In case you didn’t know yet because you live in a cave with no cable or 3g service, or you are just stumbling upon my blog while thawing out after being cryogenically frozen for 15 years (in which case, welcome!), there was a big sale at Target last week.
No, like, a BIG selling event. Not a sale. Most definitely not anything priced on sale… at least, not for Target.
Okay, you most likely have heard of this hoopla about Missoni (fact: I had to Google that shit to make sure I spelled it right, that’s how non-relevant it is to me), so I’m not here to discuss the actual product lines (which many claim were “ugly,” but not me, I NEVER SAID THAT YOU PSYCHO TROLL COMMENTER WHO WANTED THROW MY BABIES IN BLENDERS).
I’m not even discussing the price points of this stuff that was selling AT TARGET. (Except, seriously, $25 for a baby romper? $40 for a skirt? Again, from Target.)
What I’m left with after learning of this tizzy over Missoni for Target is that I am officially that mom, that lady on her way to middle-age, who just doesn’t give a shit about fashion anymore.
Like, I was SO ridiculously out of the loop on this one.
Perhaps it’s because I was too busy on Pinterest trying to figure out how to make my own long drapey cardigans for fall that would go over a plain colored top; that I would then wear with a nice (but not take-out-a-2nd-mortgage-expensive) pair or jeans, some neutral boots and a scarf or a statement necklace. BECAUSE THAT IS THE EXTENT OF MY “FASHIONABLE” CHOICES.
As I talked with a couple younger, childless gals over the weekend, and watched them exclaim over the awesomeness of this Missoni line, I found myself chiding, like a feeble and bitter old woman from her wheel chair on the steps of the nursing home:
“You paid how much for that?” “You do realize you bought that from Target, right?” And my favorite, “Who the what the hell is a MISSONI?” which was a question I really didn’t even care to get an answer back to.
I wish I could take solace in feeling like I’m not alone in not knowing what Missoni is if it slapped me on the face and left a chevron on my forehead, but clearly there are very, very large sections of the population that know far more than me, as evidenced by the mass hysterics and mob scenes at Targets across the country the morning it launched the collection, and it’s paralyzed website.
So I just need to come to terms with not even being in the race for fashion now. I’m striving to not appear homeless when I drop my son off at school at this point. It’s okay. I’m okay with that. Now that I know what my limits are, and that I’ve accepted never actually making real fashionable choices, I can give myself permission to buy all the drapey cardigans and scarves I want.
I’ve been a mom for 3 years 4.5 months, and I continue to be baffled by “mom” fashion.
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Um – hello? Younger! Childless! And that Missoni crap is ASS-UGLY.
I do actually think a lot of it is ugly, or at least not realistically wearable for most of us. I liked the dresses for little girls but I don’t pay $40 for anything my children wear.
Right?! I saw a cute pair of leggings or tights for baby girls, but no clue what the price was.
Dear lord they are selling THAT?! The clothes in the picture above? Surely there is a mistake. Because those clothes are hideous. They cant even be passed off for cute, hell, even on that hot skinny model they look ridiculous. And surely that must be a sign to the rest of us. Right?
I feel like if I saw one piece, on it’s own, mixed with “plain” or classic pieces, and it wasn’t part of this OMGMUSTHAVEALLOFTHISCHEVRONSTUFF movement, I wouldn’t be averse to it. I may even try it on, but the whole thing, all of it is a bit much.
I didn’t know what it was until I saw mentions on my Twitter feed. I had to Google it. I’m like you – $50??? But it’s from TARGET! do you rationalize it by saying Tarjay?
Oh dear lord you are my hero.
I worked in Fashion (yes as a designer) for years. So naturally I know what the hell Missoni is. But I always thought it is the most hideous looking stuff…and that is at the $2,000 for a sweater price. When I heard it was coming to Target I said ‘Yipppe. Now the middle class can look ugly too!’….even super models look horrible in it. It is, in a word….hmmm…what is that word…..um, oh yeah UGLY.
If you HAD bought it and worn it around me, I would have had to do a fashion intervention. Please- no one wear this stuff. For the sake of all that is good. NO ONE WEAR THIS.
🙂
I can always count on you to keep me in line 😉
Some Missoni garments are quite beautiful.
Two of my favorite evening pieces are Missoni: a fab missoni dress and a beautiful wrap cardigan.
And some are downright UGLY that you couldn’t pay me to wear in public.
I don’t think the stuff sold at target fits the beautiful category.
A few pieces are rather cute but I definitely would not pay 3x the retail.
Well, you are not alone, I think I too qualify as “that mom”. I had no clue Target was selling a line by Missoni until I saw someone on facebook mention they were sold out. I think I most definitely was on pinterest, but I was trying to learn how to make a cowl neck/drapey sweatshirt, that is going to be my staple this season.
Not alone my friend. Not alone. I am going to Chicago next week for my mom and I’s annual “girl” trip (which has evolved from me and her, lots of wine and shopping to, me and her, a toddler, a baby, and all that implies.) Anyhow, my goal is to buy tons of long drapey sweaters, leggings, jeans, scarves, and THAT is actually what I consider 100% more fashionable than I am now (now- aka, yoga pants and a tank top). Missoni??? What the crap?! Seriously, hideous. I mean, everyone will know you bought it at Target. You are fooling no one into thinking you paid $1400 for that dress. We all know! So just buy a drapey sweater and a pair of jeans from Target, and we will appreciate you all the more all of you crazy Missoni shoppers!
Olivia is 3, Ava is 7 months
Yeah, the whole designer thing at places like Target or Kmart or wherever totally cheapens it. I mean, I guess that’s point but I always thought the idea behind designer brands was exclusivity. Once you take that away it’s just expensive.
These just seem like legal knock offs to me. Lame.
I’m so glad that someone else thinks that crap is fugly. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the hoopla surrounding it. It’s mind-boggling. And ugly. No, wait. It’s FUGLY. 😉
PS. I’m only 24 and I’m all about some drapey sweaters and LAYERS if it would only (for the love of all that is holy) get COLD. I’m sick of wearing yoga capris and tshirts and looking like a questionable homeless person as well.
Surprisingly (or not) I have yet to hear anyone say they liked Missoni.
Yes, yes, yes. To all of this: yes.
DIY drapey cardigans!? Oh DO tell!!!
This one http://pinterest.com/pin/24631735/
And this one http://pinterest.com/pin/23294620/
Love the drapey cardigans. Thank you for sharing!
I am LOLing at all of this, and now posting to my sister’s wall on FB 🙂
So. Apparently WV isn’t very fashion forward either since both of our Targets still have clothing in this line available. I, personally, think it’s hideous.
I can’t believe someone would be that rude to you and say that about your kids. Rude!
*in my Jimmy McMillan voice* The print is too damn busy!
When I heard that Target was blowing up twitter due to Missoni, I wondered if half the world had taken to smoking herb while I was sleeping. I’m not paying $40 for one of those skirts, certainly not from Target.
I get that they wanted to beef up their brand image when it comes to clothing but something with more mass appeal would have been a better choice imho,
I didn’t know what the stuff was until I started seeing it EVERYWHERE over the past week … EVERY. WHERE.
Isn’t not looking like everyone else the point of designer clothes?
I’ll admit, I do love Missoni, always have, but it’s so expensive (if not bought at Target), but I did think the frenzy over it was batshit crazy. Normally my fashion sense is directed at “comfy” and “what can hide stains well”. I’m 34 and have 2 kids and am gestating a third. It’s cool to still love fashion, but not cool to claw some girl’s eyes out over a seven dollar melamine plate.
Oh, and wanted to add it’s definitely not cool to say awful things regarding the lives of someone’s children!
I was listening to my local NPR station and they were speaking about it. A woman’s studies professor called in and I will simply quote her (I had to listen and type so forgive any errors I made):
“If something is this inexpensive it means that it’s not being made in the way the Missoni clothes are normally made. It’s being made by women in the developing world who are being paid pennies for what we are paying for the clothing and as a woman studies professor I find it sort of a teachable moment that young women are so invested in this line, they’re willing to go stand in line and at the same time not realize the way that woman around the world actually hurt each other in these sort of consumer frenzies.”
The whole piece is here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2011/09/14/20681/target-update
The pretty much sums up what I feel with the exception of two things:
1. Price is no guarantee of fair working conditions (high priced items are more often than not made on the backs of women in sweatshops)
2. There needs to be no line out the door for a consumer frenzy – it happens each time we fool ourselves with the language we use by confusing the words “want” and “need”
Wow, I’ve never thought of that before.
Very interesting. Thanks so much for linking that up.
I’m so glad you posted this… and if anyone is wondering where Missoni flew off the shelves to- look on Ebay! $250 for a bath towel? Really??
I admit I wanted the suede pumps. But, there was no way in hell I was standing in line after preschool drop-off with a baby in my arms, waiting to get to them. I actually found them randomly at a different Target this weekend and ended up leaving them on the shelf because I realized a) where in the hell would I ever wear pumps? b) I am not spending $30+ on shoes from Target and c) they don’t match anything I own because I own exactly nothing fashionable or fancy enough to wear pumps with.
I did pick up one of the baby girl poncho thingys just to see how much it was. And then I laughed and put it back. I don’t spend that much on my own clothes let alone on a poncho that will be worn once, get juice/milk/glue/glitter all over it and then thrown on the floor. Craziness indeed.
I was at the US Open and I pass through Times Square (where I think the temporary store was) at least once a week. I had no idea about the hoopla until Tuesday afternoon when I was looking at Twitter, at which point I Googled. I do take Solace in the fact that I”m not the only one who is clueless as to fashion, although I’m not quite sure how I missed it given my location…
I saw the rain boots. They were cute. Because I could pair them with skinny jeans, and a solid top and a solid jacket and look like I really put effort into my self. But Chevrons all over my body? There’s just no way. Chevrons on vases in my HOUSE? I mean I don’t know about y’all but I am NOT cool enough for that.
Hopping over from “Growing Up Geeky” and I just wanted to let you know, you are not alone!!! I am not a mother yet and I am 28 (fastly approaching 29) so I don’t consider myself old yet…and I think that Misoni crap is just that. Crap. It is UGLY!!! And I wouldn’t pay $5 for one of those skirts, much less $40! Ha!
So glad to know I’m not the only one out there that thinks that stuff is ugly.
Thanks for stopping by! Hooray for like minds 🙂
I don’t think it’s a mom thing…I think it’s a rational adult thing. The Missoni line is completely fugly and ridiculously overpriced for said fugliness.
To be honest, I had no idea what it was either. I’m a mom but would like to think of myself as semi-hip. I mean, I’m only 26 for God’s sake. I Googled it, saw the prints and wondered (and still continue to) how horizontal stripes look good on ANYONE??? I don’t really think it’s all that ugly, I’d probably use it for a shower curtain or in a small space I’d like to look wider…but on my hips?? Ok, maybe my boobs.
It is not very, very large sections of the population, it is a teeny, tiny sliver of the population that is willing to spend gobs of money on anything they are *told* is fashionable.
They do not have their own sense of fashion and style. They buy what they are told, not stopping ot think, “Does this look good on me or is it conspiring against me?”
They do not realize The Man is laughing his way to the bank, because he convinces them MULTIPLE times a year, that they need all new this and the latest that. They don’t have the sense to know they are being duped and thanking the duper.
These are the same types of people who bought leg warmers and parachute pants.
I’m sorry but anyone who PAYS to look like a granny’s couch from the 70’s…well that’s just dumb. I don’t care if it’s “fashionable” or not. Lipstick on a pig, people. Ugly is ugly, no matter which way you look at it or the words you try to dress it up with. And no, you’re not old. Just sensible!
I ALSO had not heard of any of the chaos until it was over, and think the clothes do not look wearable (save expensive fashion for runways. If you’re going to Target to buy clothes, you are looking for function, not art!) These days, my version of something fancy is a shirt that requires an actual bra and pants that don’t have a maternity panel in the front 😉 I don’t need any crazy chevrons on my post-pregnancy-and-subsequent-appendectomy belly!
I’m a 37 year old mommy to a 3 year old and 3 month old. I guess I’m completely out of the loop because I hadn’t heard anything about the Target Missoni craze. I took a peek…um, wow. That is the ugliest stuff ever. I’d gladly wear my mom uniform of capris pants, t-shirt, and flip flops over that crap any day.
Before last Tuesday, I was familiar with the Missoni note pads and clipboards…they were cute. However, if it is cute as a notebook IT IS NOT a cute skirt!!! or dress!!!! maybe curtains but for sure no skirts.
Holy Horizontal Stripes. I’ll pretend I can’t wear Missoni because I’ve had two kids, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t wear it before I had two kids either. It could be two cents for a shirt, and I’d still have no desire to emphasis the vast expanse that is my waist. (Or my butt. Or my thighs.)
And for the record, I live neither in a cave nor recently in a cryogenic freezer, and I had no idea.
Glad I’m not the only one that thinks that is UGLY. My God. I wear what you wear, jeans, tee or tank (gotta love the nursing tank!), my cowboy boots or boys sneakers (because that’s the only frigging shoes I can find to fit), and a sweater or jacket to go over the tee/tank for fall. That’s it. You know what though? That’s exactly what ‘what not to wear’ suggests, and I trust them over someone who wants you to buy an afghan to wear. Because that’s what that stuff looks like. Like you cut something out of an afghan, or curtains from a haunted house, or something. Jeez.
You’re not alone. I didn’t know about it either. And apparently it is so UN-popular in my area that you can still buy it in BOTH of the Targets I live near. Plus? It’s ugly. And Missoni or Target couldn’t pay me enough to wear that stuff. Well, maybe they could but I wouldn’t be happy about it…
You’re not alone! I hadn’t heard about it until just now when I read this! And I have to agree. For the most part it is not attractive and I’d never pay that much at Target.
Jill, not only had I never heard of Missoni prior to this whole Target thing but that stuff is seriously HIDEOUS. I am no fashion guru but I am a rather in-touch woman in my late 20’s and you couldn’t pay me to wear it!
I have learned over the years that when I am feeling “out of fashion”, it’s because the term “in good taste” is running interference for me and keeping me out of the stores. I would rather be “in good taste” than “in fashion”. And I have little interest in the stores when current trends are trying to give me epilepsy.
SNORT to epilepsy.
I could see wearing the shoes with jeans and and a solid color, neutral top. The rest of it looks like something that would induce morning sickness. Too.Many.Colors.
I too had to Google it to see what all of the hoopla was about. I’m right there with you and loving the neutral top with a drapey cardigan. Maybe throwing in some boots and a long necklace to dress it up a bit. Of course I don’t live in a mecca of fashion either. Comfortable and casual are the key in my neck of the woods.
Uh, I like the tights?
Wait? this shit is cool now? eff that. I’ll stick with my jeans, cardi, and nursing tank thanks.
I’ll admit that when I first heard about the collab I was super excited & etched the day in my mind. But after seeing a few commercials my excitement was starting to wane especially for the clothes. On the big day I never made it to Target & actually didn’t even try. The only thing I REALLY wanted was the blanket, but oh well.
I am however coveting the Missoni/Bugaboo stroller for next baby.
you’re not crazy or out of the loop, that junk is ugly!
[…] I’ve been having a huge hard-on for all that is chevron. Except the part where one has to pay out the ying-yang for it via Target and in the end it’s crap quality and in design anyways… It may be a trend that I am following, but only because those chevy zig-zags are so darn […]
Ugly is ugly, regardless of branding.
My thoughts on Missoni –
Designs are fun, outrageous, attention getting.
The prices are the same, for they are targeting the SINGLE. Married women and mothers are BEYOND this. We do not need to SPEND like crazy to attract a mate. We have a mate. WE ALREADY WON, na na na boo boo, ha ha ha, to all those spinsters.
Instead we go with what our husband likes. AND THANK GOD straight men like sensible CHEAP.
Here is the BEST FASHION SECRET out there http://www.threadless.com – There is something for the whole family here. And they have $5 & $10 sales all the time.
Ok maybe I a little harsh but hey… it is true single gals spend so much on clothes, makeup, shoes because they are OUT THERE.
Did you see all the sheep buying missoni ! Im sure most of those women did not know why they were buying such hideous designs but got caught in the hype ! Wait til they get home and look in the mirror!