The 400-piece Missoni for Target collection has been eagerly anticipated since images from the lookbook of the collection first debuted on Target’s Facebook page in August, and the launch was to be the first big test of Target’s post-Amazon website. While the marketing campaign was a definite win, it looks like Target’s new site had a momentary fail.

It sounds like hype, but there really is something for everyone here: women’s clothes, men’s clothes, girls clothes, boys clothes, housewares – even a bike! So no surprise that everyone showed up to the site to check it out. Racked reports that demand for the collection, which launches online today, took down both the mobile and standard website. Though we’re currently able to load the site, as lunch time moves across the US we wouldn’t be surprised if there are more moments of server crushing traffic to the site as people flock to the home and apparel offerings.

In the Missoni for Target collection, you're likely to see this guy almost as often as you see those famous zig-zag stripes

While we’re fans of Target’s new website look, it seems like they could still stand to keep a few tactics from Amazon for dealing with high demand.

If you’re trying to get at the goods and run into problems, just hit refresh and hope that someone else hasn’t scooped up the things that were on your must-buy list. The Missoni for Target pop-up shop at New York Fashion Week sold out pretty quickly, so here’s hoping that the distribution centers are better prepared (and more well stocked).

Some items are already showing as sold out though, so as usual when it comes to these collaborations, click quickly!

E-commerce sales and luxury sales are both experiencing strong year over year growth

MasterCard released their SpendingPulse macroeconomic report for July 2011, and the findings are a mixed bag for retailers. Luxury good sales are up 11.6% year over year, and e-commerce sales grew for the 24th straight month in every category except electronics. Combine that with the fact that many luxury brands have finally stopped fearing e-commerce, and it’s blue skies and sunshine for luxury good makers. Saks, who had to shutter some stores not so long ago, reports that same-store (stores open at least one year) revenue is up 15.6%, handily beating estimates of an 8.5% increase.

Then there’s Wal-Mart, whose same store traffic is down 2.6% year over year. Though they’ve attempted to up their style credibility, shoppers aren’t buying it and competitors like Target and traditional supermarkets are seeing foot traffic increase.

So what gives? Is the economy that far back on track that everyone’s trading up? Not exactly.

Surveys from Morgan Stanley and WSL Strategic retail found that shoppers actually don’t think Wal-Mart has the lowest prices anymore. Add to that, many are shopping less because they have less money to spend in the first place. {Bloomberg}

On the other side of the spending coin, luxury brands have been bumping up their prices on everything from 4-figure face creams to designer shoes and consumers are opening their wallets. Not at pre-recession levels, mind you, but enough to push sales up significantly for everyone from BMW and Mercedes Benz to Tiffany’s, LVMH and PPR (owner of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, whose luxury division recorded 23% sales growth). {NY Times}

Which makes it seem like the US retail sector is becoming a tale of two shoppers. In some ways, we hope that is the case, but aren’t sure that it is.

The recession happened for many reasons, but a significant one was consumers living beyond their means, spending money that they didn’t really have.  While we’d like to believe that all of the luxury sales are dormant affluent consumers reawakening their credit cards after gaining from the overall gains the stock market has made since it hit is recent lows, the reality is that “aspirational shoppers” have long sustained the mass luxury industry.

If those shoppers have been saving and are financially stable, we don’t see a problem with spending $1000 on one item rather than 10 or 20 less expensive items.

While there may be some careful saving and selection behind the jump in luxury sales though, another percentage stood out to us: 33. That’s how much MasterCard’s profit rose year over year. There are undoubtedly some affluent individuals driving the $608 billion in MasterCard/MaestroCard spending, but we’d be remiss to overlook the fact that we’re still largely talking about the spending of borrowed money.

We’re glad to see sales in any industry bounce back, but we’ll wait for more information on who’s leading the shopping recovery before getting too hopeful that it’s truly a sign of the economy getting back on the ball.

Target’s first GO International Collective, which brings together previous hits from their many individual designer capsule collections in one place, officially launches today.

GO International didn’t invent the designer/fast fashion collaboration, but in the US it was one of the first to offer clothes from emerging designers at Target prices (read: almost nothing over $100). {Target}

Over the past five years, the Target collaborations have expanded to more established luxury fashion labels like Mulberry for Target, Jean Paul Gaultier and Liberty of London, with collections selling out even faster than Target themselves anticipated. The young designers are where it all started though, and this year Target has decided to bring back the “greatest hits” of the past so you can score some of the must-haves you may have missed.

This Thursday in New York stars gathered to celebrate the launch of the upcoming design collective showcased at the Ace Hotel. Featured designers in the great re-release will include Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon, Paul & Joe, Behnaz Sarafpour, Proenza Schouler, Libertine, Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, Jovovich-Hawk, Rogan, Richard Chai, Jonathan Saunders, Thakoon, Tracy Feith, Rodarte (perfect timing with all of the Black Swan buzz), Zac Posen and Tucker – with all dresses on offer coming in under $50. We have no doubt the lineup will see a fight to the register or online checkout for those who missed out on the first versions.

We absolutely can not wait for the release of the 34-dress collection, which is scheduled to run through April 10th. Our advice? Wake up early and get a spot in line to ensure you get the dress you want, or bookmark the Go International page and click quickly.

Has the Collection Already Sold Out?

One important tip if you’re shopping online: it looks like Target hasn’t worked out all of the bugs as far as the website navigation goes, so the only way to get to the collection items is through the special section included on the main GO International page. If you click the links on the left to browse by designer or color, you may get a message saying there aren’t any items in the category. Rest assured, they haven’t sold out that quickly, but if you want a bunch of styles for yourself, you can continue to let everyone else think that’s the case. We won’t judge.

Happy Shopping!

This year, Target is opening at 4am and breaking out the doorbusters on various TVs, video games and other gadgets. The star offerings are a $550 40″ LCD HDTV discounted to $298, a Wii Fit bundle at $67 and a $190 TomTom GPS system at $79.

Black Friday Ads has the full scan of the 64-page ad.

While there may not be as many doorbusters, we’re hoping to see some Cyber Monday deal details leak. Not that jostling around in a crowd of strangers isn’t fun, but clicking around for a good gift can be a lot less stressful.

The bags range from $14.99 messenger totes to $49.99 satchels and larger duffels. The prints and fabrics range from velvet to denim to faux patent leather, including the eccentric hot pink leopard number pictured above. As Emma Hill, Mulberryâ€s creative director puts it, “Leopards are king this season.” {New York Times}

With the sheer amount of New Jerseyness happening on television, we’d say animal prints will always have fans regardless of season. Everything from tights to jeans, rainboots and umbrellas are turning up in wild animal prints and bright colors. Though it may not be what you’d expect of the English luxury brand, the sold out status is an indication that they know how to please. Sources at Target tell us that a second shipment of the goods is out of the question for now, so what you see is what you get.

All of the styles are under $50, and while there are definite design similarities to the classic Mulberry line, the studded heart purse trick gives these purses a distinctly younger feel. For fans attached to the main Mulberry line who were hoping for a lower priced iteration of the line rather than something related but different, that might be something of a disappointment.

Faux patent-leather can be tricky to pull off: if the PVC is too heavy, it can often look cheap. It’s not always easy to judge from images alone, but the quilted denim seems to offer a good contrast that gives the dark blue purses a slightly more polished look than the all patent bags. For a bag under $50 though, the hardware on all of the bags looks pretty solid. At the very least, worth a second look come October.

Itâ€s summer and itâ€s hot, which means you have the perfect excuse to wear comfortable, flat sandals for work and play, but that doesnâ€t mean your footwear has to be unstylish or sloppy. From gladiator-inspired sandals to peep-toe ballet flats, the options are endless, and they afford you no excuse for worn-out flip flops, which doctors have said can cause more foot problems than high heels because of lack of support. {Forbes}

Not to worry! You wonâ€t even want to wear those boring thongs once you check out these wear-anywhere flat styles at affordable prices:

These SM Luxe Cruzer Gladiator (top) sandals got a “Very Comfy” rating from users on DSW.com, where you can score a pair for $79.95, available in black and taupe. {DSW}

The peep toe of SM’s Penne Flat makes the style summery. $49.95 will get you a pair of bright, fun blue suede shoes.  Cheetah print, or basic neutrals like black, grey and taupe to match any outfit are also available. {DSW}

Dolce Vitaâ€s Ontario Sandal for Macyâ€s is perfect for women with shorter legs because of its lack of ankle cuff, so the leg remains streamlined. They are available for $34.99 at macys.com in pink, dark silver, black and black leopard. {Macy’s}

Mossim’so Wakeisha Dâ€Orsay braided flats are just plain cool – and you can’t beat the $17.99 price! Find them in black, silver or gold. {Target}

Dolce Vitaâ€s prices normally start around $150 for shoes usually available at higher end stores like Bloomingdaleâ€s, but images of three styles from the exclusive collection are up at Target.com, and their prices are between $29.99 and $34.99. None of the shoes, however, are available just yet. {RackedNY}

The shoes are faux leather, whereas Dolce Vitaâ€s regular collection products are 100 percent authentic, but who could pass up such a bargain? Vegan style shoppers will probably consider that a positive, and for the price it wouldn’t be too expensive to grab a second pair in case the first wears out.

We especially like the Buckle Ankle Boot – cute, and they look comfortable, and the studded shoes (metallic flats and black brogues) would be good basics to carry over into fall. Will launching the shoes exclusively at one Target store pay off in the long run though? We get that itâ€s supposed to drive people to the new Target location (New York Cityâ€s first, BTW), but we donâ€t think women will be flocking to East Harlem for the sake of a good deal on new Dolce Vita shoes considering the array of other designer capsule collections in such a wide range of stores these days. On the other hand, the Liberty of London pop-up sold out in record time (less than 24hours), and the new East Harlem store is expected to be around a tad longer so perhaps it will be a good way to get off on a good foot.

Shopping at Forever 21 has always been a budget-friendly endeavor, and the new collection will not deviate from the fashion-forward (often drawing the ire of designers who feel the store’s designs aren’t original enough) and reasonably priced apparel and accessories.

Lichtenberg has been styled big name celebrities like Lady Gaga, and explains how this venture is a positive one for the Forever 21 shopper and his own career saying, “It is going to be for the customer that is younger and has seen my work on celebrities and musicians, but doesnâ€t have the money to plunk down for my main line. This is definitely going to be a great opportunity to be on a more global scale.” {College Fashion}

This collaboration is just the beginning of a series of collaborations that the brand is planning to embark on to offer more upscale merchandise at their signature low prices.  It seems as though the brand is taking cues from competing stores like H&M and Target who have had numerous designers (think Madonna, Roberto Cavalli, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Proenza Schouler) launch capsule collections for their brands in the past.

With over 50 copyright infringement lawsuits under their belt for drawing a little too much ‘inspiration’ from names like Anthropologie, Anna Sui and Diane Von Furstenberg, it’s seems like a smart idea for Forever 21 to bring in their own designers to catch consumer attention instead of copying others. {the Cut}

Diane Von Furstenberg is the queen of the wrap dress, and this Steele Cotton-Linen one is for a girl with job confidence. Available at Bloomingdales.com for $375, the classic look is one you can wear for years to come.