Hypothetical Shopping: Anna Sui for Target

I went to Target today to kill some time and I ended up hitting one with the Anna Sui stuff. So I figured I would try it on and consider buying something. After years and years, seeing collection after collection of these "massclusive" designer collaborations, I have become increasingly indifferent to them. They just don't move my mountains. In previous collections I would at least make impulse buys only to return the items within Target's 90 day policy or watch them rot in my closet until they were moved to the donation pile. Therefore, I knew going into it that if I wasn't in love I wasn't going to drop the cash. Especially since this collaboration was more expensive than those previous, with many dresses at $60!

Overall, the quality was better than typical Go! International Target collections. Some of the materials used were natural fabrics (silk, cotton) but a lot of it was polyester. Many of the dresses are sleeveless but made of thick fabrics that make them seasoned for fall or winter. I can easily imagine them styled but if I am paying $60 for a target dress I don't want to have to think about finding the right layered pairings.

Sizing was typical juniors section Target. The dress on the left was an 11, and somewhat snug around my hips without tights or a shaper. The fabric and details on this one were really nice. It would look great with a black turtleneck, opaque tights, and boots. The dress on the right was an XL (the only one left) and it was, as described, XL. I had to gather the dress in the back with the belt to make it look fitted but the sleeves were so billowy that it was clearly too big. The polyester fabric reminded me of the scores of unbreathable vintage dresses I purged from my closet a while back.

The dress on the left had great details and could be dressed up easily for a more formal occasion. That is a size 11. The dress on the right was silk but it made me look quite dumpy. That was also an 11. I wanted to try on the tablecloth dress with the blue bow but they didn't have it.

As much as I love Anna Sui's bohemian goth femininity, I didn't think it was worth the price point for Target. Especially when you can often score real Anna Sui stuff on ebay for around the Target retail. Speaking of ebay, if I find that I really do want something, inevitably it will be available for years, neutralizing the "limited edition" aspect of these massclusive collaborations.