I have been trying to find the words to really describe the Lilly for Target experience, but every time I try to write about it I don't know what to say.
First off, I'd like to apologize for my post last week on how to be successful for the sale. I wrote the post from my position as a successful veteran Lilly Pulitzer After Party shopper. I had done some brief analytical research before writing that post, such as talking to a Target manager and looking at social media mentions. Plus, Lilly Pulitzer is a bit of an acquired taste; at the time of my research, Target's Jason Wu and Altuzarra collections had more buzz.
Would the collection sell out fast? That much I expected. I did not count on Target having horrible tech services. After the Missoni debacle back in 2011 and constant Black Fridays, one might imagine that their web servers might be able to handle large amounts of traffic. Apparently one might be wrong.
Through the mobile links that started leaking short around 12:30 AM, I was able to snag a pair of the gold espadrille wedges. Finally, the collection went live shortly after 2:30 AM. I started adding the shift dresses that I wanted to my cart. I'd try to check out and....nothing. What? I tried to bring up my cart on the mobile site and the app but still couldn't get through the checkout. My heart was beating itself out of my chest and I was sweating like I'd just run through a Florida swamp. I was finally able to check out on the mobile site, but out of the five dresses that had been in my cart, only three made it to my order. Crap! I started pulling up all the plus size shifts and there was only one left in my size. Threw it into my cart and checked out immediately.
Wait...where are my confirmation emails? It had taken my first email probably close to 15-20 minutes to get sent. I tried to get into my Target account to see if they were there, but of course that wasn't happening. The authorizations were showing up on my card, though, so I figured and prayed they went through.
Around 4:30 AM I went back to poke through the collection to see what was left. I found a pair of the espadrille flats and checked out quickly. At $24, they were a dollar short of the free shipping threshold so I added a $5 e-gift card (shipping was $4.99).
The number one thing I wanted to get from this collection were the shift dresses. I got those plus two pair of shoes I was planning on buying for summer anyways. I thought I would be elated maybe even dancing around once my orders went through. I wasn't. I was shaky, sweaty, and my blood pressure was up a good ten points. I was a hot mess. I didn't even know which dresses I had managed to buy. I just knew they were in my size.
I had planned to hit my local Target store--which is an hour away--to see what was left of the home goods. I wasn't too disappointed, I was able to snatch the bottle opener and flask I wanted. I also had picked up a towel for some reason, I don't know why because I was trying to stick to my list to stay under budget. I was chatting with some women at the Lilly display in the store about our similar online shopping experiences mere hours beforehand when a woman cam sprinting up with her cart. She took her arm and started sweeping the merchandise from the display straight into her cart, much like you might your hand to sweep some crumbs off the kitchen counter. I reached out and snatched up the lone wine stopper set. I knew the woman was pissed at me so I turned and walked away.
The woman later passed me in front of the Lilly makeup display. "Bitch!" she hissed as she grabbed the remaining makeup bag.
I think my cashier was actually one of the manager, because he told me he had already received multiple calls about the wine stopper set.
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This whole Lilly for Target experience has been weird and dare I say, an absolute sh!tshow.
It ticks me off that a few people were buying large amounts of the the store's inventory to sell on Ebay. While Target did limit purchases online, they didn't in stores. Next time they do a designer collection like this, they may want to consider limits. But that begs the question, how much is too much?
I also wonder how much inventory was actually ordered. According to one report I read, Target actually increased the amount of product for this collection as compared to past collection.
I sort of feel silly for participating in this mess. Yes, I'm loving my purchases so far and can't wait to get everything else in, but there's a part of me that's embarrassed at myself for getting so wrapped up.
I don't know how true it is, but I've been seeing reports that the plus size line sold out in under an hour. Hopefully designers will look at this as a sign that yes, plus size fashion is worth investing in. I've been watching some of the plus size shift prices on Ebay and someone actually paid $350 for a size 24 Girafeeey dress.
If you're wanting the nail polishes, don't worry--the colors are not exclusive. They're all from previous collections and you can find most of them at Ulta or online with little effort. The only thing that made those polishes "Lilly" is a little pink tag that you pull off. That's. It. The L'Oreal lip gloss is the same way, it's the same stuff already available with a clear palm print sticker on the lid.
I'm really sorry about this rambling. I feel like the past weekend was a dream. I've had so much to say about it but when I go to speak...I don' t know what to say.
Yes yes yes to all of this. Not to say the collection wasn't adorable but the experience was actually hell. I was able to get two items online and one of them only because Jen (the other half of skyscrapers & palmtrees) quickly grabbed one for me while I couldn't get into my cart. So much fun. I'm glad your in store experience was a little bit better, I didn't even try knowing that my local store would have zero items left (later found out they sold out in 20 mins...). Jen wrote about our experience too!
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skyscrapers & palm trees
I didn't participate in the sale but I guess I just figured there might be something cool in stock if I were to get a chance to go to Target in the next week or so. Well that's not going to be the case. I have been intrigued by all the people that posted their loot (like all "hey look what I got that you didn't get") on IG and FB. I would have been happy to get a cute set of flip-flops at the very least. It really pisses me off to think how this sale brought out the worst in some people and at the very least it's caused people like me that were mildly interested to start to begin to covet what others managed to escape with. The whole thing is just so crazy to think about that they released all this on a Sunday morning (a day that should not be focused on acquiring material things but focusing on spiritual things) and the backlash that resulted is almost the due karma that Target deserves. I do agree with you that hopefully it will cause them to take a look at how much nice plus-size clothing is in demand and meet the need. I thinks it absolutely crazy that people would buy a Target-quality Lily dress on Ebay when they could buy the REAL THING for the same amount of money. I do think there is a quality discrepancy between what Target was selling and the LP you buy in the boutiques.
ReplyDeleteThere is a definite difference in between the original line and the Target line. I was looking at one of the few remaining shifts and the fabric and lining were a lot thinner than what you'd find in a Lilly boutique. I was also surprised by the mannerisms of some of these women! The women who belittle me for my somewhat liberal use of the F Bomb in normal conversations were the same ones calling me a bitch over a corkscrew.
DeleteI honestly don't think Target is upset at all by the backlash. It sold the merchandise, that's all they wanted. Their stock and that of Oxford Industries (owners of Lilly Pulitzer) both have risen sharply since the sale.
This was the most frustrating thing I've ever done as I have stayed away from other Target collaborations and I refuse to participate in Black Friday. I had a short list of a couple things I wanted, a dress, a raffia bag, a pair of sandals and maybe those beautiful mugs. I only wanted the items for myself because after growing up next to Palm Beach I love all things Lilly but now as a plus size I can't wear her dresses. It never occurred to be to buy as much as a could to put the items on eBay for 4 or 5 times their actual cost! I ended up with nothing. I stayed up most of that night trying to purchase things. Either they wouldn't go in my cart or I got them in my cart only to find them gone when I tried to check out. Then the site went out and I repeated this cycle several times. I had hurt my back earlier in the week and so standing in line for hours to get into Target wasn't an option for me. By the time I could get back on the site everything was sold out! I will never attempt to buy anything from one of Target's collections again. Only a moron couldn't have seen how big of a deal this was going to be and with the problems that occurred with the Missoni collection that I'd read about, Target obviously doesn't care enough about it's customers to fix the problems. I've read accounts of people having items ripped out of their hands, stolen out of their carts and others that selfishly cleared entire shelves and racks leaving nothing for those of us that weren't being the selfish pigs that they were. I'm incredibly disappointed by Target but I think even more so by the greed and self centeredness that was shown by so many of the shoppers that day. Personally I hope that Lilly fans will boycott the high prices on eBay so that the sellers will be stuck with items that they really weren't interested in to begin with. I hope those still interested in the collection will instead try to purchase from some of the groups springing up on Facebook with more fair prices being instituted. Thanks so much for your blog and listening to me vent. I enjoy your blog so much and appreciate your fashion sense and that because of it, I've been able to return to my love of preppy style even as a plus size woman now.
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