop, and staffers had 5 minutes to replenish the sales floor with dressing room go-backs between groups.

How Much Can You Buy?

This year, H&M is getting even more strict: purchases will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per person. This applies to all items in the collection, including shoes, bags and accessories. (In the past, purchases from the designer collections have been limited to no more than two items per style per person.) The shopping limit applies to the entire Giambattista Valli x H&M collection and ends after three hours. Wednesday is looking like a fine time to brush up on your H&M sizing, friends, because you can’t just buy multiple sizes and return later.

Returns

Unworn, unwashed, and undamaged collaboration items can be returned with the original receipt for full refund within 7 days of the purchase date (for items purchased in store), or 7 days of receiving your order, with your online order receipt. After 7 days or without a receipt, merchandise may be returned for an exchange only at the last activity/sale price or the current selling price, whichever is lower.

How to Prepare

The worst thing you can do when shopping an H&M collab is fail to prepare. Pricing for the full collection is available online at HM.com. (Women’s here, and men’s here.) Do your homework now. Build your budget. If you’re hitting the store, note which items are in-store only versus online only to save time when searching the racks. These collab launches can be the Hunger Games of shopping, so it’s best to start with a strategy.

And may the odds be ever in your favor.

The Complete Guide to Shopping Giambattista Valli x H&M in the Bay Area