Our Network Partner, Fops & Dandies, came upon a sneak peek of Richard Chai's capsule collection for Target. The gal 'aint impressed. From what we can tell by the garments they're just exactly Chai's brand of femininity but not exactly align with what he claims is his inspiration, that is, the 1980's. When we first heard about the collaboration we were most excited because Chai has a reputation for selecting the right textiles at the right time. How does this translate to a fifty dollar frock? Our interests were piqued. What Fops and Dandies rightly points out is that, so far, Chai hasn't delivered, neither on the inspiration front, nor on giving us our bang-for-the-buck. It's difficult to speculate at this moment, and, as F&D points out, just too soon to tell. Below, check out Chai's current season offerings, all currently on sale. These garments are faraway from two twenties and a ten but they're significantly marked down and, well, the real thing.

You could always forego the trip to Spain, buy this frock, and hop a jet to Mexico City. The Mint Jodi Arnold Side Button Dress has us thinking of immediate departures. A strong color for summer, particularly cobalt, will surely make the season (as limited as it is) seem more fashionable. We saw this color in the Richard Chai and Helmut Lang shows for spring, and, many a Fall 07 collection sampled the hue. Stop blow drying your hair, use olive oil as moisturizer, sweep the most basic rouge across your cheeks (while wearing this dress, of course) and you've got sexy down pat. Screw Bridal Week, go find yourself a single caballero.


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Designer Richard Chai's collection was one of our favorites from the Spring shows. Now that deliveries are being made, and the season is upon us, we thought to recap the collection that wooed us back in September. Chai, who worked under Marc Jacobs and label Tse (he turned Tse right around), launched his own collection back in 2004. He is known for his intricate details and special fabric choices. This Spring 08 Chai showed the kind of sporty silks that we love from designers like Calvin Klein, or on the more avant garde side of things, Helmut Lang. It is a wearable collection that would flatter women of all ages, potentially explaining why this year's collections were picked up by Bergdorf and the like. Our favorite aspect of the collection were the trousers. Right on point with this relaxed mid-section thing that's been sweeping through fashion, the trousers were mostly high-waisted, moved like water, and had a fold-over waistband that pulled in the look (reminding us the wearer has a waistline). Check out our video and gallery of the Spring 08 collection as well as links to Fall, below.