{"id":9438,"date":"2018-11-20T16:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T22:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wordpress\/?p=9438"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:51:07","slug":"plus-size-styles-at-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/fashion-trends\/plus-size-styles-at-target\/","title":{"rendered":"What ever happened to plus-size line Pure Energy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

As fashionistas, we see the rise and fall of so many labels that play in the budget space. Just when we grow fond of a line we can get at Target or Walmart, it disappears into the fashion graveyard \u2014 along with the retailers who couldn’t make it like Wet Seal<\/a>, 5-7-9<\/a> and Contempo Casuals<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Target launches plus size line<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Way back in 2009, Budget Fashionista reported on Target’s launch of plus-size<\/a> line Pure Energy. The plus-size group was (and still is) under-represented in clothing retail, so it was big news to have a fun, flirty line for curvy girls available nationwide at Target.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

According to the New York Times\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/g>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/clipPath>\r\n <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a>, Target tested Pure Energy in a small group of stores before rolling it out in all (then) 1,740 locations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here’s what we said about it then:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Target\u2019s hopping on board the latest trend, stylish clothing for plus-size gals, with a new line from LA-based Pure Energy<\/a>. We\u2019re not sure why it\u2019s taken so long for designers and retailers to appeal to the majority<\/em> of female shoppers out there \u2014 most of us aren\u2019t pencil thin \u2014 but Target\u2019s new line is a sign of things to come for sure. This April, bigger women can look forward to Pure Energy tops, bottoms, dresses, and denim, designed just for them, at Target stores (and online). These items will be cheap, too, ranging from $16.99 to $29.99.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And this was official line on Pure Energy:
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The Pure Energy collection features brightly colored, dip-dye and burnout tank tops, flowing floral skirts and maxi-style dresses, sophisticated nightlife pieces and a variety of in-style denim including skirts, capris and jeans.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The move made sense for Target, because \u2014 duh \u2014 plus-size ladies care as much as style as petite girls or tall girls or skinny girls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And then pure energy ran out<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But if you walk into a Target<\/a> today, you won’t see a scrap of Pure Energy. The label is long dead and gone. So what happened? Well, we can’t say for sure, but we did have this to say about the line before it hit the shelves:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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We\u2019re not 100% sold on the new line, which includes tops with very thin, nearly see-through material, and white white shorts. We don\u2019t guess that will be very flattering, but once the line launches later this spring and we can try it on in the dressing room, we\u2019ll have a better idea.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Probably, Pure Energy didn’t wow Target shoppers like it should have. And it may have been the approach. Back in 2010, Pure Energy described its mission this way: Making fun, flirty, and flattering fashion available to young women size 14 and up. Pure Energy translates the latest trends into styles that compliment curvy bodies. <\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I’m not sure how I feel about the “translating trends” part. But perhaps I’m reading too much into it…?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The pure energy timeline<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Looking back now, nine years later, we can sort of reconstruct the Pure Energy timeline from what’s left of its online presence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n