Fitting Room Review: A New Day at Target

Earlier this week, I shared my general impressions about Target’s new clothing lines: A New Day for women and Goodfellow & Co. for men. Now, for the fitting room review! For each item, I’m presenting the photo from the website next to my fitting room selfie, just for shits and giggles. For reference, the models are 5′ 9″ and I’m 5′ 4.” The models are also undoubtedly airbrushed and I am definitely not.

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Let’s start with pants because There. Are. So. Many. Pants. in this new line. I only tried the high waist ones since that cut works better on me.

These twill pants seem like a good work basic and are true to size. The tag says that they have a high waist and straight leg and that they’re made with at least 60 percent polyester that came from recycled plastic bottles. That’s kind of cool. However, they didn’t seem that high-waisted on me, and the material was on the thin side; you could see the outline of the back pocket on my booty. Fail.

These Super Skinny High Waist Pants are truly high waisted and are made out of a rayon, nylon, spandex blend. They were comfortable and I’m looking for a pair of high waist pants in black that won’t fade. But the quality didn’t inspire confidence. There’s no pockets on the back of these, so they didn’t have the same awkward pocket problem as the first pair of pants. But they’re still thin enough that if you tuck in a shirt like I have here, its outline on the back shows up. These are supposed to be cropped, but since I’m petite they’re normal length on me. I’m wearing my usual size here, but I wonder what they look like in a size down — they look a little bunchy on the sides. (The shirt is A New Day too, by the way.)

People are already raving about these Straight Leg Tie Waist Crepe Pants in reviews on the Target site, but they didn’t do anything for me. I guess they’re OK. These have patch pockets on the back side. The green is an unusual color. It also comes in black.

Where to start? These were odd to try on because there’s a flap of fabric on either side of the pants. You bring them together in the front and tie a bow. Is this supposed to look good? Maybe if you’re tall? On me, they’re a lot of fabric. Frankly, I don’t think they look that great on the model either. They were also really long. Granted, I’m short, but they seemed longer than usual.

Overall, I found the quality of the fabrics used in the pants questionable. And the fit, while true to size, was nothing special on me. I had better luck with the dresses. All of the dresses shown below are in XS. (I’m a dress size 4 for reference.) I did try a size up in some of them, but they ended up being too wide in the shoulders for me.

This denim shirtdress is made of a nice mid-weight cotton fabric which obviously needs some ironing off the hanger. I love the dark denim wash. If I didn’t have a denim shirtdress already, I would consider getting this. It also comes in a lighter shade.

I couldn’t find the blue striped shirtdress in my size so I had to order it online. Like much of this collection, it was wrinkly when it arrived, so I ironed it. It’s made out of a nice, thick cotton fabric and the belt is attached. You could tie it in the front or the back (but I think it’s much cuter tied in the front). I’m on the fence with this one. I like the feel of the material and I appreciate the bell sleeves for bringing a little drama to an otherwise normal shirtdress. But also, I could see them getting old quick. They seem like they would get in the way. If you have petite arms like me, you’d have to get the sleeves shortened.

I picked up this next dress because of the floral print. The back has buttons, which are purely decorative and it’s made out of a medium-weight polyester. It’s super comfy. I’m in love!

The dress also comes in a magenta pink and bright blue that reminded me of the textured crepe material and bright colors used in the Victoria Beckham for Target capsule collection. But I found that the floral is much better in terms of hiding fabric wrinkles and bodily imperfections. Here I am wearing the same size in different colors. Sure, there’s a different camera angle in each of these photos, but the floral is so much more flattering.

It looks cute belted too.

There’s also a bunch of jackets and coats, from casual anoraks to cropped blazers. A lot of the smaller sizes were already gone in stores, so I didn’t get the chance to try many of them on. But I’ll show you my favorite one.

This anorak caught my eye because of its beautiful maroon color and shiny rose gold buttons, which gives it a luxe touch. It comes in five other colors (blue, black, gray, olive, red) but the maroon is my favorite. Judging by the low number of maroon ones left on the rack at a Target I visited this past weekend, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. The XS in maroon is already sold out online too. I went with a small so I could layer underneath and the fit is great. It’s on the light side of medium weight, perfect for fall, and has a hidden hood in the collar and a drawstring inside to cinch the waist. The zipper is not as smooth as it could be. I also wish that it had slash pockets that I could slide my hands into. But overall, I think this one’s a keeper.

Word of warning, though: the color transfers! When I wore it without washing it, a bit of pink rubbed onto my shoulder bag and even on the collar of the sweatshirt I was wearing. I recommend washing it before you wear it, and to wash it with a Shout Color Catcher to pick up excess dye.

What have you tried from A New Day and how do you like it?

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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. Many of these items are made out of polyester which is not great for the environment because polyester is petroleum-based, not biodegradable, and its microfibers pollute our oceans. The items I ended up keeping (the dress and the maroon jacket) both contain polyester and were made in China. The tags are made from recycled plastic. I don’t have info about the supply chain, but Target was named an ethical company in 2010 by Ethisphere Institute.