The early bird gets the worm…whale.
Last Saturday Target debuted its newest designer collaboration. Every year around this time “Tar-zhay[1]” partners with a different designer— Hunter, Marimekko, and Lilly Pulitzer to name a few—to produce a limited-time collection. Strategically situated around Memorial Day each year, it’s the perfect dose of designer-themed chaos needed to herald in the start of a promising summer season.
There is nothing I love more than a good challenge. And, to me, Target’s designer collaboration series offer the perfect combination of entertainment, competition, and thrifty indulgence. Unlike Target’s typical abundant stock, these designer items are only around for a brief window. Even briefer, however, is the window of opportunity available to fill your cart (online, physical, or both) with desired goodies before they are gone.
Target has been partnering with designers in this way for decades, but I was first made aware of the big box store’s ingenious cultural phenomena[2] when it partnered with Lilly Pulitzer in 2015. As a lover of all things bright and colorful,[3] I have loved “Lilly” since we met in college. My very first Palm Beach-inspired purchase was a Lilly Pulitzer planner circa 2012, and since then I have loyally[4] purchased one for each subsequent year[5].
While I have a few strategically planned/saved-for items from the designer[6], I nearly combusted in a bright colorful burst when I first learned my favorite store, Target,[7] was partnering with one of my favorite (if not most elusive) clothing brands. I targeted[8] my favorite items as soon as the “look book” was released, marked my calendar (ahem, Lilly planner) with the release date, and naively thought I would show up to my local Target the next morning and nonchalantly procure the items on my wish list.
Did I consider shopping online in the early morning hours to secure my purchases?
Nope.
Did I check to see if my Target was one of the selected locations to carry the full product line rather than a pared-down, limited selection?
Hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Did I set my alarm a little earlier than normal with the intention of getting to the store in advance of its normal opening hours?
Close, but no cigar[9].
Target had never failed me before, so what could go wrong?
…Right?
When I rolled up to my Target at 7:59 AM—one minute before store opening—I was appalled to see a line had started to form outside the store’s locked doors. A line? Really? I hadn’t even realized that many people even knew about this collaboration: How could there be a line before the store even opened?
Heart racing with adrenaline[10], I parked my car and quickly joined the line of Lilly lemmings[11] anxiously waiting outside the gates of heaven Target for the shopping shenanigans to begin. Moments after I joined the line a timid-looking Target employee opened the doors and made a motion to usher us in. With a flash, devotees of all ages broke from the politely formed line and converged to form a mob-like blob so hauntingly grotesque it can only appropriately be compared to the stampede of wildebeest that trampled Mufasa to death[12].
By some stroke of chromatic fate my utter lack of research and preparedness did not actually detract from my success. As my initial shock began to wear off I snapped into action and positioned myself toward the front of the pack. I quickly realized there were treasures to be found throughout the store, but I beelined to women’s clothing to try my luck at snagging a few of the dresses I had been eying for the last month. I dexterously navigated the pack of women around me by plucking the sizes situated at the front of the displays[13], and before I knew what was happening I was in the nearest dressing room with a handful of beautiful shift dresses[14]. Miraculously, they all fit, so I quickly left the dressing room to survey the other items sprinkled treasure-map style around the store.
All in all my Lilly Pulitzer for Target experience consisted of several clothing wins (including the aforementioned shift dresses), a colorful wicker basket perfect for housing the warm fleece blankets necessary for surviving the cruel Tucsonan winters, a FaceTime call with Mom back home in Chicago asking her opinion on a few select items, two cheery pom-pom pillows, and a handful of colorful cosmetic cases that, after another FaceTime call with mom, became reserved as future Christmas gifts[15]. My checkout experience was both scintillatingly thrilling and embarrassingly excessive all at once, and when I got home and unloaded my swag I could not help but gleefully recount my dumb luck. Somehow, someway I had done it: I was the Lilly Pulitzer for Target Champion[16]!
Days later when I saw articles like this one and couldn’t help but continue to quietly[17] revel in my spoils. Quickly I realized just how lucky I had been.
Since this experience, I have adapted my approach for big-name collaborations that tickle my fancy. Last year when Target announced its plan to collaborate with Hunter, I knew I had to restructure my game plan. Similarly, this year’s collaboration with Vineyard Vines had me tickled with all things pink—pink whales, that is—and I knew I had to strategize appropriately.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOWe1rc1zgo
While I still don’t conduct “research” in anticipation of these releases, I have, through my experiences, cultivated a list of successful strategies that have not failed me yet. These tips were particularly fruitful this year when, as you could say, I had a certain knack for “speaking whale”[18]…
1. Use your Target REDcard: While this certainly is not revolutionary advice, nothing beats saving an extra 5% on all your Target purchases, even the designer ones.
2. “Heart” your favs before the big dance: Target allows shoppers to “favorite” items of interest at any point in their purchasing experience. Simply pull up an item online, click the heart button in the right-hand corner so that it fills red, and keep shopping! All of your “hearted” items are then automatically curated in a succinct, easily navigable list you can quickly access for expedited shopping needs.
3. Shop online: Okay, I know you are thinking, “Duh. Welcome to the 21st century, Katie,” but, in all honesty, online shopping is the way to go: Shop early and shop often. Notably, with the exception of select early-release items for REDcard holders, Target does not release items prior to the release date[19], so it is important to get your timing right in order to have a successful virtual shopping experience. If you wake up at 8:00AM, pour yourself a piping hot cup of coffee, and then casually peruse the company’s website, I guarantee you will be sorely disappointed.
However, this disappointment can be easily evaded! Through trial, error, and lack of sleep, I have discovered that collaboration items typically go “live” shortly after the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella loses her glass slipper on the west coast (so around 2:00 AM CST). While this is heinously early, if you have followed the advice in my aforementioned point #2 and have “favorited” items on your wish list, then you can safely set an alarm for 1:58 AM, causally log onto your computer, go to town on your shopping cart, and be back in bed by 2:15. All in a day’s night’s work
4. Overbuy: Don’t be foolish or overly frivolous[20], but if you have the wiggle room to overspend (with the intention of returning), then I would do so. You never know how sizing will turn out, so if you are able to both size up and size down, you might as well do so when you are able to, since, chances are, you won’t have your pick of the litter later on.[21]
5. Don’t lose hope…Be a super sleuth!: Didn’t nab that item at the top of your list? No sweat! You still have it favorited, right? Even if the item you had your eye on sells out during the early shopping hours of a recent release, hold tight and keep the faith. While there is no guarantee your item will necessarily come back in stock, chances are some other savvy customer may intentionally over-buy and return that which does not fit or does not satisfy. Continue to scan Target’s site from your computer or mobile device in the days following a collaboration release, and you just might stumble upon gold[22].
In summary, avoid forming a line outside your local Target with other tired patrons at some ungodly hour. Instead, follow these guidelines, and you too, can have success! You can do some serious damage while looking socially unacceptable with your eyes half open in the comfort of your own chaos-free home. …And isn’t that the dream?
Is this all a little silly? Yes. Do I need all the items I buy? Certainly not. Do I go a little over-the-top with my excitement? Perhaps[23]. I acknowledge all these factors, and yet I cannot help but revel in the absurd excitement I feel each May when the Target designer collaboration rolls around. As Vineyard Vines promotes, “every day should feel this good.”
Certainly there’s something to be said for the experience, for the chaos, for the possibility that comes with the thrill of the [whale] hunt[24]…
…And that’s enough to “tickle me pink.”
[1] Yes, Target can be fancy like that. “Oh, [Tar-zhay], that’s a French ass name!”
[2] …Or social experiment depending on the year, the designer, and hype surrounding the release…
[3] See: My desire to blog my way through a 120 Crayola crayon box.
[4] Read: Obsessively.
[5] My planner is my bible, and you better believe I wouldn’t be caught dead without it! Even if staying organized didn’t give me a natural high, drafting out my schedule amidst the cheery citrus pages of my Lilly planner brings joy to logging even the most mundane of commitments (See: going to the dentist, again.)
[6] Regretfully, Lilly is not cheap! Pro tip: Shop her semi annual sales. While Lilly Pulitzer does not typically sell items at a discounted rate (in fact, there is no “sale” section to be found on the website), each year the brand does offer two phenomenal sales with heavily discounted items. These sales typically fall after major holidays (New Year’s Day and Labor Day, to be precise) and have been the sources of some of my favorite Lilly Swag. Shop smart, shop strategically, shop semi annual sales. (If only I could tattoo that in pink across my bicep…)
[7] Sorry, Lilly. As much as I love you we just aren’t on that level. Target’s my girl.
[8] Pun most certainly intended.
[9] Oh, 2015 Katie. You sweet, sweet dumb dumb.
[10] Yes, I fully note the ridiculous nature of this statement… And I embrace it. Hi, my name is Katie, and I am a Target-aholic.
[11] Again, I’m not trying to hide the absurdity of this ordeal. It is, indeed, absurd. But that’s okay: I know who I am.
[12] Okay, this might be a bit of a hyperbole, but only because I was fortunate enough to be located in a non-Lilly-centric environment during the spring of 2015. While I exaggerate my experience, this depiction is a much more accurate portrayal of what other Lilly-lovers experienced across the country, particularly on the east coast. While Tucson, Arizona carries a bevy of cultural nuances and rich traditions, its desert sands and saguaro-spotted terrain doesn’t naturally evoke the ocean-citrus-Palm Beach resort vibe that is all things Lilly Pulitzer. Hence, in the words of every real estate agent to ever make an appearance on HGTV, the sharp sting of my unpreparedness was softened only by the fruitful promise of “location, location, location.”
[13] This is where being a “fun-sized” 5’2” comes in handy: I can slip in and out before you even know I’m there!
[14] While this still happened to work in my favor, looking back, I realize this was one of my many mistakes. As a general rule, when you are rushing, do not waste time in the dressing room. Grab what you can and then proceed to celebrate fashion-show style. This should have been obvious, but the bright colors had me distracted!
[15] Because, you know, Christmas shopping in May is a thing. Right? One can never start too early: It’s the Puszka way!
[16] Queue the Queen music now! I can practically hear Freddie Mercury reveling in my unexpected victory: “We are the champions, my friends. And we’ll keep on fighting ‘til the end…”
[17] Or not so quietly… There’s nothing truly “quiet” about Lilly Pulitzer, after all.
[18] Dory would be proud!
[19] Hence the nature of a “release” date…
[20] Seriously. As insane as I know I sound in this blog post, I am actually quite calculated and judicious in my budgetary logistics. Do what you will, but I advocate for knowing your limits, taking a few steps back, and proceeding from there.
[21] Again, this is where I sing the Target REDcard’s praises. Not only do you get 5% off, but you also get free shipping and extended returns. Not too shabby, Target. Not too shabby.
[22] Not to brag (okay, I’m going to brag), but while taking well-timed coffee breaks I happened upon three different items of interest that had initially sold out. I quickly added the items to my cart, checked out, and proceeded to delight in my good fortune.
[23] Okay, yes. Yes I do. That’s a hard yes.
[24] No, I do not condone whaling. This vegetarian comes in peace!
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