Note to Target*: "Snowfall Splendor" invokes dazzling whites and silvers. This table runner is more the color of mud season, which doesn't just yodel "Fun and Frolic!"
Did they sell a dazzling white table cloth? Of course not.
Shopping in Pasadena yesterday, I noticed that Target's Christmas ornaments and decor were sitting on the shelves, at full price, while shoppers thronged the aisles. Lots of looking, not much buying. (The website claims to have clearance prices, but no serious shopper thinks 35% off is a deep discount, and there sure weren't any sales tags at the Pasadena stores.)
Seems to me that marking this stuff way down now--before Christmas--would make more sense. Buying something frivolous and inexpensive often makes a customer feel like splashing out a bit, and buying a little more. Saving the discount until after Christmas is like making a kid finish her spinach before she gets ice cream. And shelves full of merch just assure me that I don't need to grab anything right now--it'll all still be there.
* As we all know, Target ignores bloggers.
affiliate. Virginia Postrel receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through one of our 
links, including purchases you make while on 
