Tomorrow is Relay for Life, and tonight I went to Target with every intention of buying mouthwash and band-aids and breath mints and breakfast bars in preparation. I had no plan to buy any clothes. But on a whim I wondered back to the plus size section and, lo and behold, there’s the new line I heard about just yesterday. The new line is called Pure Energy, and I will confess that when I initially heard about it I was skeptical. As a true clothing aficionado (aka “Holy crap, how many clothes do you HAVE?!?) I felt it was my responsibility, my obligation even, to do a little test drive.
The good…
-The clothes are cute. Really, sincerely cute — not as conservative as LB, not as edgy as Torrid. They are very Target-trendy.
-The prices are AWESOME. Half the price of LB for comparable items.
-There is a reasonable selection of different items, for Target at least. I still wish they would stop the rapid encroachment of maternity on the plus section, but it was better than it has been in the past.
– Some of the items seemed to be pretty good quality. This is just initial observation though, I haven’t worn or washed anything yet.
– The sizing seemed reasonably accurate. Often Target items run small in my experience, but these sizes were pretty true. They use a Torrid-style 1/2/3/4 sizing system, which I personally like, although I could see it being confusing for some people. Other items are more traditional number sizes.
The not-so-good…
-The quality on some items was terrible. We’re talking sleazy polyester and poorly sewn sequins.
-There was not a great size selection. In most items there were plenty of 1s and 2s, a few 3s, and one 4, if that. This is pretty typical of Target, at least my store.
-Some items seemed poorly designed for large women — lots of empire waists without enough booby room, for example. I am 5’6” and wear a 26, and while everything fit, the items I tried were about 30/70 on design. That will differ considerably by individual though, obviously.
-There were many, many sleeveless tops and dresses. This is my biggest concern. I have no problem going sleeveless, but I am in the minority among women, even thin ones. Just today I had a conversation with a co-worker about how she “doesn’t do sleeveless”. I really hope Target has not doomed their new line by putting so many sleeveless pieces in. I can see the clothes not selling well just because of women’s upper-arm insecurity, and then Target deciding that there is not an adequate market for the product and pulling it. It would not be the first time something like that has happened *cough* OldNavy *cough*, after all.
Overall, I am pretty psyched. Pretty clothes for pretty fatties — yay! Now if only I could help my co-worker love her arms. Oh well, one fight at a time.
My Improvisational Life 