This is probably the 8,700th blog post about Missoni for Target, and I am way late to the party blogging about this, but I feel that being that my love for Missoni is so long-standing that it makes this still relevant. I bought my first Missoni scarf about 12 years ago in Paris. I was 20, and being 20, I was kinda broke, but I saved up to spend the $75 on this scarf. Ok, do the math, I'm totally dating myself. My roommate, one of my very best friends to this day, saved along with me for this purchase. I think it was a Saturday, and we ventured over to the Left Bank to go to the Missoni store.
Now the Google search I just did shows a big shiny Missoni store on Rue St. Honore (Right Bank), which must be "new", and by new I mean in the last 1o years. Laura, correct me if I'm wrong, but this was a small-ish store on the Left Bank, yes?
So with a wallet full of francs, I made my selection. A modest piece, mostly blue and black, with a bit of bronze and a row of black sequins for a little flash. I wore it daily, as you do with scarves in Paris. Come to think of it, I wore it for months with my Helmut Lang jacket and Barbara Bui loafers, maybe I wasn't as broke as I remember.
Anyway, I was long in love with Missoni at that point. When show season came around I would relish just going to the Missoni showroom in Milan for castings. If that casting took two hours, I did not care. I would sit happily in those surroundings. I never did their show, probably because I wasn't a brunette, but I'd never hold that against them.
When I heard Missoni was producing a line with Target, I was thrilled. When I learned it would be introduced while we were on our honeymoon, I was nervous. Part of me wanted to believe I could come home and happily shop away with a full selection of the line. As it grew closer, I knew there was no chance. People were already amping up about it. People who probably had no idea what or who Missoni was two months before. Margherita who? Missoni what?Then the line was released. Everything was sold out online. EVERYTHING. I was in a hotel lobby in beautiful San Sebastian, Spain, with shitty wireless internet, and there wasn't a damn thing available. As an eternal optimist, I was flabbergasted. My sister wrote to me about the nightmare in New York City, celebrities (who can afford regular Missoni prices, mind you) were sending out assistants into the insanity that was every Target store on Tuesday, September 13th. It was a week later before I could make it back home and to a Target store. I chose to go to one of the crappier suburbs first. Maybe they don't know about Missoni there? Everything that was left was on one shelf, right by the front door. Mostly it was bras and some kids leggings. Nothing in any sizes of anyone I know or love. I left brokenhearted. Two days later I went to my Target and had slightly better luck. I found an adorable knit romper for my beautiful niece, who is five months old. Along with that I found a hat and mittens, of an indiscriminate size, that I'm sure will fit Miss HM (my niece) sometime in the next two years.
I had accepted that this would be all I would find, despite many articles claiming Target would do another release. I was not holding my breath for that. And then I got a call, and a text. A photo from my younger sister of a rack full of Missoni at her local Target, with the caption, CALL ME! She found a treasure trove of leftovers, and was ready to hook me up! She scored me a few makeup and travel toiletry bags, along with a few picture frames. This was just today, so I haven't gotten anything yet, but I am VERY excited. I'll be sure to share my treasures with you.
