The problem was with the option for **Inferred Typing** turned off.  This could be illustrated by a simpler example where initialing an object without declaring its type first resulted in a plain, boring object.

[![= vs. As assignment][1]][1]

To resolve this, you can turn On Inferred Typing with the option statement:



    Option Infer On

Now our simple date example should work:

[![Dim x = New DateTime][2]][2]

Finally, just make sure you compile the the code once because anonymous objects are actually implemented as hidden classes behind the scenes.

[![enter image description here][3]][3]


  [1]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/YkGFH.png
  [2]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/U4ILc.png
  [3]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/EBcEd.png

You can [initialize an anonymous object][1] like this:



    Dim cust = New With {.Name = "Hugo", .Age = 23}

And you can [initialize a collection][2] like this:



    Dim numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
    Dim names As New List(Of String) From {"Christa", "Brian", "Tim"}

But can you initialize an array of anonymous object **with syntax support**

You can do it like this, but `custs` will just be a plain `object`:



[![Dim custs = { New With {.Name = "Hugo", .Age = 23}, New With {.Name = "Boss", .Age = 32} }][3]][3]

You can do it like this, but each item in `custs` will just be a plain `object`:

[![Dim custs As New List(Of Object) From { New With {.Name = "Hugo", .Age = 23}, New With {.Name = "Boss", .Age = 32} }][4]][4]

How can I initialize a list/collection/array such that I can access the full power of the collection and also the properties of the anonymous object type inside


  [1]: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb385125.aspx
  [2]: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd293617.aspx
  [3]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/96gog.png
  [4]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/eOKZT.png