Rodarte for Target Preview Review

This weekend I managed to brave the wind and rain to stop by the Target pop-up shop in Manhattan. The format was rather strange, with a drive through theme, despite the fact that no one in Manhattan really drives. One would walk up to see the items displayed in a window, place orders on a clip board, pay, then pick up a bag of said items.

The Rodarte for Target line will be officially released on December 20th, but for those of us who could not wait, the pop-up store had three dresses and a couple of bow-belts available for early purchase. Of course, I have seen pictures on-line, and have been very excited about this collab. I was especially interested in the sequined ribcage dress...until I saw it in person. The dress is only sequined on the front of the dress, which for me, makes it look cheap. I believe that a good piece should be designed 360 degrees, and should look just as good going as coming.  The black lace halter looks like it will be a quality piece, but I personally did not end up getting it as I officially own way too many black dresses. In the end, I opted for the champagne colored slip dress, and the grey leopard bow belt. I loved the thin layer of tulle and the antique toned lace on the dress, but my favorite feature was the silk bows on the shoulders. However, when I finally got the dress home to try it on, it did not look good on. When sporting a slip dress, if the fabric is cheap it will just look like you stepped out of the house in chintzy lingerie. This was the case with this dress. It also was ruched around the waist and under the bust in a way that created a dumpy and unflattering silhouette, and the static electricity generated between the slip and the tulle certainly did not help the situation.

So in the end, I kept the bow-belt, which is adjustable to fit any size. The fabric is nice and the design is sweet and special. I returned the slip dress, but I would recommend the halter dress. Overall, I was disappointed with the pieces they chose to preview, however I am not disheartened, as all the Target lines have had amazing pieces as well as chintzy ones.