Gymboree - I don't get it!

[Tiger926]

Way to go!! I should be getting my check in the next couple of days, and I am dropping off for sale #2 today!!




I didn't see anyone say their kids didn't like Gymboree.
Some people have said their kids don't like Gymboree clothes because they think they are 'babyish', so I was responding to that fact.

Do you think other brands aren't tasteful? Give me some examples.
I don't want to do that just in case I hurt or insult someone else's choice of clothing.

Again, I said it's a matter of style. You like older, traditional styles, I prefer hip, modern clothes. Neither choice is better than the other. I think a lot of Gymboree's boy lines are BABYISH, in the style that one would dress a baby. I'm not into that. Not a big deal.
By saying that you prefer "hip, modern clothes" this can be construed as an insult to those of us who like Gymboree - you seem to be insinuating that Gymboree is not hip or modern. Again, I beg to differ. Their clothes for the most part could be considered more traditional, but like I stated before, I have a Tommy Hilfiger shirt that was a gift, and a Gymboree shirt, that are identical - do you consider Tommy Hilfiger to be hip or trendy?

I'm in the early childhood/elementary ed. field, and, technically, toddlers are 12-36 months. We're past 36 months. Maybe "where you come from" is a little behind where I come from?? Two and three year olds are not "babies," and I'm not sure what a "baby kid" is. DS just happens to be quite independent and knows what he likes. I'm very proud of that fact.
I'm a teacher, so I got the child development stuff covered. You have a totally different way of looking at child stages, and so for this we can agree to disagree. I didn't say that a 3 year old should be treated as a baby, but, there are still some 3 year olds in diapers, so in our neck of the woods, it's still a younger developmental stage in regards to clothing worn. Most of what I see at the mall I don't find suitable for children at all, so for us, Gymboree fits our style just fine. 2 year olds are babies, IMHO, but again, we can agree to disagree on this.

Good luck to you, too, since you seem to be so concerned about those with "fasion issues."
This was not insulting at all - I am a teacher and so I totally understand fasion issues. I also have 4 nieces - we don't struggle with fashion issues over here, so I am legitimately wishing those who do good luck as I know it can be a battle some days to get kids out of the house in the morn. That being said though, a lot of that is caused by parental fashion issues as evidenced in this thread. I didn't realize it was immature of me to put my 2 year old baby boy in a dinosaur shirt. I guess I'll let the 8 year old boy across the street who was wearing a dinosaur shirt the other day that he is very immature by not dressing for his age. How silly!

Tiger

 

[dogluva]

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Tiger

My eight year old loves dinosaur shirts or anything with wild animals on it. He has a million t-shirts with animals. He also loves trucks and has one with construction vehicles. He is a little immature but so what? He is not being ridiculed at school. His friends dress similar.

This past summer he asked for a pair of shoes with spiderman-the light up kind. They were on sale and fit. The lady helping us was so rude-she was like "You still like character shoes at your age??" I was so offended and made a rude remark back. We are talking an 8 year old (big for his age but still only 8), not an 18 year old!

Your kids don't like that stuff, fine. You don't like snaps or pastels fine. I just think it is instulting when people assume the kids who whear those type of clothes are babyish.

 

[Heather1101]

DS 8 really likes the clothes from there, especially the ones with animals on them. Gymboree clothing holds up so well and I can always sell it or pass it down still looking fairly new. Even though he has a lot of Gymboree clothing, I NEVER pay full price. The last batch of clothing I bought was short-sleeve shirts for $7 each and drawstring shorts for $8 each. That is the same price, or even a bit cheaper, than clothes from Walmart that fall apart, pil, or fade after a few washes.

I also get some of his clothes from Children's Place outlet, but only on sale. I have gotten tshirts for $3, polos for $4, and last year I bought light jackets on clearance for $5 each. The things I have bought from them do hold up pretty well.

On the other hand, I am in the other camp that does not see the appeal for Old Navy. Their quality is not good and their clothing does not hold up nearly as well as Gymboree, Gap, Children's place, and I can often find clothing at those aforementioned places for the same price or cheaper than Old Navy.

 

[Heather1101]

I have never gotten much from there and only because it is at a mall which is not very close to me. But i do think the stuff is cute, and i prefer little boy cutesy clothes!
i just checked out online and i saw several things i want to order, i may make a trip to the mall though to check out the store.
i like the gymbucks thing too. oh and i also see there is an outlet in a reasonable distance from me too............is the outlet worth a trek to ?

The outlet, IMO, has low quality clothing...even the tags inside the clothing are different (They have green writing instead of orange). You also cannot use Gymbucks in the outlet...at least that is my experience w/ the Gymboree outlet here in Hawaii.

 

[Goofy'slady]

This thread is very interesting. I have two girls 10 & 3 and the older one is in 5th grade and would find Gymboree's things babyish and uncool. We get most of her clothes from all over; GAP outlet, Target, Kohls, WalMart and Old Navy to name a few. Even when she was younger we didn't buy much from Gymboree. My youngest would wear things from there but when walking past the store I never really see much that makes me want to go in there so I don't even get to see the sale racks. I'm afraid that's the only way we would buy something from there because I find there clothes cute but waay over priced.

But the way some of you ladies are swearing by there clothes I may have to atleast check out their website. LOL

T.

 

[madge]

I agree I don't think the quality is all that great!

oh wow, really? I'll get a piece every now and then that isn't so great (quality-wise) ... but, we have more than one outfit that my DD has been the 3rd child to wear it and it's held up wonderfully!

I do believe that the quality now isn't quite as good as it was a few (4-5-6) years ago, but it's better than it was a year or two ago. And I realize that doesn't really make sense. LOL... but that's been our experience. LOL

 

[smidgen21]

Can someone explain it to me? Can they be used just like cash? Is there a minimum purchase? Ie spend $50 get to use your $25 Gymbucks???

 

[synclair11]

i had to post in this thread, way we buy gymboree, and have for almost 8 years,
1. because my daughters can wear a outfit i paid $50 for a couple of times and then i resale it on ebay or kids sale and make $50 or more
2. the quality is very good i have never had any kind of issue with anything
3. the main reason is because i like my little girls (7 & 3) to look like little girls, i love it when my 7 year old is standing next to other girls her age and they are wearing "graphic tees" with crazy preteen sayings on them, with their hair hanging in a headband trying to look like they are 13 when they are 7 and my girls always get told how cute they are and the other girls do not.
i love gymboree, it is great for kids because they don't have clothing to make them look like streetwalkers like other stores i won't mention
heather

 

[imthatgirl]

i had to post in this thread, way we buy gymboree, and have for almost 8 years,
1. because my daughters can wear a outfit i paid $50 for a couple of times and then i resale it on ebay or kids sale and make $50 or more
2. the quality is very good i have never had any kind of issue with anything
3. the main reason is because i like my little girls (7 & 3) to look like little girls, i love it when my 7 year old is standing next to other girls her age and they are wearing "graphic tees" with crazy preteen sayings on them, with their hair hanging in a headband trying to look like they are 13 when they are 7 and my girls always get told how cute they are and the other girls do not.
i love gymboree, it is great for kids because they don't have clothing to make them look like streetwalkers like other stores i won't mention
heather

well my 8yo streetwalker looks quite cute. now anyone who doesnt shop at gymboree is a hooker. you people have got ot be kidding me! you buy her those clothes because the other kids arent told theyre cute...seriously you have the only cute kid oh my....

 

[angeleigh]

well my 8yo streetwalker looks quite cute. now anyone who doesnt shop at gymboree is a hooker. you people have got ot be kidding me! you buy her those clothes because the other kids arent told theyre cute...seriously you have the only cute kid oh my....

You have an 8 yo streetwalker and I have a 4 yo college student. I think I also may have a couple of street walkers here too since I have 3 dd's that wear graphic tees and clothes from "those other" stores.

 

[imthatgirl]

You have an 8 yo streetwalker and I have a 4 yo college student. I think I also may have a couple of street walkers here too since I have 3 dd's that wear graphic tees and clothes from "those other" stores.

im curious as to why the pp has a problem with graphic tees? gymboree sells graphic tees? i dont get it. my daughter has one that say "my brother's a monster". can you believe i let her leave the house with that on. poor kid, so far no one has confused her for a hooker, but i guess its going to happen. i mean we dont shop at gymboree. its all over for us...

 

[Juliet25]

Wow, this thread has sure taken a turn for the absurd.

I didn't realize that dressing a child in Gymboree makes one give up membership in the young, hip mommies club or turns said child into a conformist, herd-following zombie. Likewise, my eyes have been opened to the evils of graphic tees.

 

[imthatgirl]

Wow, this thread has sure taken a turn for the absurd.

I didn't realize that dressing a child in Gymboree makes one give up membership in the young, hip mommies club or turns said child into a conformist, herd-following zombie. Likewise, my eyes have been opened to the evils of graphic tees.

gymboree sells graphic tees
in fact i cant think of a store that doesnt?

 

[wlwilliams9]

I'm not a big fan of Gymboree either. They have a couple of cute thing, but everything is very cutsie and matchy. The quality of their clothes is great, but I only buy things that are on sale. I prefer to shop at baby Gap, Old Navy and Target for my DD.

 

[Juliet25]

Can someone explain it to me? Can they be used just like cash? Is there a minimum purchase? Ie spend $50 get to use your $25 Gymbucks???

You spend $50 and get $25 in "gymbucks" towards the purchase of $50. For example, I have $100, so I will be able to buy $200 worth of clothes for $100. The next redemption period coincides with the release of their holiday lines, so it works out well if you need portrait clothes. However, this is also a good time to buy some clothes for next season pretty cheap.

HTH!

 

[synclair11]

anyway, a perfect example is at old navy right now her are some of the shirts they want my 7 year old to wear
"girls rule, boys drool"
"looking for a little bit of trouble"
"its all about me"
"omg"
those are just some of the ones i am talking about i have seen worse ones on little girls younger than that. and no i don't buy clothing to make my kids cute, they are just as cute playing in the dirt in the backyard. i answered the op of why i like gymboree, i just don't understand why i am expected to put these types of sayings on my 3&7 year olds, and then wonder why soo many of them have smart mouths?
never said that if you didn't shop at gymboree then you were wrong or anything like that, i shop other places, it is just harder at "other stores" to find stuff that don't make her look like a 13 year old.....

 

[imthatgirl]

well, i wouldnt shop at old navy...but, no one says if you shop there you have to purchase everything. you certainly can buy what you like. ive seen cute sweaters there. they sell jeans. just because someone does shop there doesnt mean their child looks like a "street walker".
you dont have to dress your children in gymboree for them to be cute. and yes that was your number one reason you shop there. because no one tells anyone but your daughter they are cute

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

So, I bought a Gymboree pirate costume today (from a lady who had it rejected at JBF). We didn't need it (DS already has two Halloween costumes). It was $15, and it's pretty freaking cute!!

However, I still won't be buying DS's fall wardrobe at Gymboree. Again, just a matter of style and taste (not bad or good, just different). I didn't realize young and hip were "better" than traditional and classic (As a matter of fact, we're a very traditional family, we just happen to like more hip, trendy styles), but if anyone took offense, that's not what was intended. They're just two different styles. Someone compared hip against tasteful and couldn't/wouldn't back it up with examples. That's because there are no concrete guidelines to it. It's a matter of preference and perception.

Gymboree shoppers are no better than any other shoppers. Gap wearers are no better than any other brand's followers. Target buyers aren't lower (maybe a little heavier wallets, though) than any other buyer. I'm not sure where these ideas started coming across the thread.

 

[madge]

anyway, a perfect example is at old navy right now her are some of the shirts they want my 7 year old to wear
"girls rule, boys drool"
"looking for a little bit of trouble"
"its all about me"
"omg"
those are just some of the ones i am talking about i have seen worse ones on little girls younger than that. and no i don't buy clothing to make my kids cute, they are just as cute playing in the dirt in the backyard. i answered the op of why i like gymboree, i just don't understand why i am expected to put these types of sayings on my 3&7 year olds, and then wonder why soo many of them have smart mouths?
never said that if you didn't shop at gymboree then you were wrong or anything like that, i shop other places, it is just harder at "other stores" to find stuff that don't make her look like a 13 year old.....

my DD school doesn't allow sarcastic or suggestive shirts - the "looking for a little bit of trouble" probably falls under that rule.

As the mom of a 6 year old, it is hard to find traditional/preppy looking "little girl" clothes. Once you get into the size 7 and up clothes, there is a definite shift to a pre-teen look. I'm not ready for that yet.

We do have some graphic shirts, though. Specifically ones about dad being a rock star .. my DH plays guitar in a church praise band. So at our house, dad does rock. LOL.

 

[imthatgirl]

gymboree does have another line that they call "cool". which i found quite interesting because of the turn this thread took. Crazy 8 is there new line and from their page its concept is " cool clothes for kids' crazy lives from sizes 0 to 14." funny they would differentiate it this way.
personally i like crazy 8. i wish they had more stores, i could see them being more successful than gymboree. maybe someday.
oh and btw, they sell tshirts that say things like "im not listening" , i guess no company is perfect.