Proenza Schouler FINALLY Comes to Target

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Finally, finally, finally!!! Proenza Schouler's resort wear collection for Target arrived at Los Angeles stores today, a full week after the line was supposed to debut. The verdict?
~Good design.
~Good fabrics.
~Still some problems with sizing and cutting.

The Proenza Schouler collection features some of the best styling of any of the Target Go International clothing lines. No weird bejeweling. No crappy ornamentation to cover poor quality. And mercy of all mercies, no hideous polyester-rayon blends. I nearly wept for joy when I saw racks upon racks of cotton, cotton-Modal blends and even silk, which for Target -- the haven of cheap, poorly draping fabrics that refuse to die -- is a miracle akin to Lazarus' resurrection.

Although the Proenza Schouler line is clearly designed for a young clientele, the clothes are noticeably more restrained, more adult and less trashy than most youth-oriented fashion. No weird bejeweling. No crappy ornamentation to cover poor quality. No stupid, faux rock-and-roll styling. But I wonder if this won't be the line's undoing. The clothes seem too adult for most teenagers but too light and breezy for most adult women. My completely unscientific observation: I saw plenty of women eagerly combing through the racks on their lunch hour, but very few of them seemed to like the clothes enough to try them on.

Hewing closely to the line's signature colors of eggplant, deep salmon, navy and teal, the Proenza Schouler line featured some decent quality items that look like they could've come from The Gap (piped tan and navy just-above-the-knee skirts made from mid-weight cotton, striped Bermuda shorts and short sleeve, ruffle-front cotton blouses), some forgettable but inoffensive staples (sweaters, hoodies and striped polo shirts), only a few outright hideous items (a button front, bright teal, denim-y pencil skirt with matching cropped jacket that look like something from a teen sitcom circa 1984) and a few real winners, such as:
--striped, red, short shorts with zippered back pockets
--striped, long-sleeved, boatneck cotton shirts
--a grey silk camisole with a patterned bodice and solid body
--a lightweight, bell-shaped gray striped coat with 3/4 sleeves
--a dark denim, button-front pencil skirt with accompanying yellow belt
--a plaid, motorcycle-style windbreaker.

Not everything worked. A matching jacket and skirt offered in gray, navy or salmon looked like Merona desperately trying to be Marc Jacobs. And although I love tissue-weight cotton several tops such as long-sleeve, button-down blouses and long-sleeve t-shirt tops were semi-transparent, meaning most ladies will have to layer them if they want to wear them out in the real world. Perhaps Jack and Lazaro took the phrase "resort wear" a little too literally. These tops may be perfect for throwing over your bikini as you stroll from your beachfront Caymans cottage to the chef's quarters for another daiquiri, but I'm betting the average Target shopper doesn't spend a whole lot of time at resorts.

The best and biggest news about the Proenza Schouler Go International line is the quality of the fabrics (see above, para. #2). There were lots of tissue-weight cotton tops, and while they didn't reached the platonic ideal of T-shirt achieved by American Apparel, it was still a vast improvement over most Target clothing.

The downside, unfortunately, was the cutting and the sizing. For example, a lovely, V-neck, silk top (available in eggplant or salmon) was so poorly cut that regardless of what size I tried on, the empire waist remained firmly situated at nipple level. (The cotton version of this top available in black or teal suffered the same problem.)

In fact, all the Proenza Schouler tops seemed very ungenerous through the bust. To find a shirt that fit my chest, I frequently had to buy one or two sizes up, and then the item would be way too billowy through the rest of my torso. Why can't Target designers get this through their heads? Taper at the waist. FOR GOD'S SAKE, TAPER AT THE WAIST!

Also, the long-sleeve tops also seemed very narrow through the upper arms. But maybe that's just my Hulk-like biceps overpowering the dainty cotton.

And finally, putting aside from the problems endemic to an S-M-L sizing system, there were all sorts of weird sizing inconsistencies. In some tops I needed a medium. In other I needed a large. And in one I even needed an extra large. Apparently consistency is the hobgoblin of high-end designers.

All in all, Proenza Schouler have largely done a nice job working within the constraints of a big box retailer, but their collaboration with Target is hardly a marriage made in heaven.

*NOTE: As I've said before, ">I am no fan of cigarette-style jeans. More power to the ladies who can rock this trend, but most of the women I see in skinny, tapered jeans aren't doing themselves any favors. However, the Proenza Schouler jeans at Target were of decent quality.**NOTE: There were no accessories, bathing suits or tropical-printed skirts and dresses at the Target I went to.

***NOTE: We know. This is the third time we've used the same graphic. Sorry.