Fall fashion
Look haute for less: Budget-conscious lines from Missoni, Lagerfeld and Mad Men
It's official: Everyone's broke. While most of us are scrambling to figure out how to pay rent, manage debt and still have enough left over for a night out every now and then, thanks to forthcoming capsule lines from Target, Macy's and Banana Republic, we at least won't have to worry about our fall fashion budget.
This week retailers released photos of several highly anticipated lines, most notably Target's 400+ piece Missoni collection. The lineup, which appears in Target stores Sept. 13, features apparel for all age brackets in Missoni’s signature patterned prints, with pink and orange dominating the color scheme. But there’s much more: Quilts, kitchenware, luggage, laptop accessories — even a seriously sexy cruiser bike, complete with (presumably faux) leather saddle and squiggle-print fenders.
Jumping up a price bracket is the Karl Lagerfeld's Macy’s line, launching Aug. 31. With pieces priced between $50 and $170, the retro-inspired collection focuses on work wear, with lots of ladies’ suiting, knee-length dresses, high collars and tweed. There’s plenty of hot pink in the mix, too, along with some fierce fingerless leather gloves (he is Karl, after all).
Finally, Banana Republic makes the dreams of every Joan Holloway-wannabe come true with their 65-piece Mad Men-inspired line for men and women, in stores now. And it’s everything we’d hoped, from fedoras and slim-legged suits for the gentlemen to classic pumps, pearls, high-waisted capris and form-fitting frocks for the ladies.
We're betting that each of these lines will have budget-conscious fashionistas battling it out on showroom floors, so we advise buying online when the collections launch to beat mad mobs.