Judging the Judges: Simply Vera by Vera Wang

Kohl's recently started selling their exclusive Simply Vera by Vera Wang collection. What does Kohl's have to say about it?

"Known for her pricey couture wedding dresses, Vera Wang offers up more attainable clothes with a new line designed exclusively for Kohl’s department stores. She already has mattresses, wedding dresses, hotel rooms, perfume and stationery under her bejeweled grosgrain belt. Now, Vera Wang is romancing the masses with a soup-to-nuts cheap-chic line for Kohl’s called Simply Vera by Vera Wang. And it uses the same design ingredients as Wang’s existing empire of high-end goods. Dark, moody and voluminous don’t usually describe the cheap and cheery world of designer collaborations – but this time, they do. With a smoky palette of navy, black, ash and dusty lavender, and a nod to Eastern Europe, the Kohl’s line is straight out of Wang’s fall runway collection."

Yeah, it's straight out of her last collection - and we're not sure that's such a good thing. There's nothing wrong with muted colors; we happen to be fans of them ourselves. But there's muted and then there's clinically depressed.

It's not bad, really. It's mostly classic shapes and looks and the clothes look like they're well made. It's just that, as a collection, or more specifically, as a brand, it's a bit of a downer.

Still, Kohl's isn't always known for having the most stylish clothes in the world, so this is a bit of a step up for them. It makes us think of Tim Gunn, actually. These are the kinds of wardrobe basics he would force his makeovers to wear. That's not a bad thing, necessarily. It's like they're clothes for women who don't know how to dress stylishly.

Can't say we're any more impressed with the accessories:

Nothing to write home about (although some of those bags looka little cheap). What do you gals think?

(Photos: Courtesy of kohls.com)