Returns of Target 20th Anniversary Collection are in-stores and online

In you didn’t get the chance to get a piece of Target’s recent release of their 20th Anniversary collection for Designer apparel & accessories,  here’s some good news–the returns are coming in.  So, before you turn to Poshmark or eBay and pay inflated prices, look at your local Target store for items from the Target Design Partners.  At my local California Target stores a lot of the apparel is returning to the shelves. Selected pieces are also available for sale at Target.com. Back on the racks at Target stores I have spotted Anna Sui dresses, Phillip Lim 3.1 for Target separates with the “leopard” print, Phillip Lim pleather handbags, Missoni knits and luggage as well as a good deal of Lilly Pulitzer dresses and accessories. I’ve even seen a few Zac Posen and Rodarte dresses mixed in with other women’s apparel items.  At the downtown San Francisco Target (aka San Francisco Central)  store on Mission St., there’s a very good selection of all the collection items still on the original display racks.  The Target Manhattan Beach store in Los Angeles also seems to have plenty of stock.  The “Black Friday” storm the store level of excitement about this collection has faded.

Missoni for Target accessories and knitwear are still on the racks in store at Target

If you’re still looking to pick up a piece from the  Target 20th anniversary collection, if you go to your local Target store today  (the 2 week return deadline is 9/29) or this week, the odds are good that you will find something at the Target prices.  If you wait a little longer, you may even find pieces on clearance that consumers are not clamoring to buy. Target RedCard customers are granted 30 days to return pieces. so that means returns will still be coming in during October.  You can expect a steady stream of returns for the Target 20 collection coming in to Target stores over the next few weeks.

Left behind: Phillip Lim 3.1 handbags and leopard print apparel at my local Target store

What happened with this release? Why are items from one of Target’s greatest hits, Missoni for Target , back on the racks? It seems the excitement for some of these items has died down since their original release.  The heavy canvas skirts from Jason Wu no longer create the same level of excitement as they did as when Jason Wu was designing for First Lady Michelle Obama.

Consumer’s excitement about low-priced designer collaborations has changed. There are many more designer collaborations in market now there were 20, 10 and even 5 years ago. Quite simply, consumers now have many more choices  since the original release of these Target designer collections. I think consumers (including myself) are far more discriminating in their choices of designer labeled goods at discount retailers.  I’d rather buy something from the designer’s brand line on sale at Net-a-Porter, Nordstrom or Shopbop, than buy some of the Target items because of the quality.  While there are some great items from this collaboration, there are also some repeats of items that were poor quality when they were originally sold by Target.  It’s important to note that when Target released many of these items as their “Go” collections, they were sized for juniors, not women.   That means many of them, particularly Zac Posen and Rodarte, ran a bit small and weren’t always well-received by women who knew these designers and were looking for a better fit than what Target provided.   The relaunch of the 20th Anniversary Collection features plus sizes, but the original junior’s sizing for some of the collections, hasn’t seemed to change much.

This “Gossip Girl” inspired Anna Sui dress is coming back to Target

Review of Target 20th Anniversary Designer Collections: the best pieces for the price

If you’re looking to still score a piece from the Target designer reboot, here are my recommendations based on quality and price.

• The “Gossip Girl” inspired Anna Sui cream lace overlay dress (above)
• The Missoni sweater dresses
• The Phillip Lim 3.1 pleather handbags (check the magnetic closure on the bag before you buy.  Some of them won’t clasp closed once they are opened.)    The bags are good looking and I am still using the bags I bought from the original launch of Phillip Lim at Target.
• The Phillip Lim 3.1 Cherry Blossom Blouse is a beautiful print and an easy to wear casual style that makes it a winner.  I also like the Cherry Blossom Print dress, but I haven’t seen any of those coming back in stock at Target yet.
• The Rodarte Camisoles with lace trim.  These look like vintage lingerie and look great under open necklines as a “peek a boo” insert.
• The Michael Graves tea pot and ice bucket.  These are great looking home accessories.  There are still ice buckets left, but sadly I haven’t seen the tea pots in the returns mix yet.
• The Jason Wu Milu the Cat scarf and tote. I bought the scarf for my mother–it’s beautiful and a great deal for the price. I’m still looking to get the tote as I haven’t seen this back in stores yet.
• The Issac Mizrahi coats, particularly the pink Paddington Bear style duffel coat, are nicely done.

What did you think of the Target 20th Anniversary Collection readers? Did you buy items only to return them? Are there items you are still looking for? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. If you’re still looking to buy the Target 20th Anniversary Collection, keep checking Target online and your local store as the returns are still coming back.