Claire's: BANKRUPTCY! | Dead Mall & Retail Documentary | Retail Archaeology
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2024
- In this episode we take a look at Claire's, a retailer that operates in 95% of malls in the United States. In March of 2018 Claire's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
This episode's music provided by Yuzoboy:
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yuzoboy.weebly....
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It seems like half the stores in the malls are in trouble.
It's mostly the malls themselves and there are several things killing the malls:
- Big Box store revolution from the 90's.
- The Amazon revolution from the 2010's.
- Change in neighborhoods that result in changes in demographics or just a complete reduction in visitors. (Compare Arrowhead, Desert Sky, and Metrocenter Malls to see this effect.)
- Teens transitioning from Malls as the go to hangout spot towards more online and other alternatives for hanging out. (This is also responsible for the death of the arcade, thanks in part to gaming PC's/consoles and the Internet.)
It seems like all the malls are in trouble too.
Albear972 - No, there are malls that are doing well. In the Phoenix Metro area, Fashion Square is doing well because it's in Scottsdale and has worked to keep itself relevant. Arrowhead Mall does well, because it's neighborhoods reflect the areas that were around other malls when they were flourishing, and it's a relatively newer mall. (Not to say they haven't remodeled and changed things up, because they have.) Westridge/Desert Sky is making a comeback of sorts, mostly as a rebranding to meet the needs of a larger Hispanic community that isn't in the same socioeconomic brackets that the communities around the mall used to have.
But, if the valley is any indication on how the malls in the rest of the nation are doing, most are not doing well.
Jack Linde the malls in my area seem to be doing okay but then again its gets freaking hot where i live and indoor malls are a great getaway from the heat
Maximilian Lylat - Phoenix, AZ routinely gets to be 115 Deg F (46 Deg C) in the summer. At one time, Air Conditioning was a factor in a business's success or failure. These days, it is not, and a majority of the malls in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area are failing. As I said before, there are some that are succeeding, but it's mostly because of the areas around them or efforts to make themselves still relevant to their communities.
I honestly hated Claries because it was sooo overpriced for the cheapest jewelry that breaks in two days
Same but I do like the hair clips there. It’s cuter and better than Walmart so I actually go there when I inevitably lose most of my clips lol
I bought a pair of earrings for a military ball in the Claire's in Sikes Center Mall, Wichita Falls. That must have been in 1988. It doesn't look like they've changed at all
My grandmother and uncle lived there when I was growing up so every time we moved (Dad was in the AF, oooof course) we'd go back there as 'home'. Then, when dad retired, that's where he wanted to stay...(ugh) and we lived just off of the northern edge of the flight line. Then I met someone at MSU and we got married and moved to Kemp Street. I stayed in the area for about eight years...still have family that lives there...but I certainly didn't stay.
I stole pairs of earrings in 2008 ..fun times
If you bought those earrings for $5, then they haven't.
The first time I ever went to a Claire's I spent the entirety of my $100 birthday money, got my Nokia phone a bed and a chair lmao
My pink Moto Razr also had a chair from Claire's!
Lol I had a chair for my Razr too 😂
So it was in the 2000s?
When malls go under, it seems like Claire’s and Bath & Body Works are the last to go.
There's usually a GNC nearby as well.
Probably low-cost businesses to run, but I bet their sales are equally low.
Don't forget GNC! :D haha
Back in around 1990, I was 13. I wanted to get my nose pierced so bad, but my dear sweet mama wouldn't let me. But she DID drive me to a Claire's to find a magnetic nose ring. Thinking about it now, that seems kinda dangerous. I miss those days and that beautiful woman.
Lynette C. Hey Lynette, I'm John. First I want to say you're a beautiful chocolate woman and I'm sorry about your mom. And whether you get a piercing or not, you still got it goin' on. 😉😎🙂 How are you?
Thanks, John! I'm well and you? I actually did end up getting it pierced when I was 17. I snuck out and did it. And she loved it! I still have to this day.
Lynette C. I'm doing very good today, just talking with you, pretty lady. This is for you: ⚘
Lynette C. I had a feeling the temptation was too much, lol. You're still a lovely lady regardless. Where are you from? I'm from New York.
Lynette C. You have some cute dogs too.
Your daughter is so precious!! Glad she got to experience the magic of Claire’s lol :)
Claire’s was really popular in the 90’s, my sister got green ears from them when she got her first earrings.
I have a permanent never closing hole in my right ear after I got it pieced at Claire's when I was 12.
Viktor Nikiforov - A quality shopping experience from Claire’s was had by all.
truly
Viktor Nikiforov - In my opinion, they were always awful. Terrible staff that had no idea how to do professional piercings, had ugly jewelry and just all around lousy. It’s amazing they’ve held on for as long as they have. But as a kid when we would stop in Claire’s for my sister I noticed the staff just seemed like stay at home moms that had no business working there.
I only went into Claire's a few times both before I got my ears pieced and after. the only thing I ever brought from them were earrings. none of their other stuff really interested me. The employees at the Claire's that I went to were usually teenage and young adult women who only worked there for the paycheck and had very little interest in maintaining the shop.
NEVER get your ears pierced with a piercing gun! It basically shoves a blunt earring through your earlobe which is so much more painful than going to a professional that uses needles. You're much more likely to have uneven piercings and get infections with piercing guns. I have no idea why it's still legal for untrained Claire's employees to do what should be a proffesional procedure.
Hailey Ann I totally agree. They used the piercing guns because it's mainly quick and easy, but I swear it feels like a bullet in your earlobe (not that I have experience with it) 😇It's just important to sterilize your equipment when piercing ears and putting tattoos on. It's nice to meet you and you're very beautiful in your picture. My name is John.
Hailey Ann I had the gun as a kid put me off for life lol plus had so many infections
They have no way to fully clean the piercing guns either
Sophie Eldridge in a way they do, it just takes scalding the guns to burn away any germs.
Lol it never hurt when I got my ears pierced. Not once! And I’ve had it done 4 times. I’ve always had them done with a gun. If the person knows what they’re doing you won’t have any problems.
Will be singing Human Nature for the rest of the night... Great video!
Tavon Fenwick - MJ did some music for the Sega games.
I caught what song it was from the first few notes!
OMG YASSs
Chris Hansen yeah that song is Inspired by MJ’s song
I was about 13 in 1998, all my teen years were spent being a mall rat and buying up accessories from Claire’s, Afterthoughts and Gadzooks. Fashion was so fun and crazy in the late 90s. Stores of my youth are dying off. 😫
Gadzooks! I forgot about them! Were they bought by the Buckle?
Back in 98 there wasn't many tattoo and piercing shops in my area. So my girlfriend took me here to get my ear pierced.
I was born in 1991 and have two sisters born in 1989 and 1994. So Claire's was a big deal to us growing up. We would go to the mall and see a $2.00 movie with our parents and then go in with our mom into Claire's and get their 5 for $10.00 deal. We all have really good memories of that. This is one of the stores I'd be really sad to see go, so hopefully Chapter 11 works the way they need it to.
Alicia I used to go in as a little kid and get those surprise bags with my babysitter. Now she still goes with her daughter to get those surprise bags 15 years later.
Alicia shit was stuff really that cheap then? Doesn’t seem like it but my perception may be blurred because of today’s prices for everything lol.
Yes, I used to go see a movie at the $2.00 theatre with my grandma and 2 other cousins and we would go into Claire's and she would let us pick something small. I was born in 1987 so I remember these days very well, it's so sad seeing a part of my childhood vanish
Man, my mall has THREE Claire's. I'm not even joking. What's weird is I never ever saw anyone in there shopping. Not only that, I went to my local toy's r us and explored more thoroughly since they're closing down, and noticed they had a Claire's section in the girls toy's area.
BlueThundah75 how big is that mall, wth
Omg they’re laundering
BlueThundah75 WHHHAAATTT??
Not that big of a mall I think, I didn't even notice it until my sister pointed it out. It's two stories, and they're located on the 2nd floor.
Are you sure they were all Claire's?
I ask because there's a store associated with Claire's called Icing. They're supposed to be for slightly older shoppers but to me they mostly look just like Claire's. Although I did like their products a little better.
This is why I love TH-cam. When would you see this kind of entertainment on tv a few years back. I love the internet. Thanks my dude. Your way back machine bit was awesome.
Your voice is pleasing
They would push their "buy 3 get 3 free" on me every time i would go in there. Maybe I just wanted one set of earrings. I don't want to spend $45 to get 3 more
Rebecca Smith That's why it's always good to go with your own deals and not the stores if they don't match what you feel.
I remember going in there and finding a bargain as a teen, now things cost more, like their formal store Icings because they know if the kids cant afford it, the parents can.
Rebecca Smith The problem is if the parents don't approve of them, they ain't getting them, lol. It's nice to meet you, Rebecca. How are you?
I am good, long time Claire's fan. most of my earrings are Claire's I have bought myself, even as an adult i love how different the selection is. it's fun. But the price for jewelry is between $8.50- $15 depending on amount pinned to card board. And sometimes the pieces break after 1 use and I lose interest in replacing it.
Rebecca Smith I think it was mainly for play. Most girls don't mind junk jewelry, it's just something to make them feel more girly. But I didn't mind Claire's though, I guess for some of the girls of today it's just not for them. This is for you by the way: 🌹
I remember they used to have a 10 items for $10 sale...not sure if they still so that, they might. I loved that sale!
I went to the Claires at Mall of America in Bloomington MN last December for the holidays to purchase some Claires make up and items for gifts for my boyfriends nieces and they were having a sale like that there. Now not sure if it was only for holiday time, or if its often all year they do, but it was not ten for ten, it was something like buy five items get five items free. Also the make ups at the moment were #5 make up items for like $15.00 or something like that.
My daughter loves Claire’s and icing (owned by Claire’s) I went to Claire’s a lot. I got my ears pierced, bought purses and loved the sales they had. My daughter loves the but 3 get 3 free when everything is two dollars as she gets six things. She loves it too. I wanted to show her wet seal as she got older, but they closed. Now
She’s starting to get into Justice which reminds me of limited too if anyone remembers that.
Maggie Dean wet seal I remember being dragged there in high school by my girl friends lol didn’t know they were no longer around
I LOVED we seal I completely forgot they closed.
Icing! I was trying to remember the name! The more "adult" Claire's, where I would get all of my cheap "going to tha club" earrings in college.
M LT I prefer the limited too tbh, but there’s a clear bias. Justice looks like glitter and pink threw up in it. It almost gives my
Adult head a migraine.
audioblinker I drug my boyfriend in there. I liked their cheap basics. Now we got over priced Aeropostale or holister.
I loved Claire's when I was a preteen/teen girl back in the 90s. They're closing the one in River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg VA as announced in the recent list of closings. That was my childhood Claire's and that hit me right in the childhood! :( I have a serious sad over this!
I live there, I like never go to claires, but it seems very empty there
Got my ears pierced there in 99’(I was a baby) and I don’t think I’ve even stepped foot in one in 10 years
Natalie Mack can I ask what you think about having your ears pierced as a baby? I'm not hating just curious! I don't think I could piece my baby's ears since it hurts so much (I have stretched ears and 4 other piercings :P)
MagicalMysteryTrip My parents did it so I wouldn’t be scared when I got older since I was so young I wouldn’t remember the pain. I probably wouldn’t do it to my child either but I’m not upset that they did :)
I don't think you should get babies ears pierced. I had mine done. If you do though don't go to a place that uses a piercing gun. They aren't steril and use blunt force to Pierce the ear. Probably more painful too
Minameiscooler Like I said that was back in 1999 and that’s just how everyone got their ears pierced, it was also not as frowned upon to pierce your babies ears. Luckily mine turned out fine and i still have them lol. I’ve gotten other ear piercings done since then and went to actual piercers who use needles which is definitely a much better idea
I also got mine pierced as a baby, but I think it’s just something Indians do lol. And considering so many Indians do it with no problem, it’s probably not that bad for babies to get their ears pierced.
I love the MIDI Mariah Carey 😂
Ashley Sayers same. And I don't even like Mariah Carey. But the nostalgia.
i don't claire if they close
Dan Kirchner me neither. Good riddance.
Lol
Kukki Still is now. They have stuffed animals they want 20 dollars for
Ha Ha. LOL 😆😂
It may be for the best, at least for the malls that are dying. I remember getting my ears pierced at Claire's when I was about ten or eleven. I don't really care for that much these days.
Your voice. So perfect for these types of videos ☺️
Great memories of overpriced keychains and infected ear piercings, lmao
I have to say, this is probably one of the best videos I've found in a long time. This video feels like such a raw form of passionate human expression as you just talk about your experience at a Claire's and the significance of the store chain in your life. Thank you for making this. Please keep making more. I love it.
I guess Toys R Us grabbed Claire's hand on their way down and Claire's joined Toys R Us in their downfall
Mom No, I think Toys R Us just has themselves to blame because of mismanagement and bad decisions. But I do feel they'll come back someday; KB Toys was around for a long time as well and closed, but now they're going to come back during the holiday rush.
LOL Internet 1.0 stuff that 2000s era website! Hahahaha. Dear Lord, how far we've come!
honestly I see no real difference in what it looks like from 2001 and now myself.
I miss those days.
I loved Claire's when I was a kid. It was the best place to utterly overload with accessories, like bandannas, chokers, pompoms, bangles, sparkly skinny scarves, and everything else you needed for a totally coolio Lizzie McGuire ensemble. Nothing about the look of the place has changed from my memories!
Really enjoy the channel. Love the dead malls and retail analysis as well. Love the rotting acres mall series as well.
2003 makes you feel old. I had already graduated college for 10 years then. 😉
The background music is awesome on this video, Mr. Erik! Good choice!
I hate how old these videos make me feel but I can't stop watching these dead business videos. I miss when Claire's had Green Day merch
I love that background music. Neat video, my guy.
Mmmm yes. Claire's, home of the botched ear piercings. I know from experience.
Great episode!
Also your daughter is adorable! I love that she went for the cat ears. That was me as a young girl in Claire's. Always cat ears! I wore them everyday, and would put them on when I would come home from school. In middle school I only wore them in my own house so no one would pick on me. One day, the ice cream truck comes by after school and I run outside without thinking. The cute older neighbor boy that I had the biggest crush on was there! Oh he was so cool. He saw me and started laughing and I realized "oh no! My cat ears are still on!" I was mortified. He meowed at me every time he saw the rest of the year. Stupid boys.
Man, every store I grew up with is going to be gone soon.
I think Clairs is where my girlfriend got some supplies for prom, back in 1994. I cant believe that was 24 years ago.
lovin that michael jackson remix
And yes, teen girls definitely still like astrology.
Thanks for doing this. It’s so sad to see memories like this disappear from our lives.
Does anyone remember Afterthoughts? It was similar to Claire's.
I liked Afterthoughts more than Claire's.
And Icing! and Topkapi (from the 80s)
Icing is by Claire's. We have that one also at the mall. It was more for cubic zirconia rings, necklaces, tiaras and formal wear accessories
Gadzooks.
Same company.
This was a really wonderful video I’m very nostalgic because as a young girl every trip to the mall included a trip to Claire’s I also got my ears pierced at Claire’s several times. I don’t know how many little baubles and bits and pieces of jewelry I had from Claire’s as a little girl. It was so sweet to see go with your wife and daughter to Claire’s and the fact that you wanted your little girl to have this experience is priceless. It’s something I’m sure she’ll remember!!, really super sweet you wanted her to have that!
Thanks for the MICHAEL JACKSON SONG.
You're one of my favorite youtubers! Great video man, keep up the good stuff!
I figure something was up because they no longer have the canadian Claires website working anymore and no shipping from the US site for canadians. also my local Claires is half teens and halfs under tweens merch. lots of mystery bags, TY plushies and things young girls would like. Thanks for posting the video. Love seeing how websites used to be
I'm enjoying this youtube channel. I have watched a few of the videos and they are well done. It is good to preserve the past in a way so people can have a chance at looking at the buildings and stores that used to be frequented. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to more videos.
lucky kid gets compensated for making the video hehe
There are child labor laws. I bet the kid has a good union lawyer on her side.
@@jackielinde7568 hahaha this made me laugh a bit too much
Love the Genesis sounding tunes of classic hits
Sonic Thrillington you should check out Yuzoboys TH-cam channel. It''s a treasure trove of amazing Sega Genesis remixes and Michael Jackson/Sonic the Hedgehog music mashups.
I got my ears pierced there in like 2001-2002. I stopped wearing earrings a long time ago, but I still have the piercing holes.
My son and I both got our ears pierced at Claire's and I personally love their tween accessories.
I don’t have kids but I would imagine that their poor sales might be because they’re having trouble reaching an audience with their products? I feel like girls that would be young enough to be interested in their products don’t (and can’t) get to the mall on their own, and older girls aren’t in to tutus and cat ears and little cheap baubles and things. Maybe I’m off though, I’d be interested in hearing what girls or parents of kids have to say.
SILENCE CHECKMARK
It has not changed much. And I am in my late twenties. Still got some of my jewelry and hair accessories. Sadly one of a set broke as they were wooden chopsticks. Still have the rest I bought and gave one to my mother as a gift. I was a kid then. Good memories.
I Got My Ears pierced at a Clare's when I was 6. It Was The Year. 2000. I Would Shop There During my preteen years. Oh The Memories.
JediMcFly717 me too :’( I also got my ears pierced there in 2000, around the same age. I got my first charm bracelets and everything
I have _so_ many memories connected to Clair's. My parents were divorced in '92 (I was 10) and my dad, bless him, didn't know what else to do with me and my sister on his weekends with us, so to the mall we went! No complaints. We had so much fun looking at the jewelry, and as the years went on, we strayed from the colorful fun section to the "dark brooding" tiny pewter sword necklaces, skull earrings, and eyeball rings.
What a wonderful time to be alive.
I always found Claire's to be super crowded--like with it impossible to navigate their stores without taking out several shelves and tables by pure accident. Even then... outside of the small amount of Sanrio stuff.. it was mostly generic, cheap and tacky. Just barely above going to the Dollar Store for jewelry.
As per getting ears pierced... I was always told not to go there to get them pierced as they do not properly sterilise their equipment... but mind you the people I was talking to tended to have tattoos, multiple facial (and body) piercings and odd colours of hair... so I knew I could trust them for advise on tattoos, piercings and odd colours of hair... though they could NEVER agree on what the good brand of hair dye was.
Usually anything I got from Claire's would get broken before it could get stolen by somebody... which yeah... had me not thinking of it overly that highly.
Always be my baby playing at 6:17 is giving me sooooo much nostalgia. Great vid as always 👏
"Do you remember the time
When we fell in love
Do you remember the time
When we first met girl"
I heard that instrumental version of the song playing in the video.
Aka Remember the time - Michael Jackson
Dimitri Rascalov I heard it, too and started singing it. Lol!
This is so sad! One of my best memories ever was getting my ears pierced there when I was seven, I’m gonna miss it! 😪 (great video by the way!)
sounds like claire's is restructuring debt, and i agree those stores look the same now as they did when i was a little kid, just like sears, macys, toys' r us etc.... everyone whos going out never changed.
Carl Liddle
yup... that's what i said
I know they acquired a few failing companies in the past decade or so. This may be the ugly end of those purchases. Like when ya buy one of their silver bracelets and end up with a green mark.
as time passes people get tired of buying crap and want something nicer and claire's is not it.
bird718 when I was a wedding planner, Claire's was the bane of my existence. Chicks wanted to spend 15 bucks on a piece of plastic or resin but would spend 500 bucks on shoes they would never wear again.
Kristy Basham
shoes are important, you know that
This breaks my heart. I (meaning my mom) bought so much at Claire's when I was a child. I still love buying keychains and stuff there now and I'm almost 20. They have such cute stuff. Really hope they come back.
I did some checking: wolfstreet.com/2016/07/28/pe-firm-apollo-leveraged-buyout-claires-stores-restructuring-bankruptcy/ Short version; they got hammered the same way Toys R Us did, leveraged buyout - and like TRU, has a lot of debt. Maybe they'll be able to keep their heads above water, but you were wise to let your daughter experience one...
Because by the time she's a tween/teen, they may be gone too. The one thing Claire's has going for it is all it's inventory is small and light, so they can be boxed quickly and trucked somewhere else. Which means they don't have to aggressively discount like TRU is having to do.
Your daughter is so precious! I remember Claire's from the '80s. Omg! That old web site! Ha! I love the Wayback machine too. 😊 Thanks for the awesome videos.
I still do go to Claire's when I need travel cases and bags for cosmetics and toiletries for trips and whatnot. They have really cute stuff for that. The ones I currently use were from Claire's actually.
“The internet was ugly back in 2000” lol!
WHAAAT!?! Awww, where am I going to get my earrings now???
Earrings won't be your problem. It's finding a place that does piercings that may be your problem. Short of alternative stores (and I don't think Spenser's does piercings anymore), this may be a tough find.
Jack Linde shouldn't get ears pierced there anyway you should go to a proper that doesn't use guns
Sarah, agreed. There's also plenty of piercing only shops that aren't tattoo parlors, but even still if the parlor isn't like in the worst part of town it should be fine.
As a former mall employee I appreciate your nostalgia. I'd never work in retail EVER again but I miss some things about it.
Same stuff from when I was little... and yes I did get my ears pierced at Claire's... twice...
Where the hell will my daughter go?
hahayourfunny94 hopefully a reputable reputable licensed piercer and not a college kid with a piercing gun.
Kathleen Anlage you talk like they don't go through training to use the piercing guns.
they don't really... unless you call piercing a teddy bears ears training
The guns are really difficult to disinfect. It's better to go to a piercer who does not use those.
They don’t, really. They get to use the piercing gun on a piece of earlobe-thickness foam prior to using them on a human. Some people do not have an eye for it and all store employees are required to do them.
As someone who used to shop at claire's as a kid, the mirrors on the top of the walls were for checking how you looked in something. And probably for theft protection, but It was convenient to try on a headband and easily check how it looked on you.
The claires in the video looks completely different from the ones in the uk, only in terms of stock. Looks like claires nowadays in the uk only seems to cater to pretweens and younger, which is really bad because claires is fucking expensive. You find the same stuff for so much cheaper in other stores. I even saw in claires that they were selling a coffee cup for £10, go to another store, the exact same thing is £4.
My Mom shopped in Claires in the 70's I in the 90's (I am in my mid 30's) and my daughter who is 11 loves Claires.
This is sad for three generations in my family all three of us got our ears pierced there too
You should do places like downtown Glendale and downtown Avondale. I think it would be really cool to see how their main streets are doing. I know there's a ton of little shops and I'll bet a bunch of them are dying just like the malls.
J Davies Yes they are bro. And this is all due to the fact that the average American can no longer obtain a job offering a basic living wage. Discretionary income income is highly limited to non-existent to spend on crap like this.
LOL I had those exact butterfly hair clips!!! So nostalgic. I also got my ears pierced there! Great video!
I got my ears pierced there back in 2002-2003ish. Seems like forever ago haha
did they give you that huge bottle of water solution they gave everyone? it was worthless but they hard sold it anyway. peroxide was better
My best friend and I loved going to Claire’s when we were growing up...We got best friend necklaces, blue mascara, roll-on body glitter, Dr Pepper lip balm, all kinds of stuff! I’m glad it was around for us :)
I heard Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson XD
sone
Lily. ♥♥♥
Same
FULL NOSTALGIA BONER! Thank you so much for making this video. I used to go to Claire's as a kid, and I still go in there occasionally as an adult to browse through the clearance section.
One of my more vivid Claire's memories is going to one of their outlet stores, which was about twice the size of their stores at the mall, and getting a glittery green frog keychain. My family had just moved, and I was about 8 or 9 years old, so I think it was 1998. The stores do look the same as they always have which is part of what I love about it. The only big difference is the sale of cases for smartphones, and that people in there sometimes give me weird looks, lol.
It was great getting to see the old Claire's website in it's various forms. Seeing the CosmoGirl site was the best though. That was my favorite magazine! I just googled it and it's been gone for 10 years now.
That's so sweet that you took your daughter there to experience it and that you want the company to do well, because I know a lot of dads dread these types of places and wouldn't care if they went out of business.
Everything looks cheap and tacky to me, but still loved the video.
It's been that way ever since my sister used to go into the store in a now closed mall my family and I used to go to. I believe she was 10 maybe 11 years old then. It's a store aimed at little girls. Of course it looks cheap and tacky. It's mostly cheap junk.
Crow Migration Actually some of stuff there was really nice. But I'd be weary of some of the metal jewelry though.
Matthew D. They were talking about the items in Claire’s...
Omg, I was a tween right around the millennium and seeing those old Claire’s websites hit me right in the nostalgia. Thank you! Now I feel like I need to go get my ears pierced.
I love the internet wayback machine and God the internet was Awful back in late 90s early 2000s
I agree. The website looked like a cartoon in the late 90's.
I bought earrings and a bracelet for my wedding at Claire's in Freehold Mall. From a distance in the wedding photos, the jewelry looked very classy like it could have been real. Now my husband and I have a home which has no mortgage so I'm glad Claire's helped me out with my quest to have a nice but affordable wedding.
🤦♀️ Oh no, not Claire’s. I grew up there and still like to get accessories at Claire’s.
I waited 6 months to get my ears pierced at Claire's for my 8th birthday. I was so excited I cried and I got to hold the Claire Bear and I picked out these silly rainbow earrings and as a present I got a heart shaped earring holder with a bunch of other pairs. It's such a cute memory and even 10 years later it's still a sweet story to have. They look exactly the same as they did in 2008 lol
Love your videos!
Dana Cantu Thank you!
Dana Cantu I love you
I’m lovin that “Do you remember” cover in the background.
Claire’s is always packed in Santa Maria (CA) Town Center Mall
06CivicEX805 both of these stories that I visited were pretty busy too even though we were there close to closing time both times.
Thank you for going through the old website. So much nostalgia! I remember getting on the Mac computer (the first computer we ever had in out house. It was the Macs that used to come in colors; we had the green one.
My sister and I both got our ears pierced at Clare's!
That was back in the mid 1990s though! I am almost 34 (4-16) and my sister is 29!
Watching this in 2020 and seeing your daughter touch everything... something I never would have noticed before.
I loooove your videos! Thank you for doing what you do!
Kayla Marie Thank you for watching 😁
when i was a kid in like 2003 maybe? my mom got the gastric bypass surgery and the way she dealt with not being able to have coke was spending copious amounts of money on coke flavored lip balm at claire’s.
they also own the icing stores too
Ewww
Priscilla Heidingsfield yeah they did. And I remember seeing an Icing store in my mall and they closed years later. It's nice to meet you and your name is really beautiful. My name is John by the way.
John B aka Smooth Chocolate I used to manage the one out in arrowhead mall
Priscilla Heidingsfield where are you from? I'm from New York.
Arizona and my husband's name is John lol
Oh man, it's interesting to see how little Claire's has changed and is still going! I remember going in with friends ages ago, round about 2005-ish
Damn, I remember getting my ears pierced there when I was in 8th grade (I'm 30 now). So much childhood/preteen memories here.
SILENCE USER
I got my ears pierced at Clair's and it hurt really bad. That was 12 years ago and they don't close even if you don't wear earrings for years. I also had magnetic earrings and two of those best friends necklaces like in the video. I still have them.
Is this the store that sold asbestos containing children's makeup?
I don't know. But, if their makeup comes from China, it's a possibility. I don't let my daughter use any Chinese makeup because of their dodgy production and inspection practices.
Justice does that too.
Kaelyn Swank - Piercings? I haven't seen one around my hood that does. There is one that sells clothing and Jewelry, but they don't do piercings.
Jack Linde Ok the glitch is probably happening where youtube mixes up the comments cuz I never mentioned anything about peircings lol.
Claire's was an integral part of my tween/teen years - with a lot of interesting memories associated with it - and I really hope they don't go completely out of business. Not before I nab a pair of those super cute smores earrings!
I still have some of the cutesy little birthday month trinket boxes they used to sell back around 2007-ish. No trip to Paradise Valley Mall was complete without a stop at Claire's back then (I was in middle school at the time) and I remember being so disappointed when they discontinued those little boxes.
I would often buy jewelry there to fit with dresses for high school dances since they tended to have stuff that better fit my looks/aesthetic and I got my ears pierced at the Fashion Square Claire's for Christmas when I was 16 (and it pissed my grandma off because she's a stick in the mud). Despite grandma's displeasure, I was pleased with it and I've bought a good deal of my earrings from Claire's because they have cute earrings that are for sure safe for people with nickle sensitivity (my mom's nickle sensitive and there's a good chance I am too).
Fast forward a year or two after the ear piercing.
While heading up north with my family for a camping trip we made a stop in Anthem to get some stuff at Walmart only for me to spend so long shopping for earrings at the Claire's store nearby that we almost got stuck there because of a fatal, multi-car wreck that left the northbound part of the I-17 closed. We got stuck taking a side road right next to the 17 to get around it and we had to drive right past the scene of accident. No one talked for awhile after that.
Once we were farther away and back on the 17 we did the math and judging by the location of the wreck in comparison to where we'd been and the speed limit, there was a very real chance that we could have been caught up in that wreck if we had left Anthem when we'd initially planned to. Spending too long in Claire's might have literally saved our lives.
Me and my 2 newborns got our ears pierced at Clair’s
I work at Claire’s in Warrington, PA at the Shopes at Valley Square. Those mirrors u were talking about is yes watching people who try and steal. I also shopped at Claire’s all my life and still do.
I remember going to that exact Claire's at az mills almost every year when I went shopping for school clothes. I usually went to the vans outlet to pick up a pair of shoes and then stop in to look at the necklaces just before we left. Sucks to know they're having trouble, I have so many fond memories of that location as well as the one in tempe marketplace. Ugh, I hope they can recover.
I hope my daughter who is two yrs old now, gets a chance to shop with me there like your daughter...so cute watching her with those heart lockets. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
I got my ears pierced at the mall when I was 14. That was a big deal, feels like yesterday.
Got my ears pierced at the old Claire's location in Cary Towne Center in Cary, NC in 1998/99. They moved to a diff spot now in the mall since then. Still there, for now :/
Love the music and your videos. I'm not sure why but Papago plaza is one of my favorites. Love what you do and look forward to future content!
My most memorable Claire's story:
I was shopping in one of their stores in '99 with my baby boy in a stroller. It was Christmas, and crowded, and as much as I wanted to look around, I wanted to get out of there more. As we were in the parking lot preparing to leave, I lifted my son to find a brand new scrunchie stuffed under his butt. TBH, I contemplated going back in to return it, but a) I didn't want to deal with the holiday crowds again, especially with an increasingly cranky toddler, and b) I didn't know how I was going to explain that my one-year-old was a shoplifter. So, hey, free scrunchie.