Women's Fashion: Luxury Designers at Mass Retailers

by on 07-21-2008 11:51 PM

By far, one of the most interesting trends to date has been the slow migration of high-end, luxury designers descending upon mass retailers such as Target, Kohl's, JC Penney's and others.  It may have started when Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney designed lines for H&M, or maybe it began when Target landed Isaac Mizrahi. Either way, it appears the trend is here to stay.

This is good news for those of us that enjoy fashion on a budget.  Even better news is that Upromise Online shopping is partnered with several of these key stores which means college savings while shopping for high-fashion; could you really get a better combination?

Let's start with Ralph Lauren and his partnerships with JC Penney and Kohl's.  Selling under the label "American Living," and "Chap's" he's able to bring his classic styling to a different demographic, and it works beautifully.  For example, the Bootcut Newport Wash Jean and the American Living Bootcut Jeans are nearly identical.  The difference? $34.50 and the option of 4 different "washes" at JC Penney.  What's even more interesting is that the jeans have almost the same exact description on each of the website and the JC Penney version is now on sale for $9.99.  Look at both versions to the right, can you tell which is which?

Kohl's is even more impressive.  With lines by Vera Wang and ELLE, even those of us that spend most of our budget on sports equipment and soccer snacks can afford to look and feel like celebrities that regularly walk the red carpet.  Speaking from experience, I can tell you that the Simply Vera line has the most comfortable t-shirts, with just a touch of class, that I've ever put on my body.  The fabric is incredibly soft, washes like a dream, and I could wear them every single day.  She also happens to offer the cutest little jammies around. Make it twice as nice and check out Nordstrom's for a very similar nightie; it's priced at nearly $80!

So, it is possible to get name brands on a budget; not only that, it's important to remember that, just as with food, the lesser priced brands are made in the same factories as the more expensive.  The ingredients are the same, the style is the same, they just carry a different label.

Up next? We're going to check out Target, and it's deluge of designer duds.  Stay tuned; see you Wednesday.

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