The black director’s chair became free and my tummy started doing somersaults. My turn had arrived. Standing next to my best friend, mum encouraged me to step forward so I could choose a little pair of diamonte studs. The day had come after months of begging: I was about to get my ears pierced and 10-year-old me couldn’t have been prouder to be experiencing this milestone in Claire’s Accessories.
The US retailer was a beacon of my childhood and that’s why it made me sad to hear it will file for administration, putting 281 stores and over 2000 jobs at risk in the UK. While there’s no denying the retail landscape has struggled in recent years and the cost of living crisis continues to wreak havoc with our disposable income, it still pains me to think of a high street without Claire’s Accessories.
Yes, the stores were jam-packed and aesthetically questionable, but they gave me my first taste of self-expression.
“It was a right of passage,” says Clemmie Fieldsend, fashion editor and celebrity stylist. “Stepping into a Claire’s meant freedom. It hit that tween market perfectly, it was my first memory of feeling independence. I was allowed to choose what I wanted in a store that felt like it was made for me, not my parents.”
There was rarely an accessories trend that couldn’t be fulfilled in Claire’s. My butterfly clip obsession? No worries, Claire’s had packets aplenty complete with glitter and feathers. Festive earrings? In almost every iteration of Christmas tree design. Bag charms? Pre Labubu obsessions, there were cuddly keyrings in abundance. Yes, the stores were jam-packed and aesthetically questionable, but they gave me my first taste of self-expression. Even if that did come in the form of some outlandish scrunchies.
So why has it fallen out of favour? An increase in online competitors has most certainly made an impact as the likes of Amazon and TikTok shop take up space. Paired with inflation costs pushing more businesses to the brink, Claire’s has reportedly accumulated in £25 million of losses over the past three years. There’s also the drive towards more eco-conscious shopping, and retailers like Claire’s stocking a large amount of plastic goods, have not moved quick enough into sustainable practices. Yet, there’s a fondness that many of us have for that coming-of-age retail therapy.
“Highlights for me were going there to get a coca-cola flavoured lip balm and thinking I was such an adult for having such a cool lip gloss,” Fieldsend laughs. “Having accessible accessories that I could wear with friends created such a bond. I remember we all bought devil horns – niche – around the time Thong Song by Sisqo came out. Real core memories.”
In short, it was chaos but it was our chaos. Did you really have a good weekend if you hadn’t grabbed some stick-on nails from Claire’s and grabbed a McFlurry from McDonald’s next door? My love of Claire’s didn’t end when I left school, either. When I went to uni, every other week was a themed night. My housemates and I would trawl to our local Claire’s, buy feather boas, masks, glitter hair spray, neon leg warmers, whatever was needed for the next ’80s night.
“I worked at Claire’s in the heyday when I was at uni and am so sad it’s going into administration,” says Holly Fulco, PR Manager. “Saturdays were so busy, I would spend hours untangling necklaces and reorganising hairbands, but the buzz of the store was always unmistakable. Groups would come in, excited about their weekend plans. It was just fun. I’d try to upsell kirby grips at the till point, it was a real carefree time. And I made two friends for life working there.”
In a time where nostalgia is ruling the news cycle, with bandage dresses, concealer lips and Oasis merch making waves, it feels cruel to lose Claire and all her sentimentality. In the words of Yves Saint Lauren, “I like dresses to be sober and accessories to be wild.” With large thanks to Claire’s Accessories, mine most certainly were wild and wonderful.
Joely Chilcott is the content director at PS UK. With more than 10 years working for a number of women’s lifestyle publications, she has edited features across fashion, beauty, health, wellness, and news. Previously, she spent four years as the head of female content at a newspaper, where she was regularly the mouthpiece for female-related issues while spearheading campaigns that resulted in laws being changed for the better. She has work published in Drapers, Women’s Health, Fabulous, YOU, Woman&Home, The Sun, and the Metro. She has also worked across TV and radio, contributing to ITV Daytime shows and TalkRadio. She has a degree from Royal Holloway University. You can usually find Joely speaking enthusiastically about Harry Styles, shoes, and bread baskets.
