Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Missoni for Target

Today, Target launched their much anticipated collaboration with Missoni. As with every designer collaboration, I was excitedly awaiting Missoni's arrival.

Unfortunately, so was everyone else.

It all started this morning when I woke up at 5:30 am. I poured myself a bowl of cereal, sat at my dining table, and excitedly propped open my iPad to check out the collection online. Well, the website was extremely slow, but I thought nothing of this. I did shop for a few items that I had been eyeing, BUT a couple of them were actually already sold out (did I mention this was only 5:30 am?) I was still able to see a few items that I liked, but since I needed to get ready for work, I decided to resume my shopping during my lunch break. So at 10 am (I know it's early - I'm a teacher) I checked back online and the website had crashed. Yes, it actually crashed. There were literally too many people shopping online that Target.com just could not handle it anymore. This was when I realized that this line was like no other collaboration - I would not be able to wait around for a sale - these items were selling fast! I still don't quite understand why everyone was in such a tizzy over this line - I personally think that Target had much better designer collaborations in the past (my favorites were Orla Kiely, Liberty of London, Luella, Paul and Joe, Zac Posen, and Proenza Schouler, just to name a few). Mind you, several of these collaborations occurred when the designers were relatively new to the fashion scene, whereas Missoni is a much older, more established and well-known brand (they started in 1953). So that is really the only explanation I can think of as to why there is such a mania at Target and Target.com over this particular fashion line. 

In all the years I have been shopping the designer collaborations with Target, I have never seen anything quite like this - website crashing, items selling out within minutes, women arriving in droves. It's crazy, but at the same time, it's one of the things that makes shopping these collections fun and exciting.

www.nydailynews.com

Anyway, later on in the afternoon, I checked back online and Target was finally up-and-running. Pretty much everything I wanted was sold out at this point so I decided to leave quickly after work and begin my Target-hopping. I started with the Target on Southside Blvd, whereupon I found another fellow fashionista who was checking out the Missoni accessories. She was feverishly picking up scarves, hats, and gloves as if they were going to jump right off the shelves and run away from her. I was able to find the hat I had been eyeing - it's a big brown floppy hat, which I've always wanted. It's simple, yet has just the right amount of detail to make it interesting.

www.target.com

So then I moved on to the shoe section. I originally wanted these ballet flats, but they didn't have my size. I however did find these really cute heels (the last one in a 6 1/2!) So I gathered up my hat and shoes and headed on over to the register (where I passed the other woman again, who at this point was frantically rummaging through the Missoni clothing rack). As I waited in line, I noticed the guy in front of me had several Missoni clothing items - apparently he was doing a favor for his girlfriend, which I found quite amusing because a) the girlfriend so badly wanted these clothing items that she recruited her boyfriend to do the task for her because she was unable to make it to Target herself and b) the boyfriend actually obliged. I can just imagine John thinking I'm nuts - in fact, he already thought my Target-hopping was pretty nutty. Anyway, when I finally checked out, the cashier gave a knowing nod towards my items and said, "Our website crashed because of these."


www.target.com

So on to the next Target I went (I only went to two!) There were still a couple more items I wanted so I decided to try my luck at the Town Center. As I walked in, I saw a lady pick up the last scarf I had been wanting and began contemplating with her mom about how to wear it and what to do with it. All I could think was, "If you don't know how to wear then put it down!" Anyway, I decided to check out the shoes. Needless to say, they did not have the ballet flats I wanted. So I made my way back to the accessories aisle and lo and behold, the scarf was there! So I quickly picked it up, and just within that short amount of time I was in the shoe aisle, pretty much all the accessories had been claimed. 

www.target.com
My scarf is the one in the top left!

After that, I continued to shop around Target for other Missoni items (this is the biggest collaboration Target has ever done. Missoni created items for pretty much every department, from housewares to baby clothes.) As I was walking around I kept coming across guys who were on the phone with their girlfriends and describing to them what was left, which I found utterly amusing. These guys were just like me, briskly walking from section to section, trying to grab whatever Missoni items were left to please their significant others. At one point, I thought this one guy was following me, presumably waiting for me to change my mind and put the scarf down. I think he finally realized that I was set on buying the scarf and he eventually sulked off. 

Alas, they did not have the super sleek and cool martini glasses anymore. And they were sold out online.

www.target.com

After my afternoon of shopping, I ended up with the Missoni heels, scarf, barrettes, and floppy hat. This afternoon proved to be a bit stressful for me, considering I was ready for an afternoon of leisurely shopping. But overall I am happy with my purchases.

www.target.com
My barrettes are the zig-zag ones in the bottom right

No comments: