Stolen info in Target's data breach increases to 70 million...

NBC News reports that the massive credit card heist at Target stores across the country was nearly twice as large as previously revealed. The retailer now reports that 70 million customers were hit, making it one of the largest security breaches of its kind. The newly disclosed victims included customers whose data was obtained by Target prior to Black Friday.

The company said Friday that as part of its ongoing probe it found that some customer information, apart from the 40 million payment card accounts previously disclosed, was stolen during the data breach. It said this is not a new breach. The stolen information includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million individuals.

Target said that much of the data stolen is partial, but in situations where Target has an email address, it will attempt to contact the customers affected by the breach and provide them with tips to guard against consumer scams. Target said it won't ask customers for any personal information when it contacts them.

Even though the data is in bits and pieces, it means some of the previously disclosed stolen credit cards can be used to commit fraud in more places online. It could also be a precursor to more widespread identity theft. "They steal and combine what was stolen in previous breaches," said Avivah Latan, a fraud analyst at technology research company Gartner. "There are warehouses of information on people and dossiers. Now we've got John's credit card, his address, his phone number... they do put it together and sell entire profiles on people."

DIY Photo Table Runner

A Bullseye View has posted a short tutorial on how to make this lovely (and super easy!) personalized photo table runner. I think this would be a great idea for a bridal shower, especially if you tack the photos onto this fun burlap "Eat, Drink and be Married" table runner from Target. 

Target Employee Helps Nab Kidnapper...

Here's your feel-good story of the day: in California, a vigilant Target employee is being hailed as a here for cracking the kidnapping case of a 7-year old girl.

Roxanna Ramirez (shown here) inadvertently saved abducted 7-year-old Natalie Calvo's life when she wrote down the license plate number of a "weird" man shopping at her Pittsburg, CA store on Friday.

The 22-year-old loss prevention specialist became suspicious of the man as he appeared extremely nervous in the aisles. "He was just fidgeting around. I wasn't getting a good vibe off of him," she told ABC News. After monitoring him for some time, she followed him out into the parking lot and noted his license plate details. "He was being a weirdo outside, and I just got a weird feeling," Ramirez said to the Contra Costa Times. "At one point, he sat in his car and grabbed the steering wheel and started shaking it violently. It was kind of scary,"

Then later that night, cops put out an Amber Alert for the girl - alongside the description of a man which sounded exactly like the freaky shopper. Ramirez called in the license plate information she'd captured earlier and within 45 minutes police had rescued the child and arrested the alleged kidnapper.

David Douglas, 43, is accused of snatching the girl from outside her home. In a bizarre TV jailhouse interview with ABC News, he claimed he did not harm the youngster and that the abduction was not his idea. Denying being mentally ill, he also stated there was a government conspiracy to control his life and that he'd tried to grab three different children that day. Revealing he'd been living in his car parked in the Antioch Marina for two months after being kicked out of his family home, he sad he stopped at several hotels for the pair to stay at.

He was eventually found by cops in the Marina. The child wasn't physically harmed and was reunited with her mom four hours after being taken. Douglas, arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, is being held on a $4 million bond. Antioch police said Ramirez's vigilance was key to keeping Calvo safe. "What she did was what truly broke the case," added Lt. Tammany Brooks.

Sneak Peek: Peter Pilotto for Target

Remember my post the other day with the hideous Peter Pilotto dress worn by Kerry Washington? Well, The Huffington Post has a sneak peek (via a photo first published by Elle) of the upcoming Peter Pilotto for Target collection, and the same crazy-calico prints seem to be there, sans the weird cut-outs.

As shown here, Pilotto and his co–creative director Christopher De Vos pose with models showing off some of the items from the upcoming collab, including a drop-waist dress, a cropped tee, a pencil skirt and what appears to be a romper - all in their signature mixed prints. Elle described the 70-piece collection as "ready-made for a Montauk weekend," whatever that means.

You can read more about about the design team behind Peter Pilotto and their upcoming collab with Target here on Elle.com.

Double-Take: Aqua vs. Xhilaration

It's time for another double-take, where we take one item from Target and match it against a similar - yet pricer - piece. This time we have two pop-art inspired sweaters - which incidentally, are both reminiscent of the Phillip Lim for Target "Boom" sweatshirt from last Fall.

Both of these slouchy, cropped-length sweaters boast a cartoon "Pop" (or "Pow") motif. The difference is that one is by Aqua (at Bloomingdale's) and will set you back $78, whereas the other is by Xhilaration (at Target) and is currently on the clearance racks for about $12. Which one is which? The answer appears in the comments section below.

Target's next guest designer given "Worst Dress of 2013"...

Well this doesn't bode well for Target's next designer collab. I was dubious to begin with when Target announced their next featured designer collection would be by Peter Pilotto - a brand I'd never heard of. And now Tom & Lorenzo, a style blog I follow and have infinite respect for, has just named this Peter Pilotto dress (as shown here on Kerry Washington at the Rome movie premier for Django Unchained) as their worst red-carpet look of 2013.  They dub it "the butt-ugliest dress we’ve seen all year", and I have to agree it's pretty hideous. If this is any indication of what we'll see from Peter Pilotto for Target when it debuts on Feb. 9th, I'll pass, thank you. It looks like a Project Runway creation gone horribly wrong.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, readers! Or as we're saying around my house: good riddance to 2013, and welcome 2014 (as I can't wait to put last year in my rearview mirror for a variety of reasons...). And in case anyone's interested in shopping today vs. watching parades or football, all Target stores are open as usual with their regular business hours.