On Pesach Shopping for Girls' Clothes
I took my girls to Flatbush on Sunday in search of Pesach clothes. I was rather disappointed. The store I started going to two years ago had almost nothing in their size and still had much winter stuff --not much reduced if at all-- interspersed with the new line. I noticed the same thing in another store we went to. I think they are hoping to pass off some of the older stock as current, but you can see the difference in the deeper shades of gray and heavier fabrics for black even if those 2 colors are still "very in" as one saleswoman insisted. I observed that "black is the new black." Remember, we are talking about clothes for girls 7-13 here. My impression, which was confirmed by the owner of the third store, was that owners were afraid to be stuck with unsold stock. They see they have a lot of winter things left over, which means they are out the money on those items. Plus they don't even have room for new things with so many leftovers cramming up the floor space. So they are really hesitant to shell out a lot for a substantial selection. Hence, slim pickings. Oh, you can still find adorable things for 3 year-olds, but why pay $70 for those when you can pick up really cute dresses for them in regular stores for $20?
Anyway, I did manage to pick up some stuff after going to 3 stores, though none of it is very, very dressy. That stuff is all priced at about $90 an outfit even for the 7 year-old. I settled for the not top-of-the-line and not names like Zoe for outfits they will wear not just to show off in shul. But I want to share this for those of you who have not yet gone shopping.
Today I was in Queens (without the daughters) and stopped into the store on Main that carries girls' dresses. In truth, they had a better selection for the bigger sizes than the first store we went to in Flatbush where I was only able to find a chol hamoed to weekday dress for my youngest. The Queens store had the very same dress for less. It was $30 at the store I bought it in, and $39 at the store where I bought other things. Another outfit I bought for 2 of the girls was $45 on Coney Island Ave (and at that point I was happy to find any complete outfit in that price range when so many skirts alone topped $50) was only $39.99 in Queens! These are the exact same outfits, not just similar ones.
So my advice to those who have not yet set out on the exasperating treck of clothes shopping is to go to Queens first. I'll bear that in mind myself before the next round.
Anyway, I did manage to pick up some stuff after going to 3 stores, though none of it is very, very dressy. That stuff is all priced at about $90 an outfit even for the 7 year-old. I settled for the not top-of-the-line and not names like Zoe for outfits they will wear not just to show off in shul. But I want to share this for those of you who have not yet gone shopping.
Today I was in Queens (without the daughters) and stopped into the store on Main that carries girls' dresses. In truth, they had a better selection for the bigger sizes than the first store we went to in Flatbush where I was only able to find a chol hamoed to weekday dress for my youngest. The Queens store had the very same dress for less. It was $30 at the store I bought it in, and $39 at the store where I bought other things. Another outfit I bought for 2 of the girls was $45 on Coney Island Ave (and at that point I was happy to find any complete outfit in that price range when so many skirts alone topped $50) was only $39.99 in Queens! These are the exact same outfits, not just similar ones.
So my advice to those who have not yet set out on the exasperating treck of clothes shopping is to go to Queens first. I'll bear that in mind myself before the next round.
Comments
You can do fine at places like Children's Place and Macy's for a long time for your oldest.
You remind me of a point that irks me: why are all the dresses sleeveless? They are meant for Easter, which comes out in early April and sometimes even late March. The temperature that time of year is likely closer to 50 than 75 degrees. In fact, I noticed that some lines feature short sleeves or no sleeves practically year-round. It's great for the manufacturers because they get to charge full price while using less fabric. But even for those without a modest code for dresses, you would think, would want sleeves, at least for 3 seasons.