Target Tuesdays | Phillip Lim for Target | Styling Tips: Part 2

Hello My Little Targettes!

It's..... T A R G E T | T U E S D A Y S

Is it Tuesday already?! Geesh...these days are flying by and I can barely keep up! But I am really excited about the styling tips for 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target that I promised you last week so let's jump right in!

If you missed last week, read Styling Tips |Phillip Lim for Target | Part 1

Style Tip #1: Borrow from your Boyfriend

Menswear will always prevail when you balance elements from your wardrobe with masculine pieces. The femininity of this romantic jungle green blouse is divine and pairs so nicely with a navy cropped vest, typically found under a three-piece suit. My favorite aesthetic of this blouse are the faintly bellowing sleeves and the shoulder pleats which add dimension and structure to accentuate my shoulders. The length of the blouse, the low back and high front, is a perfect complement to the boyfriend look because it follows a similar shape of a guy’s button down oxford shirt for a refined look.

Just for clarification purposes, this tip says borrow ‘FROM’ your boyfriend, not borrow ‘A’ boyfriend There’s nothing fashionable about stealing what’s not yours {^_^}.

 Nine West shoes
Target Sunglasses
Necklace from Charming Charlie

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target purse & blouse

Style Tip #2:  Mix High & Low

Gone are the days of dressing in designer threads from head to toe in order to be considered on par with other trendy fashionistas with more disposable income. Combine highty, highty, highty, highhhh designers with lowdie, lowdie, lowdie, low and affordable pieces like coupling this Burberry trench and Marc Jacob aviators with this Phillip Lim for Target circular skirt, purse and printed cardigan. As fashion lovers, there are always a few investment pieces that can be (and should be) incorporated to diversify your closet portfolio.

 

Burberry Trench
Marc Jacob Aviators
Shoes from GoJane.com 
 Phillip Lim for Target Sweater, Skirt & Purse

Style Tip #3: When in doubt, go nude!

Pair down overt colours and patterns with great neutral pieces to unify your entire wardrobe. For this look, I opted for a camel coloured trench, beige oxford shoes and nude make-up for an understated look in order for my Phillip Lim for Target purse and top to stand out on its own as a focal piece. Neutral tones also assist in enhancing a look so that your pieces aren't competing for attention against one another.

Follow these simple styling secrets to avoid being a Target Twinsie.

Next Tuesday I'll debut my last (and FAVOURITE) piece from the Phillip Lim for Target collection {^_^}. 

How are you styling your 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target?!

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Target Tuesdays | Phillip Lim for Target | Styling Tips: Part 1

Hello My Little Targettes!

It's..... T A R G E T | T U E S D A Y S

For those of you who are just joining me, I started the concept two years ago in April 2011 after realizing that many women wanted styling suggestions when shopping at the fashion forward retail chain. The inner visual merchandiser in me kicked the low cost concept up into high gear and it's been a hit ever since.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

By now you've probably already seen posts, tweets and pics of the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection on every corner of the blogosphere, plastered with dressing room Instagram photos and post purchase pics.

Read more: What Really Happened | Phillip Lim for Target Release | Social Shopping

Those who scored big in the stores on Sep 15th have most likely saran wrapped their finds and are now waiting for the right time to rock their designer duds, while others are anxiously stalking the mailman for their packages like Christmas morning. Whether you're tracking your packages or snuggling your mini Pashli satchel like your newest teddy bear, there's just one thing that lingers on my mind when it comes to shopping major releases...how can I rock a new wardrobe without running into someone else that looks like a copycat?!

Read more: Jason Wu for Target Release Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

I mean come on, let's face it-Target is the second largest discount retailer from coast to coast and has expanded to over 100 Canadian subsidiaries. With that much coverage the odds of sitting next to a boy or gal with the same exact sweater, bag or tee *gasps* are HUGE. just pulled out my scientific calculator to do the probability calculations and it confirmed HUGE to the umteeth power. But, no worries, I've got you covered! I've put together a few styling tips to avoid those embarrassing twinsie moments by incorporating Phillip Lim for Target into your own personal wardrobe in a two-part series (sorry but there's just too much for one post! Next Tuesday I will post the remaining three outfits!).

Style Tip #1: Mix the new, with the old.

I love buying affordable threads but I rarely step out of the house from head to toe in items that I've purchased in the same store (what am I talking about, I rarely wear clothes that I purchase the same day!). When shopping, I take a mental inventory of my closet and pair it with items that I am browsing. Take the 3.1 Phillip Lim 'BOOM' pullover sweater for example. The affordable version of the KA-POW top can be mixed and matched with a few vintage pieces like this bright neon blazer and red clutch for a more tailor look. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Boom Sweater $29.99

Style Tip #2: Switch It Up

Layering a statement piece with a silk blouse underneath adds so much more to an outfit because of the peek-a-boo details of the collar in this example. Pair items of various fabrics with each other for unpredictability that will have people wanting to take a second look at your look. Dig into the details and combine different fabrics! Pair a sheer pleated skirt with a sweatshirt and a leather jacket for a bit of an edge. I mean really, can you go wrong with an MJ 'Who's Bad?' red leather jacket? the answer is noooooo. Not only does it give a totally cool look but it takes it up a notch from just a basic sweater which would typically be worn with a pant, to a more refined look to wear on a night out. Either way, both jackets highlight this comic inspired sweater. BOOM.

3.1 Phillip Lim Boom Sweater $29.99

Style Tip #3: Don't Forget Your Basics

There's nothing more elegant than a simplified outfit consisting of black and white with pops of colour. I'm sure you know of a few black and white items in your wardrobe that you just know will go along with anything that you buy, whether its brand spanking new or hanging by a thread. For this look, I paired 3.1 Phillip Lim's peplum encrusted vest with beading along the neckline with a collared blouse to add versatility to what would have normally left me exposing my arms. Whether you decide to leave your arms bare or not, pairing it with a skirt and the cross body bag creates a timeless look, leaving your  new finds undetectable.

Style Tip #4: Simplify Your Accessories

This mayyyyyyyy sound like a no brainer but know when to bring the bling for an awesome arm party and learn how to make pieces stand out on their own. Understated pieces make the most noise just as much as the squeaky wheel. Seriously! I love piling on jewelry but when wearing basics I leave my neck, ears and wrists bare and naked to the world for a minimalist look. Use a few pieces to make a statement like these cat-eyed glasses and the cross body satchel without overdoing it or taking away from the entire look. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Peplum Top $39.99

What are some tips that you've started to use on your new 3.1 Phillip Lim pieces?

'Till next Tuesday when Part Two of my styling tips continues for the other 3.1 Phillip Lim outfits that I snagged {^_^}.

A huge thank you to my hubster, Lucas Barber for being an awesome photographer!

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Fab Finds from Phillip Lim for Target

By now you're pretty tired of hearing about everyone's fab finds but I've stayed up far too long from tweeting the direct links to many Target items to support the social shopping experience and it was a blast! but I have not slept since midnight and it's been a day and a half after pulling an all nighter!

Read more: What Really Happened | Phillip Lim for Target Release | Social Shopping

Running on pure adrenaline from the whole experience, I dragged myself out of my house to my local Target to get my hands on the coveted pieces. Even though I live in a pretty heavily populated city, the advantage of living on the outskirts in the suburbs is that my Target isn't consumed with as many fashionistas camping out in the wee hours in the morning. In fact, if it wasn't for the social shopping experience a few hours prior, I would have thought that I had the wrong release date due to the small amount of cars in the parking lot. More for me.

One thing's for sure, people are very civil in my city. I tip-toed-into the store where a few other shoppers were, as we courteously assisted each other to exchange complimentary remarks of 'oooohh oh, how cute!'. I even offered to assist the Target employee with the signage visuals for set-up since I vividly remember the fond and horrific memories as a visual merchandiser myself. At one point I even had the entire dressing room to myself!

Lesson: The designer launch was a two-fold experience of an exhilarating online shopping experience for some that fostered a sense of community versus an in your face, hands on retail shopping experience-definitely not for the faint of heart.

Anyhoo...I'm kinda tired as I am writing this sooooooo without further adieu, here are my finds from Target! I'll do a review in two days for Target Tuesdays when I actually suggest how to style the outfits to your own liking!

Enjoy!

I enjoyed styling the pieces all too much as you can see. See, I told you I was in the dressing room all by myself. lol

Here are the fab finds that I ended up taking home {^_^}

Check back in two days for Target Tuesdays for styling tips!!!

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What Really Happened | Phillip Lim for Target Release | Social Shopping &Sharing

What do Floyd Mayweather and retail giant Target have in common you ask? Both had one heck of a payday today proving money making under 24hrs is becoming a new habit forming addiction. If you've been on Twitter over the past few hours (for those of us who are skilled enough to simultaneously leverage social media and entertainment), you probably were tweeting under the #floydmayweather hashtag or #philliplimfortarget, tracking the play by play victory lap of the champion in the ring or the consumer in retail who scored Target's latest design collaboration with Phillip Lim. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but Target seems to plan launches around major sports events-this could be purely accidental but remember Jason Wu for Target? It was released on Superbowl Sunday in February 2012. Wonder if they assume women would be more prone to spend more money knowing that husbands and boyfriends alike would be too preoccupied to notice their shopping habits. *shrugs* Who knows, clearly I sure don't but that is certainly not the point of this post.

With yet another designer collaboration dawning on the world of fashion, Phillip Lim for Target was not just another collection sending fashionistas into a frenzy, feverishly racing to add wish list items 'a la their shopping carts. No, this was the dawn of something else. Something no one could have ever imagined or orchestrated in online buying-not even Target itself. Enter epiphany. Online shoppers discovered a new way of shopping through the #philliplimfortarget hashtag which began trending minutes before midnight when certain platforms reluctantly prevented customers from purchasing the collection.

Fashionistas know that with every big Target collaboration release runs the risk of being confronted with 'sold out' items or even worse 'error messages' when adding items to your shopping cart. As soon as the frenzy started, many of us, including me, *raises hand* couldn't figure out why some of us could see the items go on sale while others couldn't.

Many fashionistas were frantic as some were placing orders while others could only see the collection. What gives?! Some blamed it on the whole East coast vs West coast timing. Then slowly in the wee hours of the morning, we discovered those working on laptops/tablets/mobile devices couldn't view anything past the 'preview collection' while others on desktops were busily trying to find the few items to add to their shopping cart. Ugh total disadvantage. (sidenote: Target must have changed its strategy after their site crashed in 2012 during the release of Missoni so they decided to slowly release pieces over the period of time, thus eventually releasing the entire collection. Kudos to them for adapting their strategy...ok, now back to the story). So instead of moving on and writing off the next girl as 'her problem, not mine, deal-with-it' diva attitude, many of us, started to tweet the direct links to the items using the hashtag #philliplimfortarget for those who did not have access.

The kindness and generosity was an instant hit! It was contagious! Instead of the horror stories we typically hear of on Target's release date of fights, hair pulling and showing of 'fangs' for the coveted items, strangers went from customers to bonding buddies in a shared sisterhood to help one another out. It was literally a perfect study for social shopping purely by utilizing hash tags. Since hash tags aggregate all information into one topic, we communicated by the seconds asking who was looking for what then tweeted the item link for people who rushed to add it to their shopping cart for safe keeping. As others kept shopping, the social media professional in me refreshed many individual tabs to track pieces as they slowly were released piece by piece on the website, then tweeted the direct links with one careful eye on my computer and another on my cell phone to track Instagram questions on my feed (my day job consists of leveraging social media to better serve customers, so naturally this was my element.) So as a fashionista myself, the truth was I wasn't shopping shame on me but I knew I was going to the store later that morning..one of the advantages of living in a suburbs so there were no crowds and I was confident that I could snag a few pieces and actually go to a dressing room to try the items on which I did- but I was merely filling in the gap commonly left ignored by many companies to utilize social media to address customer concerns...so starting at 12 a.m. all the way to 5:30 a.m. the fashion community copied, pasted and tweeted...copied, pasted and tweeted.....copied, pasted and tweeted...do you see where I'm going with this? (anyone want to send me and a few bloggers a commission check? I have the tweets as prove that we had a hand in consumer sales under PhysicalCanvas below) lol.

By far it was the most fun I've EVER had assisting people with their shopping needs! In the past, I've styled people before as a stylist in Mercedes-Benz Fashion week and worked in visual display in a major department store but this was something different. People were so friendly that we ended up 'feeling like a family' as one follower put it! From midnight to 5 a.m. I never knew the morning would accumulate so many connections with so many people who continued to express gratitude across all three of my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram).

It was only after the shopping frenzy had subsided when I started to receive 'thank yous' realizing that regardless of the size of my following, my voice made a ripple in the social sharing pond along with many others, which taught me a valuable lesson. Of the people that I shared my knowledge with, I don't think there was a single person who I had actually met in real life, yet people felt comfortable enough to tweet me their request and their styling questions as if we were best buds (or jolly saint nick himself). Thanks to the whole ordeal, I met a great group of fashionable males and females that I will continue to offer fashion advice to and further connect with beyond digital boundaries. Leaving a digital footprint was the last thing that I thought would happen by merely staying connected. This is just the beginning. {^_^}

Next Post: What I Bought from Target

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Anyone else benefit from the links? 

Let me know your thoughts & what you bought!!

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Target Tuesdays: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target [Part 2]

 

Leather and Spice?

(or)

 Sweet n' Sophisticated?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.....

Happy Target Tuesday, Targettes!

Let the count down continue towards the coveted 3.1 Phillip Lim Collection for Target! Five more days until we gain access to this 'cool, chic and accessible' line. There really isn't much more to say other than 'is it September 15th yet?'. 

Whoah, let's not rush Mercedez-Benz Fashion week yet...now back to our regular scheduled program of SS'14 in Lincoln Park {^_^}.

Follow me on Twitter & Instagram to see which pieces I'll be snagging at my local Target!

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Cape Code Chronicles

 

Our typical vacations are usually filled with Caribbean excursions to various islands, all you can eat buffets or a venture to cities where we can imagine our second lives taking place there (we're pretty adaptable people-we could live just about anywhere).

But with summer coming to a close, we decided to take a breather from the chaos that usually comes with the territory of vacationing and traded it in for a private beach house in the Cape. The stillness and the natural beauty were perfect for reading, renergizing, and cleanse our mind and body. Well worth island hopping, although I'm sure we'll be doing that next time {^_^}

 

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