Pick of the Week

It's Pick of the Week time: each week I pick one great buy from Target's Weekly ad (in the Sunday newspaper) and highlight it here on my blog. But before I get to this week's pick, I want to share with you something different that I noticed in this week's ad. Target is now promoting items called "The Weekly WOW": products that are at the lowest price of the season, or especially good buys. Hmmm.... has Target been reading my blog? ;-) While I could take the easy route and copy Target's "WOWs", I'm going to instead make it a point to keep choosing my OWN "pick of the week".

This week's pick is this nifty storage ottoman on sale this week for just $19 (regularly $24.99). Blending form and function, this piece doubles as a footrest/seat and storage/stash. Covered in soft faux suede microfiber, the tan one (shown) is only available in stores, but this brown one is also available online.

Target To Open Minigroceries In 100 Stores

According to the Wall St. Journal, Target is transforming a corner of a hundred of its discount department stores into mini-groceries stores that carry a narrow selection of products from 90% of the food categories found in a larger grocery store. It may eventually add mini-groceries to most of its 1,300 outlets as the key to its strategy to reverse declining sales.

The retailer seems to be moving closer to the Wal-Mart mold of selling more food and emphasizing low prices. It also is revamping its adverting to focus on bargains. [Side bar: have you noticed those TV ads, dear readers? I have, and despite the following comment from Target, I have mistaken those commercials for Wal-Mart ads more than once]. However, CEO Gregg Steinhafel says he has no wish to try to be like Wal-Mart, which he characterizes as "a grocer that happens to also sell general merchandise."

New at Target: Glow Chic lingerie

Victoria's Secret didn't sell maternity nighties, so Rebekah Stivers decided she would. "Pregnant ladies want to feel sexy," Stivers says. "I'm not a mom. I just listened to the market."

That's why Stivers (of Minneapolis) launched her upscale maternity lingere line Whoa Mamma in 2007 and sold lacey sleepwear and bra and panty sets to a few online stores and boutiques. All the while, she kept her job as a risk consultant, just in case.

Then Target came calling, and everything changed. Stivers created a second, less expensive line of sleepwear for the discounter called Glow Chic, which is now available at Target.com. Glow Chic's two-piece maternity sets — bra and panty, chemise and panty, top and lounging pant — sell for $49.

The partnership is new, but solid enough for Stivers to finally quit her day job. In addition to the Target deal, she is also currently shopping her more expensive Whoa Mamma line to upscale department stores.

Tuesday's Rant: Target's new "generic" jewelry packaging

Most Tuesdays I take the opportunity to rant about something I do not like about Target… because although I love ‘em to death, they ain’t perfect. Today's rant is about a disturbing trend I've seen in the Target jewelry department. I don't mean the "nicer jewelry" - like the Dean Harris line - that is carried behind the glass counter. I mean the costume jewelry that is displayed on the wall racks. Now it used to be that these items were displayed by brand: Merona being a tad more "classic" in style, with Cherokee and Xhilaration trending more towards Juniors. But that seems to be changing. The "old style" jewelry packaging (shown) has disappeared from two of my area Targets, only to be replaced by generic silver-gray hangtabs with no printing at all on the front. You have to flip it over to see the price or see what the item is made of (and whether it's nickel-free). And there's no branding to speak of, outside of maybe stating "Target" on the back.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm not liking this trend. Perhaps the generic packaging is meant to save costs, but the whole thing screams "cheap" to me. [and yes: admittedly we do want our Target jewelry to be cheap, but not to look cheap]. Seriously, check it out at your local store and tell me what you think.

More Tracy Feith pictures surface...

Racked.com is reporting that Target has released more pictures from its upcoming collection from Tracy Feith, which debuts in stores on May 17th. But I dunno... I'm just not feeling this Crazy Daisy Print top (yes, that's really the name!) nor the matching skirt, nor comprehending WHY they would put both these pieces together in such a matchy-matchy way. I mean, why not just make this into a dress instead? And don't even get me started on the black anklet socks with silver sandals...

Pick of the Week

It's Pick of the Week time: each week I pick one great buy from Target's Weekly ad (in the Sunday newspaper) and highlight it here on my blog. This week's pick is the Merona Ultimate collection of men's shirts (pictured). Now these shirts are among my hubby's favorites as they come in a variety of colors and are pre-washed for softness. I also appreciate the fact that they're both shrink & fade-resistant, and seem to hold up well to multiple wearings & washings. And this week at Target, both the Ultimate Tee and Polo are on sale.

Merona Ultimate Tee: $6 ($8 for XXL)
Merona Ultimate Polo - solids: $10 ($12 for XXL)
Merona Ultimate Polo - striped: $12 ($14 for XXL)

Loomstate revisited...

As I wrote about last week, I'm a bit lukewarm on the latest Loomstate for Target line. Nonetheless, I did order this summery LBD (little black dress) and had promised to give everyone an update on whether it was a "keeper" or not. And happily, it is! The fabric is light and lovely (called “cotton silk”, it's made of 100% organic cotton) and seems perfect for very warm weather. The dress has cute details like pintucking in front, a key-hole back, and three little seagulls screenprinted in charcoal gray on the back right shoulder (but this graphic touch is really subtle, so don't worry about it looking "weird" or out of place). Some other things to note: IMO, the neckline is a bit lower than pictured at left (but not too low) and for me (I'm 5'4") the dress is not quite as short as shown. I also personally wouldn't wear this dress with sneakers; rather, it lends itself perfectly to summer sandals or flats.

All that said, this dress is definitely a "yay", and a great buy at just $39.99.