There’s literally no such thing as an American girl between the ages of lets say 10 and 35 who doesn’t have fond memories of a life changing experience inside Claire’s Accessories store. It seemed as though the store was to be found in every single mall. Well, actually it almost was, with over 1000 stores across the U.S in the ’90s.
 
By 2006 there were an entire 3,000 locations throughout the country.  Our hearts completely broke when we heard that Claire’s has recently filed for bankruptcy.  Former Claire’s shoppers across the internet mourned together on March 8th when this was reported by Bloomberg.
 
Claire’s is not just about the fake jewelry itself. It’s about the experience we all have associated with it, debating whether or not we should buy all these things for hours with our moms and best friends, and learning how to make educated purchases for the first time in our lives. We seriously really struggled to find 10 items for $10.
 
For some, Claire’s even brings up some ethical issues, with young girls who once tried out shoplifting for the first time, just to see what it would be like. Of course shoplifting was not and is still not ok, but at that time none of us really knew better.
 
And probably the most memorable experience of all at Claire’s, was getting our ears pierced. Most of us got our first piercing at this legendary store and remember the exact tears and screams we let out at Claire’s.
 
Claire’s was a store that everyone could afford, everyone could fit into and always had endless choices. At the moment, we are still unsure about whether or not Claire’s will really be shutting down, and if so, when. Apparently it’s current debt is over 10 times it’s profit.  The only way they could continue to operate is with the help of another company.
 
If they do shut their doors, we most certainly want to get locked inside.