On anticipation, expectiations, and disappointment: the price of quality

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but here's the thing. I, like most fashion/fabric savy gals out in blog land, was REALLY excited for the Liberty of London for Target line. Those commercials pulled me in hook, line, and sinker. I had visions of frollicing in cute Liberty dresses while rearranging my Liberty pillows and eating off of Liberty plates. While I haven't had a chance to see real Liberty of London fabric or items, I had high hopes that the Target line would at least be a passible imitation if not interesting in its own right.

And then I went to Target.

In the women's section, the colors and prints almost blinded me to the fact that almost everything was icky polyester. Serious people, it just felt nasty. But I tried stuff on anyways, determined to make it work. However, even Tim Gunn couldn't save these train wrecks. The one cute dress, the cotton sateen sheath, was the closest to a winner. The fit was funny, but I figured I could fix that. What I couldn't fix, however, was the plastic-like lining that had me sweating. Total strikeout. (Okay, when I went back later I did manage to find this swimsuit; it is a cute print and the rushing covers a multitude of sins. We'll count that as a win.)

Men's? Not as cute as some of the stuff Mr. McAwesome had found on sale at Johnston Murphy. Yes, that store is expensive but given how long he keeps his clothes it is worth the investment.

Home goods? The bedding and pillows totally did not live up to expectations. I was hoping I could repurpose some of the fabrics into cute projects but the print quality wasn't worth the time. Plus there are so many awesome fabric designers out there that blow this poor imitation of Liberty prints out of the water.

So I guess the point of this rant is: how much are you willing to pay for quailty? Short-term gain over long-term investment? Or if you are going to give something space in your closet, home, or sewing room, do you want it to be something you really love and will keep for a long time?

As for me, I took the money I save by not buying a bunch of cheap dresses at Target and bought a few yards of this. Look for me soon in my cute, high-quailty, and custom fitted dress!