Cheryl Shops

The latest +J collection hits Uniqlo on Thursday, and The Cut has a preview, featuring Raquel Zimmerman, who makes everything look super-covetable (well, not like it wasn't already). Outerwear is $69.90-$229.90, dresses are $99-$149.90, sweaters are $49.90-$179.90, and bottoms are $59.90-$69.90. The store opens bright & early at 8 a.m., so don't forget to set your alarm.

Sunday may by the day of rest, but for handbag aficionados, it's the day Mulberry for Target finally drops. Nitrolicious has a scan of a Teen Vogue story that features most of the bags; as with previous Target collections, all are synthetic. These also come with a cute heart charm and feature "Mulberry for Target" on the clasps--you won't be fooling anyone into thinking these are real Mulberry bags!--but they're priced gently, at $49.99 and under. Blogger Couture & Crayons reports that some Targets already have the line; she scored the tote, which looks pretty good in her photographs (I'm going to ignore that she refers to it as a diaper bag). I think a trip to the Atlantic Center (or, if I'm feeling lazy, Target.com) might be in the cards.

And by the way, Women's Wear Daily published a story today about masstige [subscription required] and how everybody's doing it. The gist: Fashion is now democratic, not snobby. Well, it's still snobby, but, baby steps...

Fans of Uniqlo's +J collection, rejoice: Jil Sander has renewed her contract with Uniqlo [subscription required]! The notoriously detail-oriented German minimalist is so pleased with how her first two collections for the fast-fashion chain have turned out, she will continue to work with Uniqlo indefinitely. With her confidence in the future of fashion at a price, it just goes to show how visionary she remains. In related news, Uniqlo is taking over the old Brooks Brothers store at 666 5th Avenue, and the store, which probably won't open until next year, will be more than double the size of the original location. So, in the meantime, don't forget--the Costello Tagliapietra collection hits the Soho store May 20.

Isabel Toledo's shoes and bags for Payless won't hit stores until September, but Nitrolicious has sketches from the upcoming collection, which will include 7 shoes and two bags. Whimsical, no?

Speaking of shoes, Refinery 29 has photos of a Pierre Hardy for Gap fall design; the lace-up boots are reportedly from Gap's main line, but the gray peep-toe booties are Hardy's. All I have to say is: WANT! No details on price or when they hit stores, but as soon as I know anything, I will of course share it. In the meantime, Hardy's spring collection is due in stores next week (May 4th, to be exact). This time, I'm not waiting for my friends & family coupon--those nude wedges must be mine.

And, I totally forgot to mention this last week; bridal is not an area I typically cover, but this is pretty major: Vera Wang is designing a line for David's Bridal [subscription required}. Vera is obviously one of the best-known names in the bridal biz, and David's is, well, a place to go for a relatively inexpensive gown. Wang's dresses can easily run into the five figures, but her line for David's will retail between $600 and $1500, with most of the 20 dresses under $1200. The jury is out on whether this will impact Wang's high-end business; while I would venture that most people who shop a designer's namesake collection don't necessarily shop their masstige collaborations, a wedding dress is something you wear for one day only, and when it comes down to spending $10,000 versus $1,000 for two very similar dresses, I personally would go with the cheaper option. But that might just be me--after all, there's a multi-billion-dollar industry built around giving women their Perfect Day*. Regardless, this is likely to make a lot of brides, who otherwise couldn't afford Vera Wang, quite happy. The line hits David's Bridal stores next spring.

*I haven't yet acknowledged this here, but while I'm on the topic of weddings, I guess this is a good time to note that MW and I are engaged! I hadn't planned on blogging about my wedding, but if anyone is interested, I can talk about dress shopping and the like here. (Several people have asked me if I'm going to start a bridal blog, to which I just laugh.) If you have any opinions on the matter, leave them in the comments below!

To many, this coming Sunday, March 7th, is the Oscars. To me, it's the day Jean Paul Gaultier's Designer Collaboration hits Target. Racked National has a selection of images; some of the complete looks are a bit much, but there are many great pieces, such as this sunshiny yellow sundress.

Equally as exciting, a week later, Target drops its Liberty of London collaboration on Sunday, March 14th. The line is filled with swimsuits, rompers, accessories, and this fantastic maxi dress, all in the British department store's signature floral prints. (Are maxi dresses over? When they're as awesome as this one, who cares?) Check out a very robust preview at Refinery 29.

Racked NY was at Uniqlo this morning to cover the latest J+ arrivals; you can read their report here. As for Uniqlo's other designer collections, my friend The Shophound reports that this year's collaborations will be all Japanese designers, although whether they'll actually hit the Soho store remains to be seen. Then again, when you have Jil Sander, do you need anyone else?

Finally, if you haven't checked it out already, there's still plenty of inventory left in Narcisco Rodriguez's collection for eBay. Prices are a bit higher than the average masstige effort, however, this is Narcisco we're talking about, and, really, can you find a hotter dress than this for $250?

It figures just when I write a MasstigeWatch post, big news drops the next day. Nevertheless, Fashionista reports that Tucker, designed by Gaby Basora, will be the next Go International designer, following Jean Paul Gaultier's designer collaboration in March and Zac Posen's Go collection in April (Fashionista estimates Tucker's line will hit stores mid-summer). This is significant for two reasons: 1) Tucker is probably the least-known designer yet that Target has selected (I will admit, I had to do a search to put an aesthetic with a name), and 2) Fashionista broke this news (usually Target leaks news to Women's Wear Daily). It should be noted that Fashionista has a new co-editor, Lauren Sherman, who, having worked at Forbes for years, likely has an extensive network of business-side fashion sources. I look forward to reading the new Fashionista.

And speaking of Target, the first camera-phone leaks of Jean Paul Gaultier's upcoming designer collaboration have hit the interwebs, via Fashin's live journal page. From what I can tell, it's stripes, jersey, trench coats...in other words, very Gaultier, and very promising (I hope). Gaulter hits Tar-zhay le 7 de Mars (or March 7th for those who ne parlent pas francais).

Finally, the latest installment of Jil Sander's +J collection for Uniqlo hit stores this morning, and the best coverage of what's available comes to you from Racked. Reportedly the spring collection will be rolled out gradually (as opposed to being dropped all on one day like fall's was), which will hopefully allow people like me a chance to buy something this time.

MasstigeWatch!
This morning, Target hosted a press preview of the upcoming Rodarte Go International collection; I was not there, but Lucky was, and while they were forbidden to speak specifics, they say it's "beautiful, ethereal, and lacey, and won't be priced above $80." Also, Tavi was there. If, however, you'd like some photographic evidence, Racked has photos that Paper's blogger Julia Frakes posted on Twitter (and which she's since taken down). This is one of them.

Also, last week The Cut swung by Uniqlo's showroom to check out Jil Sander's +J line, which hits stores October 1st. They report prices start at $29.50 for accessories and go to $149.50 for outerwear. They also have a handy slide show of select looks; I think longtime Jil Sander enthusiasts will be, well, enthusiastic. The collection is very minimal but looks incredibly well cut; I have my eye on, among other things, these pants.

Coming later this week, I'll have a preview of the Anna Sheffield for Target jewelry line, which hits stores August 30th.

MasstigeWatch!
Chalk one (or, like a million) up for Uniqlo: uber-iconic designer Jil Sander will oversee the men's and women's lines, as well as design a special collection for fall [subscription required]. All I have to say about that is: wow. And, also: I will be shopping at Uniqlo a lot more.

Speaking of which, Uniqlo's latest designer collaborations--from Steven Alan and Opening Ceremony--hit the store on Thursday. I will try to make it there on my lunch break and report back. If I don't have time for a full post, however, there's always my Twitter feed, so please stay tuned!