Victoria Beckham for Target Review – Part 2

Welp… you know how in my first Victoria Beckham for Target review I said I was trying to be good and not buy anything from the collection unless I really, really loved it? At the time, I had decided to keep just one item. That didn’t last very long. The problem is that I started to see photos of people wearing their #VBxTarget goodies, including some petite ladies wearing girls’ items. Before you know it, I had gone to Target 11 times in nine days (that’s 11 visits to seven different stores) hunting for items I now wanted to try. Oops.

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At the top of my list was this adorable girls dress with a big bumble bee print. I saw women wearing it on Instagram and asked what size they got.

As it turns out, when you’re small and petite, you can fit into a girls’ XL, which is meant for a 16-year-old girl. The XL sold out online. I refreshed the Target website every few hours like an obsessed person. Finally, one popped up for pick-up-only at a store about 40 minutes away from me. I bought it and the next day, battled traffic to get there. I feared it wasn’t actually going to be there when I got there, but yay, it was there!

I love this dress. It even has pockets! It’s made of natural fibers too: cotton with a cotton lining. I’m 5′ 4″ for reference. (BTW, I’m wearing one of my favorite pair of Target shoes, which are sadly starting to fall apart. These polka dot peep toe shoes have a small red wedge. I wish I’d gotten a back up pair.)

In my Target travels, I also came across the bee print shirt. I actually saw this on the first day the collection was released but didn’t pick it up. The banded collar is not my thing; I prefer a pointed one. At the time, I wasn’t sure about the print. But after falling in love with the dress, why not try the shirt too? I hadn’t realized the shirt had an interesting French cuff.

I plan to roll up the cuffs when not posing for a photo since I have short limbs. 🙂  I took my normal size in Target tops even though it’s a little big in the shoulders for me. When I sized down the shoulder seams hit me in the perfect spots, but it was a bit tight across the chest. If you’re curvy, you might even want to size up. Since it’s 100% cotton, there’s a chance it will shrink a bit in the wash. The shirt is also quite long, so it works if you have a long torso or are tall.

My curiosity about the embellished bug dress and bomber only increased when I saw them in person (though not in my size). I was impressed. Even though there are pretty good photos on the website, some things just don’t translate until you see them in person. The embroidery and bugs looked well done. I love the detail. The beetle is made out of a squishy plastic and its limbs are made of beads. Suddenly, I really wanted to know what the bug dress looked like on. I placed an online order for my size and am waiting for delivery.

I also snagged a striped poplin dress, which I had been curious about after seeing so many people rock it in photos. As I noted in my last post, it resembles a dress from her Victoria, Victoria Beckham line. I’m wearing one down from my normal size, which fit fine, though that wouldn’t work for someone busty. It’s an interesting design with the gathered waist, large cuffs, and hi-lo hem. It’s also cotton. I’m not sure it works on me though. It doesn’t give me that Marie Kondo “spark joy” feeling.

I came across one fuchsia shell in my size, which fit nicely in my normal size. The fringe detail is cute. This isn’t really me, so I’m not keeping it, but it seemed like a nice piece. Only the top portion is lined, though, and the material is a polyester-rayon-spandex blend. Apparently it’s a very British thing to wear bright colors (according to a friend of mine who hails from a former British colony).

I picked up this shirt with a retro floral print for a friend. The polyester fabric has a nice medium weight to it and the scallop hem is darling. It was a wee bit tight across the chest for me. (That seems true for a lot of items in this collection). But, it does seem nicely made. I’d say in general this collection is well-made.

I also saw a scarf in person. It’s made of a lightweight polyester. And it’s huge! You could wear it lots of different ways.

Well, I think I’ve gotten #VBxTarget out of my system now and won’t be stalking stores for returns anymore. But returns are out there for those of you looking for particular pieces. I’m happy with the three pieces I’m keeping (the Bee Print Peasant Dress, Bee Print Button Down, and the English Floral Satin Dress). (Maybe four pieces if I end up loving the bug dress.)

It’s crazy how these limited time designer collaborations can just take over your brain. I bet Target loves that. Moral of the story: just order all the things you’re remotely interested in in the first place so you don’t spend all this time running around chasing down items. Easier said than done, though. I didn’t even know I was going to like certain things until I saw them in person or saw them modeled by real people.

UPDATE 4/20/17 – The bug dress arrived! I ordered two sizes and both were individually wrapped in bubble wrap to protect the embellishments. It looks really nice and well-made. I usually wear a small or 4. Both the XS and S fit, but the XS was a wee bit tight on the neck and the S was about an inch longer, so I went with that since it’s short. Still trying to decide if I should keep it. Yay or nay?

UPDATE 12/10/17 – I’m trying to be better about making ethical shopping choices, so I’m updating posts with info about where and how things were made. Some of these clothes are made out of polyester which is petroleum-based, not biodegradable, and pollutes our oceans. Natural fibers are generally better for the environment. These clothes were made in China. I don’t have any specifics about its supply chain, but Target was named an ethical company in 2010 by Ethisphere Institute.

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