Target Love

They say that Manhattan has everything you could ever possibly want or need, but this is a lie. Manhattan does not have a Target. Really, if forced to name the top thing I would change about Manhattan, it would be the lack of Target. Sure, the one in Brooklyn is pretty easy to get to and is totally huge, but it's a very rare day when I have enough gumption to go to another borough for shopping.

But there are Targets all over my hometown, and before every school break I obsessively troll Target.com in search of things I want to buy. When I got back from Europe in December, I was at Target within 12 hours of my plane landing.

My goal for today's trip to Target was to find some cute Mary-jane shoes, which are my new shoe obsession. I especially the Red Chris Mary Jane Pump by Isaac Mizrahi, $29.99, but they only had it in black and half a size too big. But how hot are those skinny double straps? And I think the 3 inch heel is a good height; you get a little bit taller but aren't going to topple over at a moment's notice.


That's my problem with the Francesca Cone Heel shoe, $20.99, also by Isaac Mizrahi. Cute, but just not quite tall enough. I'm a big fan of the gunmetal grey, though, and they also come in a great maroon called "oxblood."

You know what really bothers me about Target.com? How one product will be listed separately for each of the different colors it comes in. It's very annoying, because I like to be able to click the little "show product in white" button so I can compare the different colors directly before deciding what to get.


Here's a very straight-forward Mary Jane Skyler pump in patent leather. They look a little cheap, but they're $19.99 so... they are cheap.




But don't these Olive Mary Jane Pumps, $20.99, not look cheap at all? I love the contrast trim and button. It's very retro classy.


I also hoped to check out the Jovovich-Hawk collection (yes, that's the same Mila Jovovich who was in The Sixth Element), but almost everything was gone. I find the Go International collections to be kind of spotty, though. I mean, I love it in theory, and I have a great blue coat from the Libertine collection, but when I see most of the clothing in person and try it on, I'm usually not impressed.

I did like the Converse One Star line, however. Very casual but still cute and wearable. I'm particularly in love with this Baseball tankini, $16.99 for the top and $16.99 for the bottom (which seems wrong--aren't bikini bottoms supposed to be cheaper?). The top is so cute I'd be tempted to wear it as a shirt to a spring training game.


So those were all the things I didn't buy. But here's what I did.

In this photo the Merona Print Trench Coat, $39.99, looks horrifically busy. And I can't deny it; it is a whole lot of print. And I almost never wear anything with a print because I think it looks overwhelming. And I'm still not totally sure about this coat-- do you guys think the print is too reminiscent of a sofa? Or is it just fun and whimsical enough to be perfect for spring? I wish the belt (which you can barely see in the photo) was a solid color instead of the same fabric as the rest of the coat; I think it would help break up the print into more halves that would be manageable for the eye to handle. But I'm a huge fan of belts on long coats, so I won't complain too much.

The other thing I got was an Xhilartion head scarf, $7.99. It's the same style as this one, except mine is white with big, navy blue polka dots. It's kind of like the scarf I'm embarassed to admit I want from Lauren Conrad's collection of overpriced, under-designed clothes. It's cute, right? But I did not want to pay $25 for a piece of cotton that probably cost 6 cents to make, so good thing I went to Target.