On the morning of March 14th, I will be waiting in line at an undisclosed Target, paper coffee cup in hand, charged up and ready to pounce. I am trying to keep my expectations in check, knowing that the prints won't have quite the delicate and subtle quality as the real thing (and am prepared to make a big batch of tea stain if needed). The cotton will definitely lack the cool and silky hand of the Liberty tana lawn (which is hands down the finest cotton I've encountered and if you have never owned any, I encourage you to treat yourself to the real thing). That's okay. I am still looking forward to an extra flowery Summer, thanks to Target.
I believe the prints used in the Target collaboration are from the Liberty archives but "reworked" as seen below.
This is going to be a huge collection covering homewares as well as clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. I am really happy that they have offered some longer-length dresses. In the past, it seems most of the Go International offerings have been geared towards a junior market (or maybe they have just been trying to conserve on fabric costs). The Liberty pieces seem to be more sophisticated. There are even a couple maxi dresses.
Prices will of course be very friendly. The sandals below are selling for $9.99 and so far the priciest item I have seen is the Liberty print cruiser bike, which I think will sell for $199.
This is my favorite of the dresses so far: a very easy style in a black version of the peacock print.
And the outfit below has me fantasizing about languorous mornings on the patio.
Drinking some Earl Grey from the exuberantly printed Dunclare teapot.
Maybe a little Devon cream can be found to go along with a bowl of strawberries served up in this Dunclare bowl.
And I'm really looking forward to stealing some of the menswear items for myself. I want to wear this blue print shirt in the middle along with one of the ties. How cute would that be?
Naturally there are going to be some things for gardening, that most English of pastimes. I think the tools and watering cans looked a little garish but I am totally down with the gardening gloves.
I think that along with the men's floral shirt and tie tucked into my overalls, I can channel my English gardener muse, Valerie Finnis:
photo Jan Baldwin, World of InteriorsSome of the pillows and bedding look very promising. I could see these combining nicely with some Indian block prints.
The canisters and picture frames are also lovely. Again, the black and white one is especially nice and if you took the top off it would make a really cool, streamlined vase for a posy.
And I love this swimsuit (again in the peacock print!) so much that I think I will get one to wear as a top.
And just in case you need more inspiration for La Vie En Fleur, feast your eyes on some images from Liberty's illustrious past with longtime partners Cacharel and photographer Sarah Moon.
