I wouldn’t consider myself a “know-it-all” when it comes to the top-notch, bang for your buck, best quality fashion when it comes to shopping for newborns all the way to big kids. However, after working in Nordstrom’s kids clothing department for six months, I am able to receive a good amount of feedback of where our customers shop when Nordstrom doesn’t have what they’re looking for. Here are some of the most popular stores that our Nordstrom customers gravitate towards, when Nordstrom misses their mark: Janie and Jack, Gap Kids, Gymboree, and Vineyard Vines.
Starting with Janie and Jack, we immediately see that their website advertises more “preppy”, colorful clothes. Judging by their current homepage, their clothes are meant to give off preppy Cape Cod vibes, or a suggestion to purchase dressy Easter outfits. In the brand name alone, we see that there’s a stronger inclusion of boys–which Nordstrom kids clothing always misses their mark on. For both boys and girls, they emphasize on stripes and flowers on: dress ties, dresses, socks, and button-downs. Their target demographic is most likely families that have both a boy and girl, who are looking to have the siblings match in some way–whether its for school, or for a family photoshoot that requires identical clothing. Janie and Jack has a good amount of sales going on for their clothing, which makes me as the buyer question if this is because of the ongoing coronavirus steering people away from shopping for clothes–or if they take after Gap Inc, who bought them out for $35M and their quality is about the same. Let’s dive into Gap Kids and what they have to offer.
Whenever a Nordstrom customer tells me they’re going to go to Gap Kids, I often hear a bit of sadness in their tone. Although Gap Inc. does not say it outright, it has qualities of a fast fashion retailers from their mass amounts of the same product; and their fabrics have the tendency to pill, or form these little fabric balls which can make clothes appear “tacky”. In terms of standard Gap for adults, they heavily rely on trends and what’s “eye-catching” for the season, which I imagine also trickles down to their kids clothing. I recall shopping here as a kid, and absolutely loving their styles–but eventually all my clothes pilled. Although it has better durability than H&M or Forever21, its still very easily to accidentally match with other people’s kids (make sure you’re grabbing the hand of the right kid at the mall) but at least their clothes are cute for the time-being and it gets the job done of covering the body.
Our third popular retailer is Gymboree. This San Francisco based brand was something I also wore as a kid and loved! Gymboree takes a more playful approach to dresses and “dressed up” clothing to Janie and Jack. With Janie and Jack attempting to be more “preppy” and trending more on big kid apparel, Gymboree loves their ruffles, plaid, and the spring themed clothes. The beauty behind this store is their affordability and delicate fabrics that do not trend on the princess tutus and sparkles. Therefore, this makes any shopping excursion easier, knowing you don’t have to deal with a whinny daughter insistent upon the fairy glitter costumes.
The final retailer that is popular amongst parents for kids clothing is Vineyard Vines. Their style is meant to be preppy and comfortable. A common complain parents have about formal wear for kids, especially boys, is the struggle to get boys to want to wear suits or even a polo. Luckily, Vineyard Vines offers the “comfort” all little boys are looking for, and still manage to be presentable for any formal event–whether that is cotillion or a wedding. Additionally, the girls clothes take a fun nautical spin with their iconic pink whale logo or even anchor patterns. Their ability to combine classy with comfort is something that parents from all over are thankful for. Ditch the whiny kids in dress ties and sparkly “princess gowns” and give Vineyard Vines a chance to prove themselves as a preppy store with comfortable clothes.
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