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I got to Target around 4 in the afternoon last Monday and the section of the store near the entrance where the Go International line always hangs was virtually empty. Rodarte for Target debuted this past Sunday and I felt mildly pleased with myself, as if I were privy to some small fashion secret that my fellow Target shoppers were sadly unaware, preoccupied as they were with last-minute Christmas shopping. I alone knew that beautiful and beautifully priced Rodarte frocks were hanging in our midst. It soon became apparent, however, that I was just one of many women scrambling to buy designer looks at Target prices.
Already, the dress sizes were picked over, a plethora of the much too small and much too large for me available, and I had to comb the racks to find my size for a few pieces. And slowly but surely, a trickle of fashionable women crowded around me, teenagers with their moms or girlfriends, girls who might be home from college on winter break, women making the necessary stop on the way home from the office. The secret was definitely out. Rodarte was at Target.
It wasn't quite a frenzy, no, but I was glad that I had a good twenty minutes to comb the racks myself before I had to elbow for floor space. Either way, it was well worth the effort.
The designers behind Rodarte, sister duo Kate and Laura Mulleavy, were inspired in part by the leading women in three films: Faye Dunaway in “Bonnie & Clyde,” Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby and Ruth Gordon in “Harold & Maude.” Sadly (and rather embarassingly), I've never seen any of those movies so their work with Tavi Gevinson of Style Rookie, a 13-year-old fashion muse/blogger, is far more interesting to me. I love that a girl barely on the cusp of adolescence - a time when "style" to me meant wearing baby tees emblazoned with "CALVIN KLEIN" and huge (the huger the better!) bell bottom jeans - has such confidence in how she presents herself to the world, enough that she caught the eye of Mulleavy sisters who approached her about their Target line.
And indeed, Rodarte for Target is a youthful line, full of whimy and fun, but with a definite edge which easily reminds me of the kids I went to school with that I always secretly admired - kids who were labeled "weird" by the Calvin Klein label wearing masses, but who in reality dressed in a way that spoke to their creativity and confidence.
But back to the clothes. The clothes!
I found that the pieces that I'd heard raved about the most - the Sequined Leopard Print Dress, the Crepe Slip Lace Dress and the ochre colored Mesh Lace Cardigan - were the ones I liked the least. I don't like animal prints as a rule, the Crepe Slip Lace Dress looked cheaply made in person and the much-raved about ochre color just didn't do it for me.
black Crepe Slip Lace Dress ($39.99) and ochre Mesh Lace Cardigan ($29.99) and Lace and Tulle Skirt ($29.99)
Others weren't even on the racks.
Sequin Rib Cage Dress ($49.99)
But many of the pieces I really liked. A lot. I loved the sheer navy tulle pieces:
Lace and tulle skirt ($29.99) and tulle bow blouse ($24.99), both in navy. (Please excuse my lumpily made bed, thanks!)
The lace under the tulle on the skirt wouldn't have worked well alone and in fact I avoided the similarly styled camisoles because the lace looked cheap alone, but overlayed with the pleated tulle, the lace just peeking through, it's one of my favorite pieces of the collection. I've always wanted a pleated skirt and I've never been able to afford one and now I have one!
Paired with the sheer navy tulle blouse (I wore it over a black nursing top in the picture - so sexy!), the set is dressy enough to be worn to a party. Just for kicks, I copied the Target model's styling, but with my own denim jacket and loved the more dressed down look.
Denim Jacket ($39.99), but I like my old jacket better.
I love the bows hanging down from the wrists. It really is a beautiful piece.
I brought both Lace Halter Dresses ($44.99) home because even though I liked the black better in the store, the printed-on-lace floral print intrigued me. Besides, I always seem
