“What’s great about this country is America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.” -Andy Warhol.
WARNING: This is long winded, a little angry and truthful. Skip to the bottom to just see the pieces that I scored.
Many who are writing about the Missoni for Target whirlwind appear to be either upper class or upper middle class. Some balk at the quality of anything in a department store while others aren’t snooty but are armed with charge cards. Then there’s one camp who espouse to being huge Missoni fans while the others say that it’s ugly. (If you think it’s ugly that’s fine. It’s a preference. A preference can’t be wrong. It doesn’t make the wealthy smarter than you.)
I am not one of them so I thought I’d write a post from the opposite end, the poor end, the small town poor end.
Some would say that’s the nature of fashion. I don’t do fashion. I do style. I do what I like. So I love some of this stuff. I think that some is ugly and some is just not for me. I’m also not going to sit here and act like I know the history of Missoni. I was vaguely familiar with it like many things that I would never worry about being able to afford (like a Benz).
While growing up my still small town was even smaller. We had a Super Kmart, a bit later, a Hills, then eventually a Walmart. In 2006 we finally got a Target. I was familiar with Target because one of my favorite childhood films, Career Opportunities, takes place in a Target.
These designer collections are not new. Target has been collaborating with various designers since 2005. Being that I live in a small town it was very hit or miss as to whether or not our store would even decide to stock these collections. I literally laughed out loud when I read tweets and articles saying that “Missoni for Target” should have been called “Missoni for Target for eBay” because over the years if I really wanted something often my only options were Target.com (where the cheap stuff sells out fast) and eBay. I have a few things from previous collections that were not even sold around here and I bought them on eBay. As well as a couple that I bought directly from Target. I really love clothes. I’ve had people make special pit stops when these pieces come out just to go in a store and dig and dig until I find it, the one!
The problem with shopping for clothes from any site is that there isn’t a standardized sizing, especially in brands that will only be around for a few months. Conversely when our store did get some of the brands in, they were often either the safe styles (that I abhor) or the pieces were cut poorly (sideways seams, incredibly odd sizing, 2-3 sizes bigger or smaller than what you normally wear), this piece comes to mind. So not only are you taking a crap shoot when you buy online regarding sizing, you also have to hope that the collection that you chose was sewn correctly.
There are 2 more things that I should mention. I’m a former Target employee (who worked in the clothing department) but that’s pretty much moot because it was during a time frame that none of these lines were released. However they still had other really nice stuff that I couldn’t afford to buy even though I worked there. Stares wistfully at fabulous peacoat for 1 month while zoning but can never afford it. Plus I’ve been an eBay reseller basically since it was invented. So yeah, I flipped stuff. I’ve flipped stuff like this.
Perhaps you remember this Behnaz Sarapfour Taffeta Dress from 2006. I was an 8 at the time, the store only had 1s and 3s. At first I was mad, I was mad when my, then disordered eating, still wouldn’t let me wear this dress. At home I opened a rag mag & Kristen Bell was wearing it so I hopped on eBay and they were selling for more. What did I do? I hauled ass back to Target and flipped those.
Maybe you know nothing of eBay but this type of thing is not without risk and ridicule. When you buy it you have to get stared at by the cashier who knows that you are not a size 1. Then you put them up online and if they don’t sell then maybe you are stuck with them because Target has always had a wishy washy return policy. Maybe a buyer has remorse and tries to do a charge back on a brand new item. That’s what you do though when you are an eBay seller. Am I asking for pity or something, no? But this is reality. It’s more difficult to have to make your way doing things like this than a standard job that you will definitely get paid for. Why would someone do this? Maybe you have problems working outside of your house. (P.S. I don’t look down on any eBay sellers, obviously, I’m just trying to make an extreme point using myself as an example.)
Now who doesn’t give a fuck about things like this and calls you a troll? Celebrities who can buy full price designer clothes. Yeah, I like her slightly less now.
Also arggh inducing, to me, a major news site calling eBayers jerks.
END OF RANT, ONTO THE CLOTHES
I wasn’t getting paid until Thursday so even though I’d read online how everything was all gone I decided to check it out. They had one of the pieces that I had really wanted from the campaign. Occasionally the benefit of living in a small town in which liking clothes makes you even more of an outcast is that sometimes there’s still something left for you. Since there wasn’t much left they had grouped all of the clothing (including accessories and children’s clothes, the coats for girls were super cute) into one section.
I had been most excited about checking out the sweater dresses and sweater skirts, as seen in the ads. They didn’t have the dresses but I’m fine with that as I’ve rarely worn a sweater dress that is flattering to my figure. They did have a skirt in an orange print and an adorable hat! I hadn’t even known about the hats. I immediately knew that I wanted the hat but being poor had to walk around the store and think about it first.
Then I circled back and spotted another skirt that was pleated and matched the design of the hat. I found it much more flattering on me. I also saw this poncho and wasn’t sure if it was women’s or girl’s but tried it on anyway, just for this post (I don’t wear ponchos). It turns out that it was girl’s but I’m not thin and totally could have worn it. So if you like it then you might want to check the girl’s section at your local store. I would never wear all of that at once BTW, as it looks ridiculous but I was trying to be fast. I’m paranoid about getting yelled at for silly things (because it’s happened before, thanks Gab’s!). That’s also why there aren’t any digital camera pictures of the second outfit, just a pic from my phone.
Our store also had the babydoll lingerie set (so not trying that on with 2 way mirrors under fluorescent lights), the green v-neck sweater (but not in a size big enough for me to try on) and both styles of women’s shoes, flats and pumps. I only vaguely looked at those as they had tons in stock. (They were still in the shoe section, not shoved up front to garner attention like all of the other clothing). I already had my 2 pieces picked out so I didn’t try those on because I didn’t want to fall in love with them.
Since I bought these two pieces I just snapped some quick pics so you can get an idea on the design and quality. I haven’t had time to wear them yet but they seem to be good quality to me, but what do I know as a pauper.
Sizing: To give you a slight idea on fit in case your store has something left or you decide to buy something from an eBay SELLER (someone trying to meek out a living, not someone who is beneath you), here’s what I learned:
The skirts seemed to be true to size. I usually wear a large. They only had these in an XL. I felt like the orange skirt with the hip pockets hung too loosely (as is to be expected, but I could have made it work, if need be). The pleated skirt was also a XL and I always go up on pleated skirts so I like the fit on it. The poncho was a girl’s XL (14-16), so if you are a woman you could probably still easily rock it as like an 8 (or medium), comfortably. The hat fit my head fine and I have a wide head. So if you have a small head then it might be too large on you.
STILL AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM TARGET.COM (at the time of this post)
If you are unable to get anything or not able to afford it (I understand) and here’s my (probably unpopular opinion): I would go through all of the thrift stores in your area (I don’t mean for Missoni but much of this stuff is very 70s, my older brothers wore shirts like this 35 years ago) until you find something neat.
RECOMMENDED
My Previous Target Designer Collaboration Posts
Hat Review: Eugenia Kim for Target
Style File: Spring, I Reckon featuring Liberty of London
More Missoni Finds
The Missoni for Target Mission at frugalfashionaddict.com
Looting Target- My Missoni x Targ Haul at Notes fron the Dressing Room…
My Missoni Moment at stern j designs
Hi, I'm Mary. I share awesome things with the world. 
