The Recessionista Reviews Kate Young for Target

There’s plenty of Kate Young at my local Target

I stopped by Target tonight to check out the new Kate Young collection.  The racks at my store are full of the dresses.   There are some cute things here, but shoppers simply aren’t snapping it up.  I think there are two reasons: price and lack of  designer name recognition.  The dresses are well designed, better I think than the previous Prabal Gurung collection.  Some look more expensive than others. A few of the long dresses do  look like they resemble Hollywood Red Carpet styles, but  most just look like what they are: Target imitations of glamorous styles.

The selection of Kate Young dresses

   So here’s what I like in the collection.    The drop waist dress with the bow belt in purple, pink and black is a stand-out.  It’s generously sized (for Target), drapes nicely, and has a great keyhole back and cool exposed gold zipper.  The dress looks classy.  At my local store, this was the best selling item in the line in the pink color (despite it’s $49.99 price tag.)   I like the look of the yellow beaded shift dress  (see photo above) at $59.99 but there weren’t any on the racks to evaluate in person.   The polka dot maxi dress with bow/bustle on the back is very cute. The dress is well done, although for $89.99, it may be out of the price range for most Target shoppers.  In my opinion, the vintage styled polka dress is better looking that the one shoulder red dress in the Target advertisements. The “Peter Pan collar dress”  is darling (although I would like it better without the shimmer in the stars in the fabric), it would be more classy is just black and white.  The peplum dresses are good looking (especially the navy lace and black combination.) The peplum dresses are nicely styled with a defined waist accented by a belt with a small belt.

The “misses” in this collection, in my opinion, are the tuxedo jackets, the hot pants and the body suits.   The jackets look cheap (not worth $49.99) and the body suits (for approximately $30.00)  are not “most haves” items.

The Kate Young for Target accessories are well priced and attractive.

Better priced and more appealing to the “mass-market” fashion buyer are the Kate Young for Target accessories.  I like the clutches in the satin and especially the patent box frame clutch.  The box frame clutch is really good looking and looks classy for $24.99.    The shoes are stylish pumps with the Neema Pump and the Novalee pump offering versatile styles for prom or a special evening out at $39.99.  I also like the $19.99 crystal stone necklace for a touch of sparkle that is discreet and subtle.

Overall, Kate Young for Target is a better designer collection than Target has put on the shelves in a while.  It’s just a bit overpriced for Target, in my opinion.  I think it will go on sale, and then it will sell.  It may take a good sale for consumers to discover it. There are so many great designer options at stores like TJ Maxx,  Marshalls , Neiman Marcus Last Call and designer shopping clubs like Gilt and Ideeli, that it’s hard for Target to dominate the low-priced designer space.  After all, why buy a polyester dress at Target when you can get something more upscale with better fabrication at an outlet or sample sale?