OK, so I had suggested in today's Looking Good on Scene's Page 3 that if shoppers were headed to San Francisco on Thursday, they might want to check out the opening of the new Bloomingdale's in Union Square.

What was I thinking?! The store's motto is "Like no other store in the world," and apparently the entire city of San Francisco - and perhaps then some - wanted to find out how true those words might be - a day early.

I was speaking earlier today with a colleague at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in the city, who tried valiantly to get to the store (in the refurbished Emporium building), only to find a line that snaked, as she put it, "a block and a half from the front door."

"I couldn't even SEE the end of the line, it was so long," she says.

Apparently, those waiting were Bloomie's credit-card holders, who were being offered a sneak peek. Plus, the store is giving away free umbrellas and special promotional shopping bags for the event.

Now, would that be enough to stand in line for hours? I know some folks will stand in line for the sake of standing in a line. Not me. Freebies notwithstanding. (By the way, the famous Bloomingdale's "Brown (shopping) Bags" are supposed to return when the store officially opens Thursday.)

Here's hoping the shopping fervor quiets in, oh, say a year or so.