Reader Giveaway: Lilly Pulitzer Hair Elastics

Hello readers! It's time for another reader giveaway as an expression of thanks to all of you who read my blog. This time I'm giving away a little bit of Lilly: a set of 3 Lilly Pulitzer for Target hair elastics. The one in the middle even has the cute gold pineapple charm on it! 

To win, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post along with your email address by midnight on Thursday, May 7th. This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only (one entry per person, please) and the winner (picked at random) will be announced on Friday, May 8th. Good luck!

The Lilly Leftovers: What's Being Returned

Have any of you out there scored any returns from the Lilly Pulitzer for Target collab? Now that we're at the 2-week return window deadline, it looks like more and more items are trickling back into stores. Here's what I'm seeing the most of:

  * The jumpsuit shown here. I think there must be fit issues with it. Plus, it's made for tall gals, so most women will have to hem this to wear it.
  * The outdoor blankets. I'm wondering whether folks expected this item to be softer; in reality, it feels like a heavy tablecloth.
  * The outdoor string lights. I've seen many sets of these.
  * Clothing in Plus Sizes. This is kind of to be expected as Plus Sizes were only available online, so shoppers were taking a risk by guessing at sizing as they could not try these on in store.
  * Children's clothing, Again, probably returned due to fit issues.
  * Nail files. I've seen countless of these things. I'm not sure if they've been returned, or Target just ordered too many of these and they didn't sell well.

Cute commercial, but something's missing...

Have you seen Target's new commercial featuring action figures from the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron movie? Cute, right? But even I - not an Avengers expert by any means - noticed something "off" about it right away, in that not all the Avengers were included. Most notably, the female Avenger - Black Widow - is absent. And apparently this is a big deal in the comic book community. As one reader has informed me: "There has been an uproar about this issue for a while on comic book, Marvel, Disney, and movie sites. They believe that no one wants Black Widow toys as girls aren’t interested in toys and boys don’t want a female action figures." 

This is indeed a hot topic; Variety posted an expose asking why Black Widow merchandise is missing, and MSNBC has reported on it. Even my local paper - The San Jose Mercury News - picked up on the story, and now actor Mark Ruffalo (who plays The Hulk) is demanding more Black Widow merchandise.

The bottom line is that Disney and Marvel - for whatever reason - are choosing not to manufacture very much Black Widow merchandise, perhaps because they don't anticipate as much demand for it as for the "boy character" products. However, a Black Widow action figure already exists. And, it's sold at Target. Which circles back to the original question: why didn't The Bullseye include Black Widow in their cute commercial? Target has posted a "behind the scenes look" at the making of the commercial, but it still doesn't answer this question.

The Look for Less: Soda vs. Mossimo

Flip-flop sandals are a staple for summer, and these caught my eye because of the shiny gold metal "tip" on each toe. But the look for less in this case will surprise you! The pair at far left - from Union! By Soda - are actually the cheaper option at $12.99 (now sold out on Amazon in Black, but still available in Gold Snakeskin). And the pair on the right are from Mossimo (at Target) and retail for $27.99.

The latest Lilly/eBay injustice...

Readers, I'd like to share a little story with you and encourage you NOT to feed the vultures selling the Lilly Pulitzer for Target line on eBay. A friend of mine called me today after witnessing the following: a woman with a FULL cart of Lilly merchandise returning it at Target just to RE-buy it (and thereby extend her return deadline). This woman had everything: cups, dishes, bags, scarves, clothes, shoes, etc. - several hundred dollars worth of merchandise. My friend confirmed it with the Target clerk. This awful woman obviously returned what hadn't sold on eBay yet in order to try to sell it again within her new 2-week window. Shameful...

The Look for Less: Overstock.com vs. Threshold

Table lamps can update a room in an instant. Here we have two golden, triple gourd lamps, which would add a warm glow to any decor. The one on the left - done up in gilded glass - is by Overstock.com, and will set you back $243.99. But you can get the look for much less with the brass lamp on the right (by Threshold at Target) which costs just $39.99.

What's the deal with AVA & VIV?

With much fanfare, Target announced a new plus-size line in January called AVA & VIV. This was hot on the heels - meaning about a week - after they had announced the Lilly Pulitzer for Target collab with the disappointing caveat that Lilly plus-sized clothing would ONLY be available online (and not in stores). It almost seemed as if they tried to appease outraged Lilly-loving/plus-size customers with the announcement of AVA & VIV. But guess what? I don't think AVA & VIV is selling well. At all. Take a look at this pic I snapped in store yesterday. This is a fully packed rack (both sides) of AVA & VIV clothing, now marked to 30% off. And there are at least 2-3 other racks of AVA & VIV at full price, and the stuff is just NOT moving.

From what I've seen, the clothes are cute enough, but nothing special. Is that why it's not selling? Is it too trendy for Target? Or not trendy enough? Whatever the reason, I think The Bullseye has a problem on it's hands here.