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Saturday, September 21, 2013

My Philip Lim for Target Review and Haul!

Hi Angels!

Back with an update on my complete Philip Lim Haul from the Limsanity that swept Target stores across the nation.  I was lucky in that I live in a less... ahem...  fashion preoccupied part of the country so there was no standing in line at 7 a.m. for me.  Nope, no throwing elbows or fighting crowds.  In fact, I forgot all about it in an effort to abide by my "No shop September" pledge as pennance for all my shopaholic sins this past summer (a mess!).  Well I made the mistake of checking my Instagram feed right before church and saw adorable reminders popping up as to why I absolutely needed to check out the collection!  So after church I hopped in my car and (tires screeching) headed over to the nearest Target, fully expecting to find hoards of women tugging at opposite ends of the same handbag and... Nope.  Nothing.  I found a peaceful, organized, and.... FULLY stocked 3.1 Phillip Lim section with a good amount of handbags available.  My Target didn't stock every single item in the collection, sadly, but they had a pretty decent selection.
So I did what any good sister/daughter/fashionista would do-- I got on the horn and took orders from my sisters and mom.  By the time they were done and I picked up everything that I was too chicken to leave behind (lest I regret it later-- I mean at less than $55 a bag, you really can't "overbuy") this is what my cart looked like.  



Mind you, the picking and discussion took at least 45 minutes.  And people who were walking by (and, shockingly ignoring the collection altogether) looked at me like I had two heads.  But in the name of affordable limited edition fashion I carried on.  
I will start by saying that most of the clothes were not my cup of tea.  For one, I didn't like that the embellishments on some of the dresses looked cheap and lackluster even for the low price:




I'm sure plenty of people disagree but those were a pass for me.  I liked the "Boom" sweatshirt, thought it was really cute:




But then I asked myself how often I would really wear it and questioned how that vibrant red in the print would look after a few passes through the wash.  Realizing that this piece would quickly become wear-only-at-home-clothes for me, at $29.99 I decided to pass (After seeing Jessics Alba wearing it my resolve was tested but... I stil don't own it.)

I considered this sweater:



But then I decided it looked "itchy" and very likely to pill (which is the bane of my existence!) so... Pass for me.   

This trench coat actually piqued my interest-- and the quality for the price is quite good.  I just already have something similar from GAP that I barely wear as it is so I passed, but this coat, which is still available online, I think is a grab for anyone who doesn't have a trench coat.



Ok so by now you're probably like "Well what did you get already???"  

Here's what I got:

The tiger t-shirt (which I only later realized was a piece from the men's collection but whatever it's still really cool):



This animal print dress, which I love because of the ruched fabric (always a friend to my figure), and the mustard and cobalt color combination (I love cobalt for fall!) and the asymmetric hemline.  This dress will accessorize up or down easily for work, play, or date night.  I can even see rocking it very casually with a classic pair of white Converse and a denim jacket.  A versatile piece for $29.99:


And... that was it for me with the clothes.  Still got that sweatshirt in my crazy head...  LOL give me strength.  

On to the accessories.  This is where I went HAM and am still deciding on what's a keeper and what's a return.  Although as a side note I could turn a pretty nice profit on what I don't want from what I'm seeing in the resale market for these on Ebay and Instagram.  But I'm not  into that-- I'd rather give someone else a chance to have a piece and return to the store. Total sap I know.  

Here's my collection all together:



A. Mess.  Don't judge me.  As my fellow pretty prescribers and I have determined, this extremely affordable collection has just done a favor for all of the much more expensive pieces in my collection.  It bought them a nice little vacation in their dust bags because these puppies will be my go-to bags for fall.  Something very comforting about being caught in the rain with bag that didn't cost $1800 and isn't made of leather.  So... Apologies in advance for the Lim overload you may be sensing when you see my future daily outfit posts (follow @drpurple81 to see!)
An overall review of the bags is, for a price range of $34.99 to $54.99 there's really not much to complain about.  They have a luxurious feel and look a lot like leather, and inside they have lots of organizing cimpartments and places for your multiple gadgets and lipstick.  All have either a zipper or magnetic closure which is a pet peeve of mine when I think of the beloved Louis Vuitton Neverfull.  Talk about an invitation to reach in and grab my wallet in a crowd!  But I digress....     
I didn't find any dried globs of glue or frayed trims on any of these bags.  Sure, you may find a loose stitch here and there to snip.  I'm just making this point because I've heard a lot of harsh critiques on the quality of these bags and I'm wondering what it is people are expecting for the price.  A miracle?  As an owner of many much more expensive bags I will tell you firsthand that no bag below a $900 price point is 100% exempt from this loose stitch flaw.  None.  

My absolute faves of the accessories collection include this scarf:


Fabulous because of the print and because it's HUGE but lightweight which makes it super duper versatile. 

Next fave is this adorable mini version of the Pashli (a gorgeous and popular $900 bag in the designer's non-Target collection) and it's a cross-body!!!!!  Ok well for me that's exciting.  I love having the hands free option.

My pic:



Stock pic:




Next fave is this medium satchel, because it's roomy but not huge, and looks way more expensive than it is.  In fact I'm substituting this bag for my Marc Jacobs Blake bag to give it a rest since they don't make it the same way anymore-- no more genuine brass details in newer versions :(.

My pic:


Stock pic-- it's also a cross body!!!!  And by now you know how happy that makes me:



And I adore this large tote in black and grey/taupe:

My pic:



Stock pic:




It is "tough" looking as my sister described it.  Looks more expensive than it is for sure and I like the extra hardware on the side where the bag expands.  For most handbags this is a snap button-- I love that they placed a zipper here instead. It will be my go-to Fall work bag and it transitions well enough to night but...  If you're like me, and you know you're going out after work a lot (and let's face it, a giant tote isn't cute at the bar) you will keep your phone, keys, I.D. and lipstick in a clutch that fits inside your large work tote.  I'm loving GAP leather clutches for this exact purpose.  And this bag is roomy enough for that, a cardigan, small umbrella and all your other workday essentials.  

So that wraps it up for my 3.1 Philip Lim for Target Haul and review.  
Hope you enjoyed this tour and I would love to hear your thoughts on this collection, or any past Target designer collaborations.  Anyone else looking forward to next Spring--  Peter Pilotto!  

Til next time Angels... Happy Shopping!









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