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~Big Deal Lily!~Lily Pulitzer for Target & various other collaborations through Target time.

3:09 PMCapitol de Beaute Blog by Melanie Woodroffe

I love fashion & being stylish, just like you, however, I have become a huge skeptic when it comes to super mass-produced designer brand collaborations.

Here's why!

First of all, if you're not sure what the hype is about, here's the low low.
You can basically own very expensive designer brand names, but made with lower cost fabrics, stitching, and quite possibly, quickly produced via sweat shop labor, etc., for a fraction of the cost you may pay for the real stuff. (Sweatshop, you say?! Yep, I am embellishing a bit, but it's what us writers do to make sure you get it!)

Sounds amazing, right?!

Totally worth standing in line outside of a store with your newborn baby in the wind and pouring rain! I heard you! You said, 'yes' under your breath, with total enthusiasm! Well, yes, until it falls apart in the first wash, or even worse, you meet your twinsy, triplet or an entire legion of identically dressed ladies at the pool, a wedding or cocktail party. Then it's downright mortifying! Plus, a baby with the flu is no fun either!

I'll be honest, I own quite a few pieces from past Target designer collaborations & they're still my wardrobe favorites. I never stood in a line or whacked anyone to get them, just walked right in a store to purchase Kleenex and vitamins, and viola!

The first pieces that I purchased in 2003 were from the Isaac Mizrahi Collection. I love Isaac! Back then (back then, ha! 2003, back then!) Pieces were limited edition and only found in a handful of stores and extremely well made. I like to think that each piece was physically touched by Issac with the golden wand of fashion!
Anyway, during that time, Mizrahi's collection of very high-end clothing & accessories could only be purchased at the stylishly coveted Bergdorf Goodman in New York!
*Intriguing style tidbit; according to Racked, Isaac Mizrahi was behind the creation of the high-low look that same year!* He created the high low! Who knew?! I didn't!

Flashback, Black Friday 2011: Missoni for Target. What a mess. I decided to purchase nothing from this collection, even though I love Missoni! It was then that I knew Target collaborations were no longer for me. I mean, I own real vintage Missoni, so I could tell a difference in quality just by looking at the website before it crashed, AND was really disappointed in the hoarding of pieces by buyers who thought they could turn a quick profit on Ebay. Total fail! These same hoarders are still trying to sell Missoni for Target pieces, to no avail, some 4 years later!

Super luxury high-end brands like Liberty of London, Thakoon, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, Band of Outsiders, Zac Posen, Phillip Lim, Rodarte, Altuzarra have collaborated with Target as well; great collections, but still, there is nothing like an original! An infinite list of great designer labels, plus a holiday collection by Neiman Marcus, yet nothing really worth standing in line and fighting for.
To be honest, I may rethink my disdain for these collaborations if a 'Chanel for Target' line is created, but just typing 'Chanel for Target' seems ludicrous....doesn't it?

{photo courtesy of targetdotcom}