April 20, 2010

Old Navy – You Sorta, Kinda Suck!

I don’t know about you, but my shopping experiences have seriously been lacking as of late….instead turning into frustrating & annoying excursions.  Now, I must preface my forthcoming rant by stating that about 90% of my retail therapy is carried  out at mid to bargain-priced stores (i.e. Gap, Target, Old Navy, etc.) and the rest is done in places more toward the higher-end of the spectrum like Nordstrom, or with brands such as Juicy and Seven For All Mankind.  Of course, it goes without saying that my distress comes not from the latter, but from those that fall into that 90% realm.

Now, what I’m talking about here revolves around two main complaints:

1. a lack of inventory/size availability
2. a significant decline in quality. 

Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed both of these issues all over the place and I gotta’ tell you, it’s starting to piss me off.  It seems no matter when I go, the styles I like are barely stocked and not available in my size….the few pieces left dangling from the rack are either a size “0” or a size “16”, with not much in-between.   And if I do come across something in my size, you bet your tushie I’m buying it, because chances are excellent I will never find it again.  I mean seriously, is it me or are these stores totally not re-stocking items once they sell out??  Whereas before a shopper could afford to come back weeks later to buy an item, now there really is no such freedom of time.  In addition, I’ve seriously noticed the quality of many clothes has taken a nosedive.  Of course, with bargain stores you can’t set your expectations too high to begin with and should be happy if a shirt lasts longer than a season or two.  But this is getting ridiculous, that even here they’ve managed to lower their standards and sell some flat-out crap!

All of this was none the more evident than during my weekend trip to our local Old Navy.  Now, they’ve recently renovated this location and the fact that the new layout is freakin horrendous certainly didn’t help matters.  Add to that that the store was completely DESTROYED (at about 2pm in the afternoon no less) and I was already ticked off before I even got started.  But, I had high hopes, especially since it was the first day of their “stuff & save” promotion and I was looking to find some great deals.  Alas, my dreams were dashed once I started walking around.  I was specifically looking for some new capris for summer.  However, there was hardly any selection whatsoever, certainly not what they should have had on the first day of a sale and for this time of year.  And what little availability they did have, of course wasn’t at hand in my size.  In fact, almost nothing I liked was!  GRRRRR!   Then there was the quality of some items, or rather the lack thereof.   Especially their standard t-shirts….they were way too thin and the fit was just really off, not flattering in any way.  Honestly, I can find better t-shirts at Target (and cheaper too).  And did I mention the inconsistent sizing??  One size definitely did not fit all, that’s for sure.

Needless to say, I spent like an hour and a half in that Godforsaken store, trying on everything in 3 different sizes and desperately wanting to make something work!  I ended up with this shirred, short sleeved shirt for a measly $6.99 and 4 items for my TODDLER.  Again, GRRRRR!  Dare I say that I think my long standing love affair with Old Navy might be coming to a sad & tragic end?!

Ok, enough whining & complaining (for now).  But, I must ask, does anyone else feel the same way??  Are you guys experiencing the same frustrations??  CAN I GET AN AMEN??

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6 comments:

CaneWife said...

I thought I was the only one with the size 0 & 16 problem! I can never find anything! And the stores are always a disaster area.

I have managed to find some cute clothes for Turtle, but I barely even bother for myself, anymore. It's not worth the frustration.

Shannon said...

Amen,sista girl! Old Navy's tees are so thin they are definitely see through and they are not flattering to boot! Tanks are okay but found cute ones at Ann Taylor Loft and they were 2 for 20, not too bad! Better luck with your next shopping experience.

Nicole Marie said...

AMEN!! Where has the quality gone? I'm so with you on that.

Angela said...

I have the same problem, but I have found that I can always find it online, and most times cheaper than at the store. If you buy $50 then shipping is free, so I buy the things I want, then a couple extras to get it to $50 (often times i just buy 2 sizes of the things I am buying because I am losing weight and haven't found my new size yet) then make a quick trip to return it. Old Navy takes things back no questions asked and it is fast and painless. I often do it with twins in toe.

Nikki said...

I've needed to go shopping for ever now to get some new spring and summer clothes and have not gone for that same reason. I end up getting pissed off and crabby because there is NOTHING out there!! And I can't afford to shop at the high end places! I'm going to need to do something soon though! Let me know if you find a new place!

EllaBellaMozzarella said...

@Shannon - I've actually found some cute things at LOFT lately, and they've had a ton of coupons!

@Angela - that's a good point about buying online, esp. w/their generous return policy. But honestly, a lot of times I can't find what I'm looking for there either..all sold out :(

@Nikki - I'm definitely on the lookout for a new place..although I sometimes do buy high end, those moments are far and few between, they don't happen too often. Gap has had some fabulous promotions/coupons lately, so I've been able to find good deals on a few things there that are at least a bit better in quality. I've also found a few cute things at Express and Ann Taylor LOFT, all with coupons/promotions of course!

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