Spotted & Wanted: Liberty of London for Target
Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 1:39PM ;)
It's here, it's here! AAAAHHHAAHHHHAahhhhh! That's the sound of excitement. Soon to be followed by a squeal of delight. Listen up, it's coming...
Like my friend Sophia over at Chic & Charming, I knew that while the official launch of the Liberty of London collections was set for tomorrow, I thought it likely that certain Target stores would already have the products out and ready for sale. I was right! Okay, so my usual Target had a measly assortment, but I went to three others in the area (um, obsessed much?) and found lots of good things.
Of the four stores, all of them had bedding, pillows, and underwear, one of them had clothes for girls, one of them had clothes for women. One had umbrellas, one had scarves and hats, two had the wellie boots. None of them had any of the lovely mens' shirts or ties or boxers, nor did any of them have the flip-flop shoes, lamps, or flower pots.
;)
The best store by far was the Target at Serramonte (not to be confused with Colma, which is my usual). They had almost everything in the collection out on the floor and ready to go! Homescent candles, stationery sets, gift tags, note pads of all shapes and sizes, journals, file folders, storage boxes, file boxes, and yes, the adorable tableware was in full display. This store even had two soon-to-be-snapped-up bentwood chairs screened in a gorgeous floral.
Overall this collection knocks it out of the ballpark. No other Target capsule collection has ever come close to being this adorable or well-made. A huge, glaring exception is in the women's clothing - it's horrendous! It looks adorable, but when you get up close and feel the material it's a complete turn-off. The polyester feels like cheap shit and the vibrant prints can do nothing to change that. There was one all-cotton chemise I found that's fantastic, but everything else in the clothing was, for me, a pass.
Here's my list favorites:
;)
Bed quilts and quilted shams - just $49 and $59, these are hearty, soft, and fashioned in bright prints. At Anthropologie something similar would run you about $300 or more!
Candles - the packaging is simply charming, so they're ideal for gifts, but the scents are fantastic too! I really liked the Violet Fig, Ocean Minerals, and Spiced Black Tea. Once you take them out of the packaging, the candle is plain white in a clear votive so it goes with any room, and at just $9.99 they give Diptyque a run for their money!
;)
Picture Frames - available in three sizes, these bring a pop of color and pattern to any picture. The little ones are just $3.99, and would make a great set mixed together. I think they're a great gift too!
Umbrellas - I only saw three tossed in with all the other random Target umbrellas, but the pink paisley is fantastic, and the mechanism works very smoothly. It's not some janky cheap umbrella.
;)
Ceramic Tableware - mugs, bowls, teapots and canisters are just perfect. Very comparable to the ceramics Liberty sells at its store in London, these will make an elegant morning cup of tea or coffee. The set of three prep bowls are great too, but if you're like me where all of your kitchen stuff is stored away, they're sort of a moot point. This collection is made to be on display!
Stationery - okay, so there's a lot of stationery and a lot of it is just silly. I've never seen the necessity of mini journals or pads of paper in multiple sizes. What did catch my eye were the fantastic sets of file folders and file boxes. The folded note cards are sweet too - and you get an assortment of three patterns in one set.
Here's my list of "meh" products, apart from the clothes:
S;)
torage Bins - these are cute, but unless you had a way to display them on a shelf for all to see, they're sort of unnecessary.
Melamine Tableware - again, very cute and colorful, and I appreciate how it's all meant to be mixed and layered...BUT! It's just not as cute as it could be if it were in ceramic or something more durable. True, the tumblers and cereal bowls did catch my eye, but not enough to want to splurge on something I'd use only rarely.
;)
Toss Pillows - bright and fun, but the "silk" texture again feels like chintzy crap. They make a great look, just don't think you're going to curl up with these and feel luxurious.
Wellie Boots - these were really cheap-looking. The rubber looked like it wouldn't last one storm, and the screen-printed floral just didn't look right on there.
For the most part, I'm a big fan. Definitely be sure to visit your nearest Target to pick out something great before it all gets snapped up! Or, shop online tomorrow morning when it goes live on Target.com. Believe me, you won't be the only one who lets out a squeal of delight!
Liberty of London, Target, floral, pattern, shopping in Latest Crush, Spotted & Wanted 
Reader Comments (7)
Most of the women's clothing was really disappointing. Liberty is all about cotton and silk, so it was really unfortunate that Target turned out so much polyester. I wish I was a kid because all the kids clothes was cotton. I thought the quality of the stationery left something to be desired, but that is probably my high standards for paper weight. I agree the file folders and file boxes were very nice.
It is nice to hear that someone else went to multiple stores. It makes me a feel a little less crazy. Did you notice they have actual duvet covers online? as opposed to just quilts? And at SUCH a deal!
THE GOOD:
- the lingerie! Was quite surprised. The bras were pretty and fit well and the cotton was a little starchy to the feel, but I have a feeling will wear well with a few washes.
- the bustier baby doll dress was the one I got
- and the PJ top and pants set, online
- the kids' clothing was especially well-made, I ended up getting a cotton dress online for a good friend's little girl
THE BAD:
- the polyester in some of the PJ sets and in all of the women's clothing. YECH!
- the scarves were just OK, but the materials was so rough!
I didn't care for the home goods like the boxes and paper so much. Still contemplating whether to get a quilt or not... I liked that the lingerie stuff was true to real woman size.