Coming soon to Pasadena: retailer H

You’ve heard the rumors, you’ve seen the billboards -- and the side of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood -- and now it’s true: Cheap chic emporium H&M; is coming to Southern California. The first location will open Sept. 21 on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena with 9,000 square feet of affordable fashion.

Locations in the Beverly Center and Westfield Santa Anita Mall will follow in the fall.

H&M;, the Swedish retail giant Hennes & Mauritz, is known for inciting shopping frenzies, with limited-edition collections sometimes selling out in mere hours. When the first West Coast location opened in San Francisco last fall, the line of shoppers waiting to get in stretched around the block.

It has been a pioneer in the business of designer collaborations with Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld and most recently Madonna, whose rock ‘n’ roll track suits and T-shirts will be available on opening day.

H&M; debuted its first U.S. store in New York six years ago.

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Booth Moore