News that half of the tween retailer Claire’s UK and Irish stores will be rescued from administration by the private equity firm that owns Hobbycraft has sparked a wave of nostalgia for those who grew up with the store.
Modella Capital said on Monday that it had bought 156 Claire’s stores, securing the jobs of 1,000 employees for the immediate future, but warned some shop closures and job losses were inevitable. A further 1,000 jobs remain at risk at the 145 UK Claire’s stores it has not taken on.
The chain, which sells jewellery, accessories and ear-piercing services, has been struggling with falling sales and fierce competition and collapsed into administration in August.
While some shoppers criticised its dizzying amount of items and packed outlets as a turn-off, others recalled their times browsing the glittery offerings at Claire’s with fondness.
‘I’m 37 and I still find fun, gorgeous things there’
I would be so gutted if my local Claire’s ends up closing. It’s my happy place to go for retail therapy. If I feel low, I’ll go there and buy something colourful, glittery or generally fabulous. I’m 37 and it’s a shop I’ve grown up loving – and even now I still find things that I love to wear.
If my branch goes, that will disappear for me; it’s not the same online. I love browsing in person and buying things I never would have looked for if I hadn’t seen them there. A pair of earrings I bought there, which are like a little set of jailer keys and each tiny key is a different colour, gets so many compliments.
I’ve been going to Claire’s since I was 10. There was a blip in my teenage years when I thought I was too cool and wore band T-shirts and wouldn’t wear anything colourful and certainly wouldn’t be seen dead in there, but I soon realised I was being an idiot and that wasn’t really me and went back to colour and glitter.
It makes me so sad when shops close on the high street. I suppose if I had to I could get my glittery fix somewhere rubbishy on the internet, but it just cannot compare with being surrounded by all these silly, funky things and being inspired. Rebecca Kelly, 37, administrator, Gloucester
‘It was great to work somewhere with other women in a business that catered to young women’
I went to Claire’s for the first time when I was about 10. All the girls in my class wore hair scrunchies and my mum took me to buy a navy blue velvet one with glittery stars. I had never had anything pretty like that before.
I didn’t have pocket money but I was allowed to shop in the sale when you could get 10 items for £5. I was quite self-conscious when I was younger but not when it came to necklaces and earrings as they didn’t attract so much attention. I loved buying things like plastic beads for my hair and chokers – Claire’s felt like such a treasure trove.
When I was 16 and in sixth form I ended up working in Claire’s. There were about six other girls all under 26 and we had such a laugh. It was great to work somewhere with other women in a business that catered for young women. My manager at Claire’s was really good at instilling confidence into the kids that came in and she often told her staff they looked great. I didn’t really appreciate that atmosphere until I worked elsewhere.
One of my favourite memories while working there is when me and the other girls would pierce each other’s ears. We would wait until it was really quiet and just go for it. I only wear two earrings in each earlobe, but I think I have three holes in one ear and four in another. Georgia, 32, art historian, from North Yorkshire but now lives in Paris, France
‘Studded belts and piano ties – I wanted it all’
My biggest memories of being a kid in the 2000s are tied to that magical preteen moment when I could finally choose my own style. Suddenly, I wasn’t just wearing what my parents picked out – I was curating me. Claire’s was a tween paradise. It felt like everything inside was meant for cool teenagers who pierced their belly buttons and dyed their hair. It provided the perfect bridge to test the waters of who I wanted to be.
It’s where I accidentally launched my goth phase. It all started innocently enough with a sheer purple skull scarf, but the emo/gothic section had me in a chokehold. Studded belts, piano ties and enough jewellery to jingle like a wind chime – I wanted it all.
One of my favourite memories is spotting a wallet with a chain which had Green Day written on it. I had no idea what it meant but it looked so cool I just had to have it. When I got home I looked it up on my laptop. That single purchase ended up awakening my soul to some of the best music I’ve ever heard.
I can’t say I was really surprised when it went into administration. I feel like the tween market doesn’t really exist any more. Kids today don’t seem to go through that same transition phase from child to teenager. I see eight-year-olds shopping in Sephora, which blows my mind. I can’t help but compare it with my own eight-year-old self, clutching a £6 makeup palette from Claire’s, while kids now casually spend £30 on designer lip gloss. Times have definitely changed, and so has the market. Courtney Smith, 27, runs an online subscription business, Sunderland
‘Every young girl was in there – the shop was complete chaos’
When I was barely a teenager, I once accidentally “shoplifted” from Claire’s. I grew up in Jersey and there wasn’t much to do other than go into town and hang out with friends. I didn’t buy anything as I never had enough money, but when you were inside it felt like every young girl was in there – the shop was complete chaos.
My “shoplifting” was entirely by accident. I was walking down the cobblestone-covered high street and wondered what the irritating noise was when taking every other step. On investigation, it transpired that one earring from a pair had pierced itself into the sole of my shoe, and I had left the densely packed shop without noticing. The biggest shame was that they were hideous. I’m afraid I didn’t take them back, given my own concerns regarding hygiene, so into the bin they were tossed.
While Claire’s is probably not offering people what they need or want now, it certainly offered something for me as a young girl growing up in Jersey. Katherine, 39, works in healthcare, Brighton
