<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Have you heard of the Henri Bendel Open See? For more than 40 years, the legendary Fifth Avenue accessory and beauty boutique has opened its doors to new and emerging talent from around the world.Held twice a year, the Open See has launched the careers of countless young creators including Anna Sui, Todd Oldham and Pamela Dennis. Admission is open on a first-come, first-served basis, which has men and women lining up around the block the night before ready to pitch their jewelry, hair accessories, handbags, beauty products and even some cookies and a sequined walking cane in the hopes of making it into the Henri Bendel Flagship store on Fifth Ave. Open See is sort of like the American Idol of the fashion world, so I decided to go down and see what all the fuss is about. I showed up very early in the morning, almost an hour before the doors opened,\uFFFD?on a very cold winter day,\uFFFD?and, sure enough, the line was wrapped up around the next block. I went to the front of the line and met Autumn-Lynn from Arizona, who staked her place at 11 the night before for a shot at getting her two:peas jewelery line picked up. Needless to say, she was freezing. A quick pop down the line found entries from Columbia, Puerto Rico, Alabama, Hawaii and my hometown, New York City. Almost all had flown the previous night to make the renowned event. My stylist&amp;#x27;s eye caught sight of an adorable girl from Hawaii, Alice Kim, rocking a pink wig and lei to promote her Lash Card, a handy dandy doodad which helps prevent mascara from lumping and clumping. Already covered by The Girls in the Beauty Department, Alice made it past the brutal judging panel and over thousands of entries, was picked to sell at Bendel on their Quick Fix Wall. While they choose so few from so many, it was an incredibly exhilarating experience to see Alice from standing in line freezing to New York City success. I wish all the budding entrepreneurs on line that day, the best of luck with their brands. And here&amp;#x27;s to next time. Let&amp;#x27;s play a game: if you were a designer hitting up the Henri Bendel Open See, what &amp;quot;fantasy&amp;quot; product would you be pitching? Photos: Jess Zaino"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2011/04/yp-have-you-heard-of-this-event-t>