Good morning, dear readers! The title of my post isn't just referring to me. It's referring to the half a dozen other women who were waiting outside my local Target store for it to open at EIGHT AM to swarm the Calypso St. Barth racks. I kid you not! And before I offer up my review of the goods, I have to mention one particularly whackadoo woman, who looked like an old Heidi Klum (in that at one point, say 20+ years ago, she was probably as beautiful as Heidi....but years of sunbathing has turned this chick brown and wrinkly :-( She had Heidi's body, but lost her skin tone decades ago. Nonetheless, she was scantily-clad in a tiny white sundress, and took it upon herself to load up her ENTIRE CART with Calypso clothes. Seriously, this woman probably had between $800-$1,000 worth of goods in her cart. I almost asked her "are you one of those people who gobble this stuff up to re-sell on ebay?"
But I digress. Despite the fact that greedy old Heidi had filled her cart, there was still plenty of Calypso for me to peruse. My overall review is an enthusiastic "thumbs up!" There's a lot of options, in many sizes; check online for offerings in Petite and Plus sizes as well.
Here's a rundown of what I bought:
* The Print Dress in Turquoise (which I liked so much, I also ordered the one in Cerise Queen, which is only available online).
* The Woven Shirt in Navy Blue. Looks really plain on the web site, but it's really cute once you get it on. This will be perfect for summer with white jeans.
* The Cuffed Linen Shorts in Chelsea Gray (which is more of a taupe or a tan, IMO). This is another item only available online. I tried these on in white at the store, and they were just a little too transparent, so I ordered them online in gray instead.
* This bright, Tie-dyed Scarf.... which according to Target's web site, is actually in girl's sizing, but I found it hanging in the women's section.
Regarding sizing: as with most of Target designer collaborations, it varies. I sized down in the print dresses I bought, and the t-shirts seemed large as well. But some of the other dresses seemed true to size or even a bit snug. Also, some of the cottons and silks are borderline see-thru. With nude undergarments, I'll be able to get away with wearing the print dresses as-is, but some people might feel more comfortable with a slip or a cami underneath. This was true for many of the Calypso items, and even the knit t-shirts are quite thin.
Other thoughts....
Jewelry & Accessories:
My Target didn't have the jewelry out yet (boo!) so I can't comment first hand on those items. They did have (in the Health & Beauty section) some lovely hair accessories, especially these Shell ponytail holders (at just $5.99 each!) and Mother of Pearl bobby pins (at $7.99).
Home items:
My Target had precious few of the home items out yet, but I did see in the infamous Pouf that so many bloggers have been writing about. While it's not my style, it looked cute.
Intimates/Sleepwear:
This stuff was nice, but nothing that I just had to have. One note on the "short robe" : it's really short. As in, I don't really consider it a robe. In fact, if you wanted to, you could ditch the tie, add a real belt, cinch it over a cami and wear it as a top.
For Mother's Day (which is just around the corner!) there are several great options I scoped out as gifts, including scarves, totes, and makeup bags. I bought the darling pink scarf & straw tote for my mom (shown above) which was included in the Calypso lookbook but I cannot find for sale online. I'm predicting this item be a sellout since there were 6 when I walked into the store, and when I went back to the shelf later I nabbed the last one.