Goodbye Target Canada

The big retail news the week was the decision by Target to close all of its Canadian stores. As a frequent and enthusiastic Target shopper, I was really sad to hear this. I feel sad for the employees who will be out of work and disappointed at the waste of money and resources used to overhaul spaces that, here is Halifax, were only operational for 16 months.

I'm aware that Target Canada was not readily accepted by a lot of shoppers, and I'm not sure why. Some of the reasons I've heard is that the shelves weren't stocked, there weren't enough people to help on the floor, and the prices weren't as good as in the States.

I estimate I visit Target about three times per month, so I have a fairly good idea of how the store normally looks and operates. I admit, the first few weeks the store was open, I noticed the shelves weren't fully stocked. Not a smart move by Target, but once the initial rush of the grand opening was over, I generally always found what I wanted was in stock. I wonder if there were some people who only visited Target once, shortly after the opening buzz, and decided not to return for that reason. I always thought there were a lot of employees around to ask if you needed help finding anything, and they were always very friendly.

As for the prices, I've yet to see a store come to Canada (except Coach) and offer the same prices in the Canadian stores as the States. Of course the prices aren't as good - but neither is Forever 21 and we've seemed to accept that store just fine. I almost bought a jacket in Vegas at Forever 21, but decided against it as it would have taken up a lot of room in my luggage. When I got home and scoped it out at F21 here, by the time I factored in the tax, I would have been spending about $25 more on the exact same product. Guess who didn't buy the jacket?

Besides the really cool stuff they have in the home decor section (bye bye Nate Berkus), they have a huge selection of make-up and hair products. I'll be stocking up on my Frederik Fekkai (the only place I've found it in this country). Their stationary department was amazing too! They have an entire wall of boxed thank you cards and invitations, the cutest gift bags, and really unique greeting cards.

Bought these this week! So cute and only $12.99 each. About 7 inches tall.

Our door mat. $14.99 

The worst part about Target closing (for me) is that we won't be able to access the designer collaborations. I lived and breathed for these. Some of my very favourite items in my closet are from Target collabs. I will sorely miss showing up at the store for the 8:00 AM launch of these lines. I never really understood why Canadians didn't spring on these collections like people in the States do.

One of the five 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target items I bought. My favourite line!

Dress: Peter Pilotto for Target

Dress: Sarah Stevenson for Target (a Canadian designer!)

In addition to Target closing, other Canadian stores have left (or are leaving soon). Sad goodbyes go out to Mexx, Smart Set, and Jacob.

I'll miss you, Target Canada. Sniff sniff.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Orange is the New Accent

I love a dress that can be accessorized a million different ways! This comfy little sundress by Sarah Stevenson for Target has so many colours in it. I decided to use orange as my accent but could easily have picked almost anything!

Details

Dress: Sarah Stevenson for Target

Belt and necklace: Smart Set (belt came with another dress)

Sandals: American Eagle Outfitters

Bracelet: Stella & Dot

I was trying not to grit my teeth at the incessant noise of the robin that lives near us. It sings CONSTANTLY from 5 am to 10 pm. When do they migrate again?

Enjoy your weekend everyone! Stay dry and safe for the storm!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Fun Dress on Repeat

Our trip to Vancouver was centred around the marriage of our friends Andrew and Stephen. Their ceremony was held in a beautiful location in Gastown and the reception was down the street at Parliament Interiors. My lack of photos from the event is sad - the grooms were having far too great of a time to be worried about pausing for photos (which is exactly how it should be).

Details

Dress: Peter Pilotto for Target (last seen here)

Cardigan: Vero Moda via Envy

Shoes: BCBGeneration

Bracelets: Stella and Dot

Clutch: Coach

Walking to the ceremony in the drizzle did not do wonders for my hair, eh? I'm glad I didn't spend money on a blowout (which I was heavily considering) as I'm sure it would have fallen flat in minutes.

I'm linking with My Fridays Fancies for a floral theme today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

My Monthly Purchases: March 2014

I had some gift card spending to do this month. I'm not really sure how to handle gift cards/gift money in relation to my clothing budget. When I'm gifted an article of actual clothing, I don't count it towards my budget obviously, so I'm inclined to think that gift card purchases shouldn't count. Ladies who budget, what do you do with gift cards?

Gift Card Purchases

Pants: Ralph Lauren via Winners
Discounted from $100 to $30 (free using gift card)
Black work pants were on my wish list. I'm not sure how I managed to get through the winter with only one pair in my closet, but I often wished for a second pair. They're in the wash, so no photo.

Tank: Diesel via Winners
Discounted from approx. $150 to $25
Winners has been getting some decent stuff in stock lately in their new "Contemporary" section. I have a "love from afar" relationship with Diesel as I refuse to pay full price for it but really love the brand.  Winners has an annoying habit of peeling off the brand's actual price tag (but they often miss it). Their "comparable to" tag is often way lower than the original price. For example, the "comparable to" tag on this tank is $40. Now, I know that you can't get a Diesel shoelace for $40, but they peeled off the original tag. So I went online and found something comparable listed for $150 at the Bay, which sounds more like Diesel's (over) pricing. Wouldn't it make sense for Winners to want to show the actual retail price? I don't get it. You'll all be proud of me for not giving in to the pink leather vest I wore for a solid ten minutes in the fitting room. It was still $130 (marked down from $700 - they forgot to get rid of the original tag ), but I actually do want a new brown leather jacket which would see far more wear than a pink leather vest, no matter how pretty it was.

Skirt: Banana Republic (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $110 to $49 (free using gift card c/o Halifax Shopping Centre for doing an Opposites Attract feature for them)
I love love love this skirt and was eyeing it from the second I saw it on-line. I was hoarding my HSC gift card, waiting for the perfect item to spend it on. This was it! I haven't worn it yet, but I do want to get at least one wear out of it with black tights before the weather changes.

Earrings: Silpada
Regular price $34 (free with birthday money)
I am supposed to be on a jewelry buying ban for awhile but I don't actually own anything in turquoise and I thought these were really cute. I love the look of white clothes and turquoise accessories in the summer.



T-shirt: Smart Set
Discounted from $16 to $10 (free with birthday money)
This was an impulse buy a few days before St Patrick's Day, but a good bright piece that looks great with black, white, or navy. I wore it with black pants and a black cardigan for St Patrick's Day at the office, but failed to get a photo.

Mine is kelly green

Amount spent in gift cards/gift money: $148
Value $402

My Own Money Purchases

Sweater: Jacob (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $50 to $7.50
I love the look of this slouchy v-neck. I can wear it over button-ups or over a dress. I promise I'll steam it before I wear it!

Dress: Old Navy
Discounted from $33 to $25
This dress is a blank canvas for styling, and I think I will get a lot of wear out of it in the spring and next fall too. A good piece for transitioning seasons.



Shirt: Club Monaco
Regular price $64.50
It is SO HARD to find a great white oxford shirt. Thank you Club Monaco salesgirl for leading me to the men's section! I bought this in men's XS and it is wonderful! Not too thin, long enough to cover my bottom should I want to wear it with structured leggings, and no gaping buttons at chest level!

Dress: Sarah Stevenson for Target
Regular Price $35
I did a blog post on this dress already. I can't wait to wear it with my denim jacket!


Skirt: Peter Pilotto for Target
Discounted from $35 to $17.50
This was one of the pieces I said I'd go back for if it went on clearance, which it did.

Total spent: $149.50
Total value:  $217.50
I saved 31%

It's time to look at my seasonal spending which I've budgeted at $500 every three months.
January = $154
February = $193
March = $150

Grand total for first quarter of 2014: $497

Next month includes a trip to Vancouver and undoubtedly some new clothes will be bought. Good thing I have gift cards and birthday money to spend!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Sarah Stevenson for Target

One of my absolute favorite things to do fashion-wise is to anticipate and shop a Target designer collaboration. Sarah Stevenson for Target is the third collaboration that has happened since Target opened in Halifax. I was late to find out about this one - I think I heard about it in late February. 

Sarah Stevenson is a Canadian designer (yay!)  who won the Emerging Talent Award last year, and with it, the opportunity to partner with Target. There are 15 pieces in the collection and no piece is over $60.

My goal was to take my camera to Target and get some photos of the display, but at 8:00 AM on a Sunday, I was lucky to remember to wear shoes going out the door. I had the racks to myself that early in the morning. Halifax seems to not care that much about Target collabs - better choices for me! As with the Peter Pilotto collection in February, 

The pieces were so pretty, butI didn't come away with the Sarah Stevenson piece I was most hopeful for - the black pants second from the left below.

Image from Globalnews.ca

I admittedly have a difficult time with most elasticized pants as I have a really really long waist and they won't stay put. I think if I want to have any luck with a pair of relaxed pants this spring, I'll have to find ones that have a button closure or really strong elastic.

I actually liked the floral pants better than the black ones - I have a very similar patterned pair from H&M. The blazer was stunning, but if I buy another blazer my closet will auto-eject it (so.many.blazers.)

What I did come away with was this lovely solid/printed dress. I can already picture so many ways to style it (with a red cardigan, my white leather coat, a jean jacket, and my 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target navy blazer to name a few).

One thing that has stopped me from going insane at the last few Target collaborations is that they are SO fast at marking down the pieces. The Peter Pilotto stuff was marked down less than a month after the launch, which was before I even wore the piece I bought (I'm into delayed gratification when it comes to clothes). There is a pretty white tunic from this collection that I may keep my eye on since it would be too summery to wear yet anyway.

Congrats Sarah on a lovely collaboration! 

XOXO 

Glitterary Girl