Now regular readers of my blog may recall that when I posted about this collab coming back in March, I wasn't too excited about it. Nonetheless, when I woke up at 12:45am last night (thank you, insomnia!) I grabbed my phone to scroll and find that several of the women's items were already sold out, including just about anything with the iconic 'whale' logo on it. Ditto on this tote that I wanted, that is $25 at Target but selling for $75 (and up) on eBay. In the wee hours I did manage to snag the navy polo shirt and the "Rough Seas" print dress, but a check this morning shows these items are now completely sold out.
The odd thing about this collab is that I didn't feel Tar-shay built up any "frenzy" around it like they did with past designer collections. For instance, I haven't been seeing the magazine ads leading up to the launch, nor the TV promos. In the past, The Today Show or GMA almost always did a segment the week before the launch, and there wasn't one (as far as I can tell this time.
And although the collab seems to be selling well, I can tell you who's NOT thrilled about it, and that's die hard Vineyard Vines fans. My BFF showed me screenshots the other day of Vineyard Vine's Twitter comments, and fans seem outraged that the brand would 'cheapen itself' by associating with Target. Some even went so far as to say they were going to dump all their VV stuff in protest and stop buying the brand.
So what about y'all out there? Will you be buying this collab, and if so, what items?
17 comments:
I didn't even try to buy anything this time around since I didn't want the frustration! I figured I'd watch resale and see what happens over the next couple of weeks. I'd be interested to know how you like the dress you ordered, though - it's really cute. And I remember the same sort of people freaking out about the "cheapening" of the Lilly brand, but the collab didn't seem to hurt their company at all in the long run...
Always enjoy your posts!
I didn't even wake up to try to shop it. I will go to the store today, because I have to do a return--but it's just not that exciting. I think the sales were probably to ebay sellers who will end up returning it. !
Meh?:)
So an interesting thing happened to me today.... I went to a nearby (but off the radar) Target store near me late in the day - a smaller format one that NEVER gets the collabs - and was shocked to see almost the FULL collection! From what I could tell, the products are well made, and looked good. @Jenlo, I saw the dress I ordered online and tried it on; it's cute on the hanger, but didn't look good on me, so I'll be returning the one I ordered. What I ended up buying was stuff for my hubby: two shirts and swim trunks.
I think I love the thrill of the hunt more than the actual items of these Target Collabs! lol I woke up at 5am and ordered the dog cooling pad as it was online only. Got to the store before opening and managed to get 2 of the wine glasses that I wanted and the cute women's tee. Also got a few housewares and a lot of the dog as my dog has a birthday coming up :) The only thing I didnt get was the long sleeve women's pink pullover. Ill be on the lookout for returns. When I was at the store, I didnt see anyone trying on anything--just buying so I think there will be lots o' returns!
The comments on Twitter by Vineyard Vines fans are hilarious! What a bunch of jerks. Makes me want to wear the hell out of their beloved formerly-exclusive line!
@Catherine, check out the angry comments on Target's Facebook page as well. I guess a lot of folks faced computer glitches (again) and are quite upset that different stores got different merchandise!
Hi Target Addict - can you say which off-the-radar store you went to that had almost the full line? I went to the San Mateo Bridgepointe store which certainly isn't off-the-radar and they did not have any of the Vineyard Vines line. Thanks!
@Catherine - I noticed those comments too of folks (mainly college students) lamenting that the Target collaboration is "cheapening" their preppy brand and they can now only shop at J. Press! Hilarious. These are the same kids whose parents probably "donated" to get their kids in to their university of choice on a "tennis" scholarship. As for the Target collab, it's cute but I just don't have the need nor the time to stay up until 2 am in the morning only to run into website glitches. Plus, one of the dresses is an exact copy of a new Who What Wear dress design, just in a different print (I prefer the WWW print).
@Sunny it was the East Palo Alto store that I was referring to as "off the radar". I didn't expect them to carry the line at all, as they are a smaller-format store. But they actually had a great selection of the clothing. Now that was back on Saturday... not sure what they have left now.
@NSHD, I hear you! Check out this hilarious comment I saw on another blog.... what a snob!
New England Summers May 20, 2019 at 6:03 pm
It totally cheapens the brand. Wearing Vineyard Vines meant you succeeded, it’s what you wear while out on Martha’s Vineyard or the Cape. Getting rid of any polos I have, wouldn’t want to wear them in the office and look like I shop at Target. Sticking to Brooks Brothers and Barbour polos now.
At least they are an enlightened person. They really knows what's important to living a happy and fulfilling life.
So grateful, I did not turn out like them.
Went to my local San Francisco Target today and lo and behold -- the returns have already started! Ended up picking up the cute stripe dress (it has pockets!). Tons of household items and bags were available -- the bags in person are HUGE, I think they were made for people over 6' tall! There were cute children's clothes that were returned and a ton of men's stuff as well.
The "New England Summers" blog comment absolutely kills me. This brand and even its Target launch are so..."ugh" to me - for all the wrong reasons, including on my own, personal, occasionally bitter end. (And I even think the pink whale is - in and of itself, in a vacuum - completely adorable!)
But, man, as a kid who busted out of the Midwest for an elite East Coast college back in the day, it brings back some memories of learning that I would never fit in nor be accepted by that "Boston Brahmin" crowd - no matter what fancy-pants name would ultimately be stamped on my degree. I remember someone asking me early on, "And where do you summer?" (I realize now I'm ethnic enough that she probably did it as an insult.) I was, like, "Uh, summer camp?" Yeah...oops...
So I picked up some "can coolers" for beer and the tote with the super-huge whale - because they are the most redneck/country items in the collection. So take that, people who "summer"!
I picked up a navy polo shirt. It's all they had left. I was looking for that pretty white linen dress with the two-tone navy and white belt, but no luck. I had no clue about this brand and I never really saw it advertised so, there's that. I'm hoping for a fall collab.
I ended up taking back ALL the women's items I ordered online. They were just "meh" in my opinion, and not worth keeping. On the flip side, the hubby got a nice polo shirt, the camp shirt with the fish bone print, and some cool swim trunks. I think the returns are still coming in... at some local stores the dedicated displays "disappeared" initially (after the first buying frenzy) but then they returned once the customer returns piled in.
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