Am I The Only One Not Psyched About Betsey Johnson’s Rumored Target Line?

Yesterday the Internets were abuzz with rumors of wacky designer Betsey Johnson’s potential partnership with Target (or H&M). I, apparently, am the only person who thinks this kind of sucks.

Speaking as a girl who won’t pay more than $60 for jeans and a frequent Target shopper, I understand the appeal of designer clothes at discount prices. Especially now that the economy sucks so hard and the whole country is seemingly poorer than they were this time last year.

What I don’t understand is taking the work of a notoriously eccentric designer who has been celebrated for her upscale work and mass-producing it so that every woman in America can be rocking the same leopard print, polka dot, taffeta dress next New Year’s Eve.

By signing with a box store, or even just a well-known chain like H&M, Betsey Johnson’s dresses (and other designs) will  become the  norm. Just as with Isaac Mizrahi, her name won’t  be synonymous with style and ingenuity, but instead with ho-hum, everyday apparel. Additionally, I’m willing to bet that production quality is going to go way, way down and Johnson will be forced to change her sizing system (previously focused primarily on smaller women) to cater to overweight American women.

The allure of dropping $400+ on a Betsey Johnson dress is the knowledge that not everyone has it. As cliche as it sounds, clothing makes a statement about its wearer. Yes, a Betsey Johnson dress is a beautiful addition to your wardrobe and one that will (hopefully) last long enough to justify spending that amount of money on one item. But it’s also representative of the fact that you want to look original. Otherwise, you could’ve just gone to, say, Target.