Sunday, September 15, 2013

Fresh, Fit and Fab: 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target Review

If there's a lesson to be learned from designer collaborations, it's that whatever your expectations built from pictures and previews online, should be lowered in store.  It comes to no surprise that while stylish, the product can often be lacking in fit, material or quality in real life.  Let me be clear, however, this is not the case with Phillip Lim.  This is not to say that the collection is perfect, but in the land of Target/Kohl's/H&M/etc. collaborations, it's damn near close.
The fit was nearly perfect on most of the clothes I tried on.  While quality at best is off (it's Target, what do you expect?), I think it goes without saying that this is something special given the amount of press and "prep" articles it received across the internet.  Fortunately, living in Atlanta, we get much less of the mayhem experienced in other cities.  I got to the Target at Atlantic Station a little past 11 a.m., right before a throng of people followed.  Since it was still rather stocked, I was able to snag pieces that I were right up my style and a some that I probably wouldn't have normally touched with a three foot pole.
Phillip Lim x Target Floral Peplum Tank
Imagine my surprise when the floral peplum tank not only fit me in all the right ways, but actually looked good.  The fit was perfect, hugging all the right curves.  This would in turn be indicative to most of tops of the collection.
Left to right:  Gray Sparkle Tank, Navy/Green Pullover, Boom French Terry Sweatshirt
The dresses of the collection were more hit or miss.  While it looks great on a say a 6 ft, size 0 model, on a normal person's body, the practicality of it was severely questioned.  Hence the facial expression in the photo below.  The fit for some lacked like the gray sweater dress, but was amazing for illogical buys such as the animal print knit dress.
Left to right:  Gray Sweater Dress,  Animal Print Knit Dress 
When the collection gets it right though, it gets it incredibly right.  Going into the entire review endeavor, I kept telling myself the one dress that I could not buy no matter how in love with it I was.  In all honesty, it came with its fair share of reservations from what I would usually buy (it's sequinned, it's from Target, where would I wear it, etc.).  Of course, the coup de grĂ¢ce came last.  It was love.  Absolute, unadulterated perfection.
Navy Sequin Dress
In the end, I came out with the Navy Sequin Dress and the Gray Sparkle Tank.  In the land of designer collaborations, this one was overall a home run.  The prices made sense, with my total for the two being around $100, and there was no better fit than some of these items.  Great job Phillip Lim, and thank you for taking my hard-earned money.

Any other thoughts from those of you who checked out the collaboration?  What did you end up coming out with?  Give me a holler in the comments below.

1 comment:

  1. Haha love your expression in the photo with the grey dress!

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