They don't call me the "Target Addict" for nothing ;-) So after limited luck in store this morning, and a reader tip that the Redwood City (CA) store had a good selection of Jason Wu for Target (albeit in larger sizes) I made one more trip out today to see what I could find.
I'm glad I did, as I was able to find this daisy print dress (shown) in a smaller size than what I had ordered online. I also tried on a bunch of stuff in larger sizes, and here's my take:
* Everything seems to run large, which goes against past Target designer collabs. I also noticed that some of the dresses go all the way up to size 16, which I believe is a first for Target's designer offerings. While I think this is great news for us who aren't a "size zero", if you figured the sizing would be small (as I did) and sized up, you may be in for a shock.
* Furthermore, the sleeveless blouses fit super-boxy, and the pink dot long-sleeved blouse is see-thru (meaning you'll have to wear a cami underneath). Similarly, the striped t-shirt dress is pretty sheer, and I'm mystified why it wasn't made of cotton instead.
* As I believe one reader commented already, many of the blouses look like something my Grandma would wear ;-) While the young teens and 20-somethings can get away with the granny look, this style can look dated on the rest of us.
* Most of the blouses are made of ultra-cheap looking (and feeling) polyester. Memo to Target: I'd rather pay 20% - or even 30% - more for a silk or natural-fiber blend than cheap poly.
* The t-shirts, on the other hand, are made of rayon... which in my experience doesn't hold up well and usually has to be dry-cleaned. The label says you can hand wash it and line dry, but again, I haven't had great luck with rayon tees in the past. This is a "one season item" at best.
Sadly, I wasn't able to get the cute kitty tote, which was the item I REALLY wanted the most. And even more infuriating, I missed a clerk putting out 3 last kitty totes (from "the back", they said) when 3 other women rushed ahead of me. There's one jacked up on eBay right now with 17 bids for $128, and I'm sure it'll end up going for even more. I refuse to pay the eBay vultures a markup, no matter how much I want it, and will hopefully stumble upon a customer return in store someday.
18 comments:
Thanks for the review. I was excited about the news of the collaboration but the preview pics didn't excite me and I didn't even go out to Target today to see it in person. I am surprised to hear that it's sold-out in a lot of stores! You are so right on about most of it looking granny-ish. You'd have to do a major feat of styling to pull off 90% of the pieces. Oh well, more $ saved for me since I didn't want to run out and buy anything, right?
PS - That blue sundress is super cute though esp with the yellow belt :-)
I got to Target at 8AM to get my deals and I scored 3 classic (yes, not granny) dresses. Do you know what the next designer release will be? I've heard rumors but wondered what you had to say.
No Lauren; I don't have any insight as to who Target's next design-collab will be with. Sorry!
I got the dress you pictured as well, I love it. I wear an XL or XXL in Target sizes so running large was good for me =D I happened to have a yellow purse today that matches the belt, so I was extra-sold on that dress!
I also got the circle print scarf (which I really like, although I was hoping for a cat one) and a straw purse (the cream one). Not sure yet if I'm keeping the purse, it's kinda pricy for straw but I do like the style...
I tried on the circle print dress but that had the dreaded gap between buttons between my boobs, the dress is NOT boob friendly. I also tried on some shirts but I didn't like the quality and material.
Too bad the stores didn't have what I really wanted to take a look at, which were the gold peplum top and the pleated black skirt, and of course the cat tote. And the black/white dresses, I wanted to see if the quality was worth $60...anyone see that and have an opinion? how about the blue striped jersey dress? thanks!
I tried on the gold peplum top- it was nice in a way but I ultimately did not buy it, it has a sort of "muppet" quality to it, despite the cool gathering at the top and waist defining elastic, the material is too floopy, might be better had it been in black (I was saddened by the way becuase I wanted it to work, oh well). Also I am a generously "endowed" gal and the top is SO wide and made my upper body look like a weird, giant sideways rectangle, no good. Being zaftig I targeted the more structured pieces, purchasing both the white and black dress and their twin in navy blue with a stripe at the bottom. Also I got the cycle wheel dress in cream (in XL) and it too was pretty structured. I got the black clutch by the way and it is superb, that and the white dress are my 2 faves.
Granny-ish tie blouses in cheap polyester. This is fashion?
I saw a few skirts, and they were not looking great.
Disappointed, all the money goes into the marketing to produce the frenzy needed for sell out. Their is no investment in the products, which as you pointed out are cheaply made.
Thanks for giving us the real view Target Addict. I could never figure out why WWD, Fashionista and Glamour were all raving about this. It was pretty ORDINARY.
I hope the 10,000 items on eBay don't sell !:)
I got to my Target at 8am only to find nothing left, so I drove to another one and picked the remaining clothes off the racks in the fitting room -_- I was so sad I couldn't get a bag!!
Made a run to both my local Targets this am to see what was left after dropping kids off at school. Still had lots of the granny looks in larger sizes mostly. They will probably still be there on clearance. Have yet to see the blue pleated skirt or black and white striped sweater that I was lusting after. If anyone grabbed those I would love a review with sizing info so I know what to look for if it shows up again online. Found the gold peplum top in size XS so I tried it on. (I usually wear a 4 & am only 5'3"). It fits weird: very short and shortwaisted. No way a tall gal could wear this. If you notice, the lookbook photos show this piece tucked into a skirt on the model. I'm sure it took some major styling with clips to get this look. I'm short & it wouldn't begin to tuck in on me. Maybe the small would be longer. I guess I'll do what I did with Missoni: drop by Target on a near daily basis & hope for returns!
I haven't even bothered to go to our Target to look. Until they do something about the ebay vultures, I won't even bother!
If you go on their facebook page, they kept saying that they had limits set on line, but would not address the situation with the stores.
So, forget it, I'm not going or even giving it a second thought!
My local store had nothing of what I wanted (the black trench, the black dress w/ lace petticoat, the sky blue colorblock skirt, and the navy poplin dress) but I ended up trying on the daisy dress and the white shirtdress, and bought both. You're right -- tops were extremely boxy and unflattering. I wasn't a fan of the pleated accordion skirts either. I love the 2 dresses I got though, but the white one requires light undergarments and opaque tights if you're really conservative. It also has a bit of a funky button on the chest (like it needs an extra one) but I'll take it to a tailor and get it sorted!
Cydonian, I tried on the trenchcoat, and IMO you're not missing anything! While it's cute, it fits large, like everything else. And, the arms are SUPER long. I'm on the short side (5'3") but I feel my arms are "normal" and not short. And in this trench, the ends of the sleeves came to my fingertips!
I'm usually really excited about the Target collabs but this one didn't really do it for me. I didn't plan to even shop it but was up all Saturday night with an ear infection and happened to be on Facebook and saw the post from Target Style about items being available. I bought the only 2 items that kinda peaked my interest - the kitty tote and the yellow/black striped dress (that I suspect might be too short). Later in the day I went to the Albany store to see items in person and tried on a couple of the "granny" blouses. SUPER cheap feeling and the arms were cut really strange. I kinda like the trench but I have 4 or 5 and I couldn't justify it.
I bought the grey heather/black lace shirt yesterday and I really love it. I usually wear a medium but I actually needed a small in these. I made the mistake of not trying the small on before buying or washing it.
I tried it on today only to find out that it is sewed irregularly. The lace ends up at my left pocket instead of my zipper. Will target exchange/refund it?
Beccaporter, if you have the receipt (or even still have the pricetag) Target should refund you.
I was also disappointed in the quality of the pieces. I felt that the Missoni line for Targ was of much better quality than this one. I wanted one of the Jason Wu clutches, but they didn't carry it in my store. There were also a few dresses left in size XL, which I actually thought were kind of cute - but nothing majorly awesome that I HAD to have! I can't imagine people paying more than retail for this stuff on Ebay...
Jess @ In The Know
http://intheknowstyle.blogspot.com/
There's a facebook group to buy, sell, swap at retail price only plus S/H/taxes and packaging. I saw posts of folks who had the cat tote available earlier!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/280868738646433/
I tried on the black dress with petticoat, and I love it! It's actually way fancier than it looked, more of a soft taffeta material and the petticoat has a sequin detail which you don't really see in photos. It's well made for $60 for a cute cocktail type of dress.
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