I’m not sure where or when it started, but it was most noticeable with Target. Liz took the chance and revolutionized maternity wear. I noticed because I was pregnant at the time (ahem…again) and was so excited that someone thought beyond the maternity tent and actually designed affordable, wearable clothing that I wept (shut up…I was a preggo….we all cry).
Liz Lange Maternity for Target was genius.
Yet naysayers basically accused some designers of going ghetto…selling out to go “mass”.

Next for Target was Isaac Mizrahi, three time winner of the prestigious CFDA Designer of the Year award. Selling out? Hardly. It’s selling smart.
Making fashion more affordable? Brilliant.

Now you see Botkier doing bags for Target. For lack of better punch-lines…Target has hit the bulls eye time and time again.

Then there is Kohl’s. I’m the first to stand up and protest the wearing of any “fashion” (ahem…using that term loosely) from Kohl’s. And bless their hearts for trying, but Daisy Fuentes? No. Missed badly.

So what happened at Kohl’s to make them finally get it? Well, the name ties my tongue up in knots (Very Vera by Vera Wang)…but otherwise I think they got it! Not to mention a sweet little line by the name of ELLE. Perhaps Kohl’s realized that to carry a “designer brand”, it helped that the label was by an accomplished designer. Someone who has not only been to fashion week but shown on the runway.

How do I know about this, you ask? I certainly don’t watch the news.
I am going to make a confession.
I shopped at Kohl’s last weekend.
Seriously…it was to find some shoes for the boys! They are little, they trash their shoes and I was going to teach them a lesson by making them wear those utility- boot looking things. Plus they carry Tony Hawke clothes and it’s about the only brand my 8 will pay attention to and my 5 is addicted to (my 3 doesn’t care…he’d rather run around naked).

We’re making our way to the checkout and I remember…”oh yes…that silly rumor I heard about dear Vera and also our friends at ELLE”.
YIKES…rumor no more…it happened.
“Hey…that dress is kind of cute (I duck my head and graze thru the rack). Cripes…this isn’t half bad“. It’s pretty cute…most of it (beats the hell out of Croft & Barrow). I wanted to just grab a few “research items” and leave but figured an extra trip to make returns is not what I needed…so I tried a few things on and came home with some quite surprising finds. Bargains too since it was all half off. A Vera dress, t-shirt and ELLE’s cute faux leather cropped jacket.

So it’s kind of cute that designers occasionally go “mass”. Why not? We’re the one’s that stimulate the economy, after all.
Wait….what’s this? Zac Posen is now planning on an expansion beyond ready-to-wear and a lower-priced collection. Seriously? Ok…now I’ve heard it all. But truth be told…I can’t WAIT! Zac Posen items that won’t make me miss a mortgage payment? Brilliant!