How to survive the H&M opening at Denver Pavilions (with bonus photos of the interior)!

​If affordably priced Scandinavian designs are your heart's desire, join the crowds who'll be packing the new H&M store that opens in the Denver Pavilions at noon today.

The 20,000 square feet of retail space should hold 500 people, according to spokeswoman Laura Schottland. And through opening weekend, employees will be at the door with clickers, making sure that the crowds don't go over capacity. Which means: Expect lines.

​While the store will almost certainly be packed, manager Jeremy Decola offered a couple of survival tips. But fair warning: When we asked how H&M was going to handle its first Colorado opening, Decola laughed and said, "Opening is always kind of a free-for-all."

Tip #1: There will be ten extra, temporary registers around the store. Some will be near the regular registers, but others are sneakier: in the fitting rooms and on the first floor, where the clothes are. There will also be registers in the children's department, and those are your best bet.

Tip #2: Five extra fitting-room stalls will be in the dressing-room areas: three on the second floor and two on the first floor. But you'd be wise to avoid the first-floor fitting rooms, because that's where most of the women's merchandise is located.

When we stopped by for a sneak peek yesterday, one stereotypically chic, skinny male employee said the staff would be coming in at 5 a.m. on November 10 to start prepping for the noon opening, when the first 500 customers through the door (which means the ones who've been standing in line the longest) will get gift certificates worth between $10 and $500.

Find photos of all the fun in store after the jump.