Last week, Jeff and I had were lucky to be amongst the attendees at the Target x Phillip Lim launch party. The attendees were many and although we arrived 30 minutes ahead of doors opening, by the time we made it inside, shelves were being wiped clean. If the ferocious appetites of the fashion set for this collection is any indication, Target hit it out of the ball park with this collaboration.
I quickly made my way through the crowd grabbing what I could find forgoing drinks and temporarily overlooking the interactive screen that featured style setters from many cities including our own DJ Lani Love for Chicago. After I found the mini trapeze bag that resembled the Pashli in yellow, the leopard print flounce skirt, the floral print shirt dress and the boom scarf and sweater dress I took a moment to take in the scene. Fashionistas had struck and while I did better than most, I missed out on the leopard print sweater and the innerwear/ sleep wear that looked ever so adorable draped in the arms of others in line.
Apparently celebs like Solange Knowles and Jessica Alba were in attendance as well as Phillip Lim himself. I never saw much of any of them since the shopping event soon broke out in frenzy and I overheard some of the fashion set complain that Alba wasn't on the list but not likely to be turned away.
What I was most impressed with was the relative quality of so many of the pieces for a collaboration. Most of the pieces look impressively good and not like a Target collaboration but more like Lim's signature line itself.
The mini version of the Pashli bag has a dull pebbled leather appearance that doesn't look too plastic-y. It is a little stiff but nothing that affects it's performance. The front closure on the pocket looks like it locks closed but is actually a magnet. Some of the hardware had minor scratches which I am guessing were made long before the pieces hit shelves. The hardware was a nice brushed brass finish that doesn't look cheap. In some of the larger styles of bags I noticed the pockets got a bit skewed during application and didn't look great.
The Boom Scarf I picked up is printed poly chiffon. It is pretty smooth and even doesn't have a shiny quality to it. Probably as nice as poly can get but at the end of the day still poly.
The leopard print skirt has a nice vibrant tone and shiny satin elastic waistband. The fabric is a poly twill has good body and a nice matte appearance. There is just the right amount of flounce without being skimpy.
The printed shirtdress was one of the winners I picked up. The colors were beautiful and the fabric a nice stretch cotton/nylon. The fabric has a bit of a lustrous quality to it that I am hoping will last with washing.. The fit was very flattering on my boyish figure as well since the skirt doesn't cling too much.
There was a tuxedo shift that I didn't pick up that looked pretty awesome with it's matte black crepe and white satin lapels that were nice and clean looking. It was beautiful and looked pretty luxe but it wasn't quite my style.
Finally the Boom sweater dress. This one doesn't come off as quite as nice as the other pieces. Up close the sweater does not feel amazing and I didn't love the poly flounce on the skirt. I may remove this because unless I was about 7-8" taller the proportions felt wrong on my 5'3" frame.
However this piece is quite eye catching and a lot of fun. I may exchange it for the sweat shirt version that I was hoping to get my hands on.
I can't wait for the rest of the collection to hit stores this September 15th (which happens to be my birthday), can you?
