It's officially the start of Designer Collaboration Season! WAHOO! Right after Fashion Week each season the collabs go into full swing. I'm still oohing and aaahing over the amazing Altuzarra for Target pieces that I loved and crying over the ones that failed. But no rest for the weary, Elie Tahari for Kohl's is here! And so isn't the Eva Mendes for NY & Company and Scandal for Limited! All in one week! I don't have a NY&Co or Limited near me, so unfortunately (Or fortunately - depending on how you look at it), I won't be reviewing those. As usual, I am not a huge Kohl's fan. I find something in there every so often, but I always go check out the collaborations. I usually leave with 1 piece at most. Peter Som changed that, when there were a lot of well made pieces that I loved. I thought maybe it was a fluke. Now I think, either Kohl's stepped up their game or as a 40 yr old mom, I finally hit the Kohl's demographic. (Please oh please let it be the first one!) But my face below says it all!
Each Designer Collaboration for Kohl's is part of their DesignNation initiative. They give each designer a location for the collection's inspiration. For Elie Tahari, Kohl's chose New York. When you think New York Fashion, you think lot's of black on black. This collection delivered. That meant I had to play around with the exposure just to get a decent read on the prints. I have to apologize now for the not so great prints. We went on a quick lunch time trip to check out the collaboration pieces and couldn't focus on picture quality as much as we wanted to.
This dress was so cute! It had a lined mesh inset at the top, zippers on the bottom and it was just amazingly comfortable and very well made. Unfortunately it was a little to big on me. I am holding it in for the photo's sake. And unfortunately, even though we were at Kohl's just hours after they opened, all the smaller sizes in most of the pieces were gone! I did a quick scan at their kiosk and the other Kohl's by me was also already sold out of most of the smaller sizes. Looks like this collection is a hit! This dress can go from work to casual wear to play. If I find it in my size, I will be grabbing it!
Side note, the mesh inset goes all the way down the front and if you open the little flaps, there is NO lining! Eeep! Fortunately you would have to open the flaps by hand like I'm doing, but still for some of you, this might be leaving too much to chance, so I thought I would mention it, in case you decide to order it online.
This comes in a blue and black version and a black and grey version and a creme colored version. The lighter one has the Empire State Building printed on it. Maybe it's just me, but I am not a fan of anything that takes a location so literal. I am not the type of person who would generally go for that touristy type item, and that's what these types of things feel like to me. Add to that, I am also not a fan of shirts and sweaters in one. I really liked how these fit, but the fact that they were one piece kind of bugged me. I would rather buy the shirt and then the sweater separately. Maybe it's just me though. Oh and the shirt piece on these is completely see through, which meant you could see my belly button. No thanks! I past that stage in my life. This would be cute with high waist pants or on a younger girl. But while it's cute and well made, it just isn't my style. And hey, that's OK.
The scuba leggings are amazing. They are like spanx meets memory foam! The scuba means neoprene like. Kohl's really pulled it off really well however. I love the mesh insets on this. I came home with these, but I really would have liked to try a size up to see if they would fit a but higher on my waist, unfortunately they are sold out all around me. Boo for whoever hit Kohl's before me and bought up all the cute pieces in my size!
A shirt with an NYC backdrop including taxi's. Hmmm... based on what I said above, you know how I feel. But my girl Pam really liked it. And I have to admit, it was cute. The sleeves and back are completely see thru. While Pam liked it, she liked a different shirt better, so she passed on this one.
I had to really adjust the exposure so you could see the detail on this sweater. This one was really cute. A little on the thinner side and perfect for layering over light pieces. I have it layered over the sweater tunic, and so it is a little bulky here. But this was a really nice piece. Not something I need in my wardrobe right now, so I went ahead and passed on this sweater. But if you need something light this is perfect.
And by Scuba, they mean Neoprene like! Not kidding! That made this dress so soft and so comfortable! It is like wearing the thinnest memory foam turned into a cute dress. But it wasn't tacky or shiny, it was just really nice and very slimming and remarkably versatile.
Just look at the close up details. I really loved this dress. But again, I really don't need another black dress. (Yeah I said it!) But man, I don't know that I'm going to be able to resist this one for long.
I admit, I didn't even grab this one to try on initially. Then I saw Pam in it and I was like, WOAH! What is that shirt? I NEED that! So I quickly ran out and grabbed it. OMG! YAAASSS! It is so cute! I don't know what it is about this shirt, but I knew I had to have it!
I absolutely love the neckline and shoulder area of this shirt. I'm still not exactly sure how i'm going to wear it though. So if I don't figure that out soon, it will most likely go back. I need to play around and make sure I can get use out of the shirt.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this jacket. It is a thin faux suede material, but extremely well made. I thought it was navy and was ready to bring it home with me. I just knew I needed it to add to my jacket collection. But lo and behold it is black, so I had to draw the line and after MUCH thought and walking around, I had to put it back. I already have several black jackets and I really can't justify another one right now. But OMG! If I had an unlimited budget and a room for a closet, this would sooo be mine!
Elie Tahari for DesigNation Georgette Zipper-Front Blouse - $58.00
Can you tell I love this blouse? For some reason, I ended up not buying it. I don't know why, because it is gorgeous. I imagine wearing it with black jeans and some booties. But I think maybe it was too jacket like? I don't know, something stopped me from grabbing it. And believe me, this one is so much cuter in person. The sleeves on this one are sheer, but the back isn't. The zipper can go as high or low as you want.
The midi skirt was really cute too. It felt like I wasn't wearing anything. It is a very thin sweater material. If you are looking for a cute skirt that is super comfy, this is the one!
There are so many items online that I wanted to try in the store. Of course as usual in my area, our store didn't get any of those items. WHY?!! I wish the stores would get at least 1 of each size for every piece when they do these collaborations. Sometimes seeing it in store is the push I need to order it online. I really wanted to see the mixed media leggings, mixed media jumpsuit, Mixed Media Sheath Body Con Dress and the open work chenille sweater. Maybe I will come across these pieces. But if not, I think I'll be fine resisting.
I was really impressed with the quality of this collection overall. I wish there were more pieces that I could check out in person, but I was not disappointed in what I did see. Also worth mentioning, these pieces launched at 25% off which is pretty typical for Kohl's collaborations. If you have a Kohl's charge card, you can save an additional 30% on top of the 25% off. If you don't have a Kohl's charge, then you can get 15% off by signing up for Kohl's texts or emails or using code SEPTYES15 online.
Did you go check out this collection? What did you grab?
