Gymboree - I don't get it!

[Vickie46]

I love Gymboree.. its great they have several things that go together and then you can buy the shoes, hair stuff and socks you name it.. I love Gymboree! I like those websites too Gymbofriends and gymbohaven.

They are great!

 

[bumbershoot]

My friend with a girl lived for them, she even got a part time job there at one point.

But with a boy, I just don't get it. Last time I went in there (I have never made a purchase there) the whole place was girls except for a rack or two for boys, and what was on the racks was awful.

I don't ask for the world with boys' clothes, since it's not like a girl where there are many types of shoes, tights, hair accessories, etc, but I do like *some* sort of variety with boy clothes!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

OT:

Hanna Andersson, any tips for getting good deals? I LOVE this designer, but it all seems so pricey. Any suggestions?

Sign up for the emails on the site. You will get notified I believe twice a year when they have their big sale. Still pricey, but some stuff is 60% off or better.

I love Hanna too!

Also check ebay but search "Anderson" - sometimes you can get good deals because someone didn't put the extra "s" in!

 

[ajk912]

I have a question for Gymbo fans. I almost never buy their clothes but when the girls were younger I did. I thought I remembered their clothes running smaller than Children's Place. DS wears a 3T from CP. I want to order a denim jacket from Gymboree but the sizing is 2T/3T or 4T/5T. I am worried that the smaller size will be too small. What about sweatshirts? Could DS get away with a 4T? He is tall and thin for his age (2 years 3 months). He is about 38" and a 4T starts at 39". TIA!

I would size up, Gymboree jackets run small.

Gymboree quality has gone downhill over the years, so I don't shop there nearly as much as I did. The stuff is still cute enough, but I could buy a comparable outfit, pricewise, at Hanna Andersson and have much better quality! Quality-wise, Gymboree is right on par with Target lately. So I buy a lot more Target! The stuff is still cute, don't get me wrong, I am still a huge fan..but I can't pay close to full price for the lacking quality anymore. I am now officially a clearance rack scaler when I used to buy full price with a coupon.

 

[PuNkEe1299]

I have to say that I also Love Gymbo clothes. So much more so now that I have a little girl to shop for though! Never got much for DSs when they were little. There lines are super cute IMO and gotta love all those matching acessories! The quality is very good too and like another Diser mentioned, I can resell them on ebay and get most, if not more, of my money back! (still trying to exlpain that to DH though ) I always shop off the sale rack or use a coupon, but that's the only way I shop anywhere! I also buy DD clothes from Old Navy, and Target. I do also like TCP, but as a former employee of them, it's always like seeing the same thing over and over. There clothes there tend to run smaller than most and they don't wash well either. DDs stuff is always shrinking! So I find myself having to buy way bigger sizes. I am however a huge fan of TCP socks! They wash and wear very well. The only thing I can say negative about Gymbo though is I have to pick and choose when DD will wear these clothes (only if were going out or something) because the first sign of something she drips on them and I freak out! Wouldn't care too much if it was an outfit from Target though!

 

[mami2camjax]

When my daughter was younger, I too was in love with Gymboree and bought TONS of clothes from there for her. Then when my son came, I just could never find anything that made me go “wow” for him and I learned of a great store (Naartjie – naartjie.com) and have been sticking with them pretty much ever since. They’ve got cute clothes and have great sales. I still do Old Navy/Children’s Place for jeans and pajamas…but no more gymboree for me unless I happen upon a really great sale!

 

[MusiqChic99]

I recently bought my son 2 pairs of althetic pants from there because I had a 20% off discount. I really like them but I didn't see anything I couldn't live without. I usually shop at Old Navy and Gap. I dont dislike Gymboree it's just that I find more clothes other places for my son.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I love Gymboree! I was a nanny right out of college and the little boy always had the greatest gymbo clothes. I was amazed how well they stood up to his play and how well they washed. He had outfits I dressed him in weekly he could not outwear them.

When my DD was little she had lots of gymbo clothes as well. They looked almost new when she outgrew them.

I have gotten all their christmas and easter clothes from Gymbo. The winter family outfits were my favorite. I bought DH and DS matching sweaters, DH was very impressed.

As for the price, I never pay full price. They have wonderful sales all the time and great coupon codes.

 

[akersten]

I never pay full price and almost always have a 20% coupon. If you shop the sales or know when things are on sale, you can save a ton. On Thanksgiving Day & Black Friday, you can order online along with a coupon and save ~60%. I got my son a bunch of shirts last winter for less than $4 during a big sale. But lately, the clothes there seem to me to be been there, done that for my daughter. The lines start looking the same after a while. So I've been shopping at Gap for my 4.5 yo daughter.

 

[mom2zandjsquared]

I never got Gymboree until I had a daughter. The clothes are adorable and durable; the prices a little high unless you can get a sale, coupon, etc. I will buy a few pieces there and then piece it together with coordinates from Target or elsewhere since the styles tend to match.

 

[UCFALUM]

Gymbo addict here!! That said, when my boys were younger-they would have 1-2 matching "good" Gymboree outfits but all bets were off when 2 girls came along!! (OP- I have a Declan too! He's 6 and after "firey" Aidan we went with "full of goodness" Dec. I need to figure out how to put all the extra stuff at the bottom and side) I am a HUGE bargain shopper so once a friend "helped" me learn all their sales, gymbucks, extra off etc. it was do-able. It is different with the girls since once you buy the cardigan, dress, hair clips and jeans heck-just add the rest of the line. Boys-not so much since every store (Gap, Old Navy, TCP) do Footballs, baseball etc. Buying for 4 kids and being able to pass along full outfits in great condition, still cute AND resell on ebay is a plus! I now make hair bows to match since THAT was adding up quick. *Use the 20% coupons out there to buy sale items in $50 increments during earning Gymbucks and then you can buy full price 1/2 price during Gymbucks OR sale items 1/2 of the sale price. *special sales or when they have "new" items for $10, $20. They just had the baby sale so the 3 year old got the new Fall line: jeans, leggings, 2 shirts, sweater for $52 instead of almost $120 full price. Now that we are fully into it, many friends have started also shopping there. I still troll the Target 75% and Old Navy .99 but are looking forward to Gymbucks on October 2nd. The best feeling is when I buy Gymboree something for LESS than that same item at Wal-mart or Target. It is an addiction

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

I need to figure out how to put all the extra stuff at the bottom and side

It's great to hear about another Declan! You don't see very many of them! For your signature and stuff, click on User CP toward the top of the page. That is where you'll find the place to create your signature. PM me if you need help!

 

[tlbwriter]

Back when DD wore Gymbo, I bought it because it was cute, it was little girl clothing (not miniature adult clothing), they always had dresses with matching leggings or bike shorts (when all DD would wear was dresses), elastic waists were plentiful (when DD refused to wear pants with buttons or zippers) the mix-and-match possibilities were almost endless, and it had great resale value.

The bad? I've never understood why people rave about the quality, because I just don't see it - the clothes stained easily and I had to air-dry everything. Hanna Andersson is quality. Gymbo is simply cute. Although I did get a few vintage pieces at a garage sale and they seemed to hold up much better than the newer ones, so maybe the quality has gone downhill in the last 5 or so years. And the price is ridiculous - I always bought on sale, with Gymbucks, or on Ebay.

I've never been particularly impressed with their boys' lines (they're cute, but no cuter than what you'd find anywhere else), and I can see why a parent of boys wouldn't understand what turns perfectly sane people into Gymboholics.

(Oh, and I love the name Declan! )

 

[m&m's mom]

I will try to explain my love of Gymboree. I have spent between $5-6,000 every year at Gymboree from 1996 to 2007.
It is so convenient to have everything matching. I used to work a ways from the house and DH could get the girls dressed easily when they were little. Love the matching accessories. In the winter I always bought the matching coats.
The stains came out like no other brand I have ever bought.
Quality was fantastic. They could go through my 2 girls and still look new.
When we went to WDW, I brought clothes from 1 line. It was so easy in the winter to keep their pins on one jacket when the changes clothes every day.
I am soooo upset when they finally put their foot down and refused to wear it anymore. There is nothing else that is comparable.

 

[patsal]

I shopped there a lot for DD not so much for DS. The dresses held up really well regardless of the number of washes, and they were really cute. the boys clothing just never looked right on my son usually just too busy with way too cutsie stuff that didn't work for him. I usually bought everything on sale.

 

[SnowWhite607]

I have to disagree about Gymbo being the same quality as Target. Not even close! My thing that I love about Gymbo is that everything mathces. You arent buying a certain color blue shirt and then having to run all over town to find something to match it.

I have been dressing my DD in Gymbo since she was 2 (she is now almost 8). I never pay full price, I shop sales and clearances and even Ebay. We bought several outfits for Disney this year and she looked so cute and AGE APPROPRIATE! I dont want to dress her like a prosti-tot. LOL!

And Gymbucks rule!

 

[Juliet25]

But for my DD, I love it. I think the quality is good, it looks like little girl clothes ... and it has tremendously high resale value.

I don't pay much for what I buy. I watch the sales and use coupons. I rarely, if ever, pay more than 50% of the retail price.

Yep. If you play our cards right, you can resell your used clothes the on eBay and make more than you paid for them. The clothes are cute, the quality is good (not great, but decent), and the resale value is tremendous. I don't buy too many pieces for my 5 yo, but now that she has a baby sister, I'm back in the stores.

ETA: DD5 is wearing a shirt today from the "School Girls Rock" line and DD5mo is wearing a "Cherry Pie" romper. Between the two of them, one has on Gymboree practically every day. I admit it -- I'm a Gymbo-addict.

 

[Calliaz]

I only buy gymboree on sale and with circle of friends. That way, the prices are close to a more discount brand. I buy ahead and guess on sizes. I do it because I think the clothes are much better quality. You can't tell to look at them, necesarily. I have had one piece of Gymboree clothing permanently stain in five years. I've had tons of target stuff stain permanently.

In fact, a few weeks ago I found a stained pair of shorts that I couldn't get clean. I was surprised because I thought they were Gymboree. When I checked, sure enough, they were Cherokee from Target.

 

[shaylahc1]

Another Gymbo addict chiming in. I will agree that Gymbo quality and styles have been going down for the past few years. I started shopping there "hardcore" in 2004 when the quality was better and resale value was higher. The thing that probably got me sucked in was the fact that everything was 100% cotton. That is so important to me for comfort. The resale value is a huge perk! I estimate I will make $3000 or more this year from reselling my Gymboree on Ebay and at consignment sales. You won't get that kind of resale on Target or Kohls brands.

To sum it up: Gymbo can be quite reasonable if you wait for sales and use Gymbucks, their clothes are 100% cotton and the styles are cute, and the resale value makes shopping there worthwhile.

 

[Tink561]

I used to shop there especially while I was waiting for my daughter from China. I have stopped because I can't stand her being dressed like everyone else and it seems so many people shop there. I frequent small boutiques and online boutiques now. I also buy custom sets off Ebay much to my husband's dismay. Now there is great resell value there!