One of the items that was lost in the great summer ceiling debacle was an old book from my childhood entitled Sugar and Spice: The ABC’s of Being a Girl, by Phyllis McGinley. It was my sister’s book, but it made a deep impression on me. Some years back I bought my own copy from an online purveyor of used books, largely to see if it was as awful as I remembered.
It was.
When I am eighteen or a little bit older
I’m going to wear earrings that hang to my shoulder.
I’ll feel like an empress
I’ll walk like a queen
In high heels and earrings, when l am eighteen.
Something about this book left me with a feeling that there was some secret mystery about being a girl and that I was never, ever going to be on the inside of that secret. Over the years I realized that the worldview championed in this book wasn’t the be-all and end-all of who I could be. I didn’t have to fit this mold to be acceptable as a girl/teen/woman.
I had a flashback to those words this morning as I read:
A Columbia Firm is Saving Tween Darling Claire’s Jewelry from Extinction, Bria Overs, Baltimore Banner
A brief explanation of what’s happening here:
Ames Watson, headquartered in Columbia, is purchasing the intellectual property and “a significant number of stores” in North America for $104 million, according to a press release this month. It could be up to 950 retail locations, Fast Company reported Tuesday.
Writer Bria Overs pairs the nuts and bolts information of why Claire’s has been in financial trouble - - along with the particulars of what Ames Watson hopes to do - - with some personal insight from a Claire’s shopper.
Courtney Fisher, a 22-year-old Morgan State University student, got her ears pierced at a Claire’s at age 13. It was “one of the most memorable experiences” of her life, she said.
Fisher, who grew up going to teen-focused stores like, Claire’s, Justice and Club Libby Lu, said losing the chain would be “disappointing.”
“I feel like it’s kind of unfortunate for young girls,” Fisher said. “They don’t really get to experience that as I did as a girl growing up. I feel like it’s a part of girlhood and developing into a young woman.”
There it was again. It may sound silly, but I was a bit startled.
Sure, I’ve taken my daughters to Claire’s over the years. Im not suggesting that there’s anything inherently evil about it. In my personal opinion the worst part about it is all the mass produced junk that we keep putting out into the universe. That can’t be good for the long term health of the planet.
But to hear a young woman say in 2025 that shopping at Claire’s was a valuable part of girlhood and developing into a young woman surprised me. Do people still think like that? I guess they do. And the people at Ames Watson thinks that Claire’s has a future, so they must be betting on consumers like Ms. Fisher.
And, to be honest, she has a choice to feel that way. It’s not a requirement.
Claire’s is a place to play dress up and try on different ways of appearing without any long term commitment. You can put on and take off a variety of looks with all the seriousness of considering Halloween costumes. It doesn’t need to define you if you don’t want it to.
As a place to experiment and just have fun I can see its attraction. As a component in developing womanhood…
I’m sorry. That still kind of gives me the creeps.
What do you think?
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