Target To-Go Demystified

Thursday I had the chance to pop by the Target To-Go shop to preview how it works. One bonus of shopping the Target To-Go shop is that they have four pieces from the upcoming Rodarte collection which won't drop in stores and online until 20 Dec! I must tell you if you are planning to go, make sure to bundle up! Being near the river you get those brisk, cold gusts that will make shopping outdoors uncomfortable if you aren't properly dressed. Other than that, its a really quick, fun way to pick up some gifts quickly and already wrapped and ready to give. Here's the low-down.

When you arrive, you will get a clipboard with pen. On the clipboard there is a numbered list with small pics of each of the items available for sale. The top part is where you mark off your choices, and add your name for pick-up. The number in the right hand corner is the number you will use for pick-up.

Clipboard with order form at top.

Next you move to the windows, where each item is displayed, with its number. Gifts include electronics (a video camera and Wii Fit were two things of note), clothing (four pieces from the Rodarte for Target collection), beauty (Burt's Bee's), and more. If you're unsure of sizing on the Rodarte dresses, you won't be able to try them on but they can be exchanged in any Target store. (You'll probably hit the store when the rest of the collection drops anyway!) The windows show gifts by prices, under $25, under $50 and more.








Now you move on to the registers where you pay and your order is put in to be pulled. After paying, you'll move down to the pick-up area where you give them the number on your order form and are then handed a reusable Target shopping bag that contains your order. Each item is wrapped in a reusable gift bag, and tied up with a bow and a gift card for you to fill out! (Seriously, I want more of these, will have to stalk Target to see if they have them for sale!) Voila! You're done! If there isn't a long line, the whole process takes less than five minutes. Thursday they had the waffle truck outside (thank goodness, the hot chocolate did a good job of warming me up, and the waffles are pure heavenly indulgence -- follow their twitter here) so hopefully they or another truck will be available to warm cold toes!

The line of registers and pick-up area at the very end.

Behind the registers.

My Target To-Go purchase: reusable tote, reusable gift bag, catalog.

Also, if you spend $100 and over, Target will offer FREE same-day delivery to your door between Battery Park and 99th Street! Shop, then relax that you don't have to lug your purchases around!

There are promotions going on such as Rachel Bilson kicking off the official opening at 9.30 on Friday morning. Also sign up for their twitter (http://twitter.com/TargetToGoNY) to find gift tags scattered around the city. Bring the tag to the Target To-Go shop for a gift card worth anywhere from $10-$500! The bonus is that for every gift card redeemed in the Target To-Go store, Target will donate $100 to the Salvation Army to benefit families in need. Target will also be giving out $100 gift cards to families in need on opening day so that they can do some holiday shopping (sadly I know for many this will be the only holiday shopping they do, damn this economy!)

Edited to add: Here is a twitpic of what the tags look like: http://twitpic.com/t1x2p

I caved in and purchased the peach Rodarte dress. The vintage-y style appealed to me, and it was a decent price. Granted, I have many vintage slips in a similar style, however at this point they've become too precious for me to wear out so this will be a great alternative. I also see it as a great piece for layering (I'm constantly cold, so layering is my life!)

Rodarte Peach Dress, $39.99

Target To-Go is located at the entrance to the High Line, on Washington St. corner of Gansevoort St. in the West Village. Its open Friday 11 through Sunday 13 December, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

So are you planning to hit the Target To-Go shop this weekend? What did you buy?

Cheers!

Tuesday Goodies

When I arrived home today I had a package from "My Catwalk" in Australia in my mailbox. I had purchased the regular Sass and Bide Black Rats awhile ago, and have worn them so much that I decided I needed the PVC version. Being a compulsive bargain hunter, I searched around for a better price than the $240 I found in shops and online, and came across their site. They quoted prices in US dollars, and had a special free shipping scheme to the US, and the best part was that they were almost $100 less than the usual US price. Helloooo PVC Rats! I'm a total sucker for packaging, and was thrilled to see the attention to detail they put into this simple little package. A grosgrain bow around the box, which my daughter immediately appropriated and said she wants made into a headband.

They don't look as shiny in the pic as they really are. But they seem to be just like the old stretch vinyl I used to make hip hugger leggings out of back in the mid-80's. (Gosh I wore those to death.) Its been so cold here that I've been wearing my regular Rats as a layering piece, like tights, so these will be fun to try out the same way.

I also hit up Target today, hoping they'd put out some of the McQueen pieces early so I could get a head start and get the correct sizes for a few items purchased in the pre-sale. They had exactly two scant racks, no shoes (boo!) and not that many pieces from the line. I was able to get the scarves and grey/ black zigzag dress in my size. The blue strapless tattoo print dress is gonna have to be a no-go for me. It has a built in bra, which only succeeded in squishing me flat. Exactly as the one shoulder swim suit does. I'm quite happy with what I've been able to get, and I suppose I'll stalk Target's online site to get in on the little booties.

Oh and btw, the scarves are quite generously sized, I can easily wear them as a sarong low on my hips in the summer. I tried to measure without stretching the silk and got a measurement of 45 inches square.

Now that I'm done (well...) I promise to stop talking about this McQueen stuff. I have to crack down and get writing on a magazine feature I'm on deadline for by next week. But hope to do a post on some vintage in between.

Cheers!
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 forethought 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 absolutely 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!
Punk Glam Queen