Prabal Gurung for Target: Nice Design; Sometimes Poor Execution Part 2

Three looks for the Prabal Gurung for Target collaboration.

Prabal Gurung brought fun patterns, bright colors and feminine shapes to Target. Yesterday, I reviewed the shoes in the collection, finding that the designs were nice but sometimes the construction was poor.

I was able to buy items from the collection both online and in my local store.

I tried more of the clothing than shoes, so I decided that since this collection contained both, I would review clothing for the first time on this blog. Moreover, the clothes are designed to go with the shoes, as the looks above show.

I purchased  this long sleeve tee in Nolita print ($19.99) to add a fun pop of color to my outfits.

I also purchased the long sleeve t-shirt in Floral Crush print ($19.99).

The two items of clothing I purchased were the long sleeve t-shirts in the two fun prints ($19.99). The Nolita print is bright uneven vertical stripes. The Floral Crush pattern has bright flowers that fade out to white. 

The materials were soft, but not sheer. The sizing runs large.

I thought the shirts would add a pop of color under black at work or dress up jeans. The floral print will also look cute with shorts as the weather warms up. At $19.99, I was happy to buy both.

I was less excited about the rest of the collection. Below are the items I tried on.

Prabal Gurung for Target: Nice Design; Sometimes Poor Execution Part 1

Prabal Gurung brought his patterned clothing and fun femininity to Target. The designer is known for dressing both Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. 

The Target collaboration includes shoes, clothing and accessories. After trying on both shoes and clothes, I found that the items well-designed and that they came at a nice discount (the most expensive shoes were $39.99, while most clothing ranged from $19.99 to $49.99). However, the execution varied, sizing was not standard and materials used were sometimes poor.

The line outside Target in Manhattan the morning the collection came out.

Shoppers quickly grab items from Prabal Gurung for Target's collection. Images from Racked.

Neverthless, the collection drew large crowds and some items quickly sold out online. Not wanting to sleep out, I shopped online. If you spend over $50 shipping is free, and you can return items to the store. Also, if you keep checking, items become available after previously being sold out. I finally made it to my local store this weekend, and found that they still had some clothes and shoes, including items that were sold out online. A store associate said the items will likely go on clearance soon.

Lets discuss the shoes first.

The Prabal Gurung for Target shoe collection included pointy-toed flats in solid colors and a colorful pattern. Picture from Elle.

Is High Style Worth Low Prices? The Drawbacks of Designer Discount Lines at Stores Like Target, H&M

A clip from CNBC's Luxury Boom explaining why you won't find Manolo Blahnik shoes at H&M.

Crowds lined up today to get their hands on Marni’s collection for H&M. Within an hour, some racks and even mannequins were empty, according to The LA Times.

Marni is the latest in a long line of designers in the past few years to make lines for a fraction of their regular prices for stores like Target and H&M. The trend is considered by many to have started with Isaac Mizrahi’s line for Target. Since then, designers such as Versace, Jason Wu, Missoni and more have made collections. Shoe designers, such as Dolce Vita and Miss Trish of Capri have also made collections.

Crowds for Marni at H&M 

Yet, some designer brands, notably Manolo Blahnik will not be showing up on mass retailer shelves any time soon.