Babies on the cheap again

Mention Santa Monica to other parents in Los Angeles who get around, and you might hear something about how many good parks there are or the names of some famous children’s stores. It used to be that all of the major streets had baby boutiques of one kind or another. Maybe I’m just noticing it because I’m a parent, but it appears that these stores are going under at a faster rate than other stores now that we’re all feeling the recession.

Montana Avenue was rife with upscale baby stores. From 9th Street all the way to 17th Street, the number of pretty little receiving blankets, darling clothes, and useful but silly gadgets for child rearing (think Bugaboo strollers and the bath toy caddy shaped like a frog), was legion. Anchoring it at 14th Street was BabyStyle. Now, many of these places have shuttered or are having massive sales to liquidate. BabyStyle is a mess of drastically reduced children’s and maternity clothes and baby toys. The employees keep trying to do their job well, but they – like the bargain-seeking customers – seem pretty frayed.

On Wilshire Avenue, the Right Start looks deserted – like the employees don’t expect to come back to work tomorrow. The company reported filed for bankruptcy and will be closing its stores. The Pump Station seems to be holding onto success, perhaps because it is the only store of its kind in the area – offering new parents education and support as well as gorgeous and pricey ways to pamper their babies.

I could go on and on with the children’s stores all over town that have closed with little notice, but you get the picture. I’ve been told about second hand children’s stores in the area, but I have yet to find them (leads would be appreciated!).

Just before the holidays I participated in a multifamily yard sale. I didn’t have time to pull together all of the clothes my children have outgrown, so my items were fairly limited to household tchotchkes, cookbooks, some grownup clothes that never really suited my husband and me, and a few rather lame toys. Family after family, seeing my kids with me, kept asking if I had clothes to sell. Hearing that I didn’t then but might in the future, my would-be buyers were disappointed that they couldn’t get a deal today on items they actually needed.

I used to marvel over who exactly kept the frou-frou baby shops in business. Some of the things my parent cohort and I bought were more practical than others. A great, versatile stroller is possibly worth a huge price tag if you walk a lot. The little distressed jean jackets with sewn-on lace and sequins, the tiny Led Zeppelin replica concert T-shirts… not so much. What I find interesting is that this kind of consumer spending had such weak legs. I guess we all knew how ridiculous it was to drop $40 or more for a piece of clothing that might be worn only a few times. So does everyone already have enough clothing in the closet for their fast-growing brood, or are people going to the suburbs and online to purchase their families’ simpler and cheaper wardrobes?

Now would be a great time for a few more second-hand stores, it seems – or at least a Target somewhere in the city.