McQueen Target Goodies

I finally got it together to take pictures of my McQueen goodies from the Target collaboration! I'm apologizing for the quality of the photos in advance as I was anxious to get this done, and didn't set up my photo area with mannequin -- please ignore the ugly door background.

Purchases came wrapped in the special edition bags above (the other side has three Target logos towards the bottom with no other writing), with violet tissue paper in the tattoo print you'll see in one of the tops below.

This first picture is of the trench coat. It has a thick zipper set asymmetrically up the front with two zipped slash pockets at each side, and a belt. The zips are quite nice and thick, with a little dangly bit on the end. This was one of the few items I thought ran slightly big, most items ran very true to size. Retails for $79.99.

The second view is of the trench zipped and snapped up. Hard to see, but there is a snap at the collar, and an asymmetrical snap to the left.

I love this shrunken blazer, reminds me of an updated version of Yves Saint Laurent's "Le Smoking". I rolled up one sleeve so you could see the contrasting black/white pinstriped sleeve lining. As I said in my first post, I'm very petite so finding things like this that aren't too long-waisted is usually hard for me, but this fits great! Retails for $49.99.

I tried to take a closeup so you could see the tone on tone pinstripe, as well as the pockets and buttons at the sleeve.

This little bondage-inspired top is so cute on. You can adjust the cotton twill strap in front to make it more ruched, which will pull the hemline (in the front) up a bit, and also create a deeper neckline. When you do this, the strap hangs below the hemline and reminds me of the old Vivienne Westwood bondage collection. I wore it out yesterday with my Sass and Bide Black Rats and it looked so cute, even with the vintage crochet granny sweater over (its freezing here in NY!) Retails for $24.99.

Closeup of the strap with d-ring.

This is the zigzag print McQ tee with tiger print. I love the way the graphic of the tiger with the "McQ" blends in with the zigzags. Simple sleeveless tee style, made out of lovely weight thick cotton. The pink is much more vibrant, closer to a fluorescent pink. Retails for $19.99.

Tattoo print asymmetrical top. Its actually a black tank, with the tattoo print as an extra piece draped over front and back, with a slim (not very voluminous) bubble style hemline that's a little longer than a regular tee shirt. Retails for $26.99.

Close up of the tattoo print, also the same as the tissue shown peeking out of the bag above. The difference being that this is blue, and the tissue is more violet in colour. There is also a dress with this pattern, but alas finding the right size was difficult, so I'll have to hunt it down when it hits the shops. The dress came with a belt and had a built in bra, and a lovely full skirt. A very 1950's sundress style.

This top and skirt are actually what makes up half of the look that many thought were a 1950's inspired dress. The blouse is a simple cotton sleeveless button down, with cotton twill piping around the chest in a square (I wish I could have gotten the close-up to show the design better.) I think you can barely make out the that the top button is hot pink! Retails for $29.99.

The skirt has a high-waist and is gored, with a lining that gives it some fullness. It's about knee length. It looks fabulous even though I'm so petite and normally something like this would make me look like a little kid playing dress-up! I think there might be a white version as well (both the top and skirt), and I love this so much I may have to get that as well. (No idea what that light spot is, but its probably from the flash as its not on the skirt.) Retails for $49.99.

My new favourite jeans! I love the faded grey colour, skinny leg, and the fit (no gaping waistline even with my small waist!) They aren't too low-waisted, and there's loads of stretch to the denim. I wound up buying two pairs as I couldn't tell which fit best. These were selling out quickly in the small sizes, and I got the very last size 3! There were only a few pairs of size 5's left, and one pair of size 1's. (Keep in mind I arrived at the first sale day about two hours after it was opened to the public.) There's studs around the top waistband, a few around the back (doesn't go all around the waistband, and there are no belt loops), and around the pockets. The back has simple straight across slashed pockets. All the pockets are lined in the same pattern as the hot pink zigzag McQ tee shirt above, but in a heavy cotton. Retails for $44.99.

The dress that made me sigh with desire, and nearly cry when I couldn't find my size. The insanely popular grey/black silk draped zigzag print dress. The skinny strap is actually part of the dress and not just for hanging purposes. The best way to describe the belt is that it's close to an obi; wider front that wraps around and then tie the narrower ends in front. It forms pockets at the waistline sides at the draped part of the skirt. The black/grey patterned fabric is 100% silk and the black belt and underskirt are lightweight cotton. This is the dress that everyone went crazy for, and I got the very last one on the selling floor (even had a sales assistant check the dressing room discards, and my husband, daughter, and I scoured every single corner of that massive warehouse!) Unfortunately, its not my size, and doesn't fit the friend I purchased it for ): and I'll have to pray I can get one in my size when the line releases to the public. Retails for $69.99.

Hot pink zigzag McQ tiger print 100% silk dress, same print as the tee above. Doesn't look like much on the hanger, but on it's got a very casual, boxy look that you can either dress up or down. The silk dresses it up, but thrown over jeans it becomes more of a relaxed style. I wound up going with the smallest size as it looked better tight across my hips and bum, with the top loose, rather than loose all over and a bit longer (as depicted in the ads.) The top has a twill trimmed boat neck that has a stud at the end of each side. Retails for $44.99.

I was rather surprised to see so many of these still on the racks as it looks fabulous on! The grey/ black graphic is interesting (reminds me of a photo negative), and the right side is ruched with a cotton twill strap and d-ring that you can adjust. There was also a tee in the same pattern both in the grey/black and black/white. It retails for $34.99.

I can't believe I found a flattering string bikini! I have what would be considered an hourglass figure and they usually tend to look trashy on me, but this one fits great and looks fab. The top and bottom are studded, and sold separately so if you need different sizes you can make your own match. This was another one that was nearly sold out in sizes small and medium. Each piece retails for $19.99.

The other swimsuit I purchased at the urging of my husband who thinks it looks amazing on me. I think I still need to try a larger size as the small feels very tight across the chest. However, as we all know with swimsuits, the next size up could be completely off with a saggy bum, or too-long waist, so I'll just have to see it on to make a decision. The detailing on this is really cute, one shoulder (skinny strap shown only so that it would hang properly on the hanger) with what looks like the same cotton twill piping as the other pieces (it isn't, its made of a stretchy swimsuit fabric) and a d-ring at the bottom of the straight piped line (on the solid pink section of fabric.) Retails for $34.99.

I usually only find one or two pieces from Target's designer collaborations, so I was very surprised to have found so many pieces I will get a lot of use out of. I think a few will actually wind up being classic pieces in my wardrobe, so while the price is high for Target, I feel the quality is there as well as the price per use breakdown makes it affordable. Yesterday I wound up wearing the pink tee and shrunken blazer with some shredded up jeans and my daughter said she wished she had the whole outfit for herself -- mind you, the child is 9 years old, but always gets compliments on her great sense of style!

Cheers!
Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen

New Shoe Lines

\Yesterday I learned of a new "rock 'n roll" influenced shoe line starting up called Luxury Rebel by footwear designer Jean-Michel Cazabat. Read the story entitled "Vicious Footwear" here at WWD. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this... hasn't every designer had a "rock 'n roll" inspired line? The shoes featured in the article aren't that special: hot pink, sequined, platform mules. Honestly, you'd find something cuter at Forever21 for next to nothing price-wise, and its not exactly a classic style so why pay a high price for something you'll be sick of in one season? The article claims the line will contain fifty different styles inspired by musical icons such as Sid Vicious (um, what the Vivienne Westwood Seditionaries boots not enough of an iconic look?) and will sell at high-end department stores and specialty boutiques.

In other shoe news; I'm actually very excited for Project Runway Season 4 winner Christian Siriano's line for Payless! The styles are very sexy and edgy, my only worry is that the quality won't be very good. I'd much rather pay a bit more for shoes and handbags made out of quality materials than buy a style I adore made out of cheap materials that won't last a season. This is one of my biggest beefs with Target's designer accessories collections. Great styles, but I've seen those handbags after about a solid month of use and they look about to fall apart. But I digress, back to Christian's line. He says its inspired by the Egyptian landscape, and will include five styles. The names are so very Christian: Slither, Saunter, SheDevil, Sand Strap and Strut! Shown above is "The Strut". I'm in love, they remind me of those killer Rodarte shoes. There will be two handbags to coordinate with the shoes -- the Shanbag tote and Sassafras clutch. The line will be available exclusively in Payless stores and at payless.com in September. You can find out more information about the line as well as pictures of each style here. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Cheers!

Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen

Alexander McQueen for Target Pre-Sale

Entry to the Alexander McQueen for Target pre-sale.

On 14 February we headed to the Alexander McQueen for Target pre-sale in NYC. I expected more of a sample sale mayhem situation, so it was quite a lovely surprise to find so many art installations, in a massive warehouse space with lots of room to roam. Don't get me wrong, things were being snatched up with the most coveted of items plucked out of stock more than likely at the party the evening before (such as the scarves and the oh so lovely zigzag grey/black dress.) Dressing room lines were at least one hour wait, so thankfully due to some dressing f0rethought on my part (I dressed as is if its was a sample sale and tried everything on over to check sizing) I was able to snag some goodies. A few things were impossible to tell sizing so I wound up purchasing multiple sizes. And due to the lack of mirrors anywhere, trying to figure out if something looked good was yet another obstacle to overcome. Thankfully with the help of my husband, daughter and other shoppers ("Oh that looks so good on you! I'm going to try it too!"), mobile phone cameras, and hand mirrors, we could get a fairly decent idea.

I'm really impressed with the quality of this collection in comparison to Target's past designer collections. The fabrications are of exceptionally nice quality, with many items in silk, and the manufacturing looks to have been done very well. My only beef is that this is cheap for McQueen, but definitely Target's highest priced line thus far. I think only McQueen could get me to pay those prices at Target, unless of course someone like Manolo Blahnik or Christian Louboutin (powers that be hear my fervent prayers!) decide to do a line for them! That said, I'm still extremely happy with the quality of the garments I purchased and was happily surprised when I got home to play dress up and discovered even more little touches you wouldn't normally find in a Target designer collaboration (such as contrasted black and white lining inside the shrunken blazer sleeves or the pink zigzag lining in the studded jeans pockets.)

I'm completely happy with the items I was able to purchase, and will probably hunt down the others I'm coveting soon as they hit the Target site and stores. Its already been a few days and my studded jeans are my new favs -- comfy, great fit, and I've gotten compliments. Aren't those the things we look for in an article of clothing? (Aside from price and durability, but c'mon, fashion first!)

Here are a few more images of the art. Most seemed to include images of the items in the collection, I believe to be used for advertising purposes.

This was probably one of my favourites, composed of fabric scraps.

This one was difficult to photograph, but beautiful, like a fountain that contained holograph type images.

Who can resist Blythe? And Blythe in rebel mode? Unfortunately the tee in the first picture wasn't available, I'm not sure if it was sold out or they hadn't brought that piece for sale. I was told by a very sweet sales assistant that not all the pieces in the line were brought in for the pre-sale.


The second outfit looks amazing on. It's a full skirt with a high waist, with a very simple button down blouse with some piping detail on front (in all the preview pics everyone was thinking it was a dress.) I'm very petite, and didn't think I could pull off something so voluminous but it looks so great on, and I know will become one of my spring favs.

Sorry this one is so blurry, people kept stepping in front so I had to take a quick shot. I'm not sure if the pink is the lion tee or the silk dress both with the McQ and lion pattern . Both are great, but they do run a bit large (surprisingly.) In the video shown on the Target site (Alexander McQueen for Target), they show the dress quite loose, but I wound up preferring it a bit tighter across the hips and bum, with the top loose, rather than loose all over. Again, being so petite this style looked better on me, as one size up just sort of hung looking very unflattering and just slightly too long. The tee is definitely a fun piece to add some colour and a great print to a simple jeans or skirt look.

I believe these last three are also going to be the print ads.

Over the next few days I will try to take pictures of some of the items I purchased. I haven't seen any pictures available of certain styles that I'm ablsolutely in love with and would love to show them to you.

Lastly, whilst I've kept a private blog for quite some years, this is my first foray into public blogging. So please bear with me as I get my footing.

Cheers!
Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen

About Idee Fixe & Punk Glam Queen

About Punk Glam Queen

Here is my complete bio continued from the "About Me" profile page.

Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen is located in NYC and Westchester County, New York, USA.

I'm a published author/ writer/ blogger; a mother, wife and lunatic. I was one of the original CBGB punks back in the late 70s and and I was one of the last people to walk out their doors on closing night. It was a dismal day for the NYC alternative music scene, but Patti Smith performed with tremendous heart and soul.

I've led a charmed life working in popular NYC nightclubs & boutiques (got to meet damn near everyone on the music scene back then plus some of my rock gods; if I told you who is responsible for my first taste of JD, you'd pee yourself) in the late 70's through to the late 80's.

Basically for the whole of the 80's decade I was also a part-time indie designer selling to top "alternative" East Village boutiques. My designs were featured in film, magazines and I even made it to be featured in a "What's Hot" issue of Rolling Stone! They were worn by rock 'n rollers, celebs, models, and on stage by varied performers.

In the early 1990s I opened a flea market stall at NYC's infamous "26th St" and "Garage" flea markets, and sold to many designers, models, actors and actresses, and the rock 'n roll crew. Later I opened a brick and mortar shop selling my designs, new and vintage clothing, as well as boutique cosmetics (we had the distinction of being one of NYC's first boutiques to carry Urban Decay and Hard Candy when they were still a boutique brand and before they were sold to department stores -- Urban Decay's website was the very first to mention the shop back in '96), Manic Panic products (hair dye and cosmetics), and a large selection of wild wigs and hair pieces.

The vintage/ new shop mutated into yet another venture selling metaphysical books and gifts. After approximately 6 months in business we were known internationally as NYC's "premier witchcraft shop" and we had to move to a bigger retail space! I closed the shop in June of '06 after 10 years in business, due to the lack of economic recovery in NYC's West Village post-9/11.

I now live the bucolic life (not quite) raising my daughter and shaking things up in the suburbs, while writing; ghost writing, blogging and twittering (oh yes, there is much ghost blogging and twittering going on); editing; blogging and guest blogging; working on a novel; writing writing writing; and buying more shoes.

Interested in my writing or consulting services? Want me to cover your NYC area event? Have a great clothing/ accessories/ shoe/ beauty related business or blog and you'd like more publicity? Contact me via email and we'll talk!

About Idee Fixe

I started Idee Fixe as a way to write for my own and friends pleasure. I wanted to write about the things that I wasn't being paid to write about. "Idee Fixe" is a French idiom for "obsessions", literally translated it means "fixed ideas". Since I'm writing here about things I love and/or obsessed with, I thought the title suited my blog perfectly. Expect things to evolve as I'm not one to fight change, and will definitely adapt to new ideas as they come along. I hope to bring you quality writing, humour, and hopefully unleash ideas, places, things you've not encountered on every blog out there. I do have posts planned that contain pictures of me in my fun 70s-80s days as they were too amusing to keep to myself! What you won't find here is "outfit" pictures -- I may occasionally post a recent picture of myself if I deem it worthy of circulating the Internets, but I'm terribly camera shy. In addition I'm bored to death with most blogs that do those types of posts. I say "most" as I do have a few exceptions that are my favourite blogs (Kingdom of Style comes to mind first). Besides, there is so much more out there to see!

Cheers!

Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen