If you know me or read my personal blog, (Alive in Wonderland), you know, I have this thing against all things “Juicy Couture.” Pretty futile given I live in Orange County where you see it splashed across every other hinie at South Coast Plaza, but I can be stubborn when I want to be.
Here’s my beef…$145 for a little girl’s purse at Nordstrom?
I was thrilled to my toes when I saw they had about eight of them marked down to (a steal at) $95 — guess it wasn’t the three-year-old “must-have” of the season.
Even if I had the wallet of Oprah, I wouldn’t shell out that kind of money for something for a child. You would either have to be a slave to appearances or just not thinking straight to throwing down that many Jacksons on something that will be either replaced by a three-dollar Dora handbag or lost forever in the abyss that is your daughter’s closet floor.
What are we teaching our kids when we spend this kind of money on them, even if it’s feasible?
I remember my mom used to put things on lay away for me — anyone remember lay away? The agony of lay away taught me to appreciate things when I (finally) got them. Our kids (mine included) would be aghast at the thought.
My, I am ranting aren’t I? … you’ve never seen this side of me before …
Not that I don’t think Juicy has cute things–most of it is beautiful. When I spotted their adorable bathing suits at Nordy’s it was all I could do to keep my principles from being tossed aside, if only for long enough to pull out my credit card.
I have even shamed my friend Jill into my little boycott. “I love that,” she said, “but I know how you feel about Juicy.” Aren’t I mean?
What first made me lose my respect for the casual apparel maker is best discribed by Vickie Chang in her column “Trendzilla” in OC Weekly (which I never miss) “Juicy Couture Is Ruining Our Children.” Vickie fumes about Juicy’s despicable line called “TRUSTFUND GENERATION.” It makes me a little afraid for the kids we are turning out here in Orange County.
I also go on in my column about a trendy lost dog I came across at the Spectrum wearing a Juicy Sweater, read “Frenchy’s Great Escape.”
Yes, of course, it’s a free county (yes, county) and if you want to adorn your children (or dogs) with expensive clothes and purses, more power to ‘ya. But, my daughter will be steppin’ out with her eight- dollar Old Navy purse…and she looks darn pretty.
Are Vickie, my poor friend Jill, and I the only one who is getting this?
Whew…I’m done. I need a Diet Coke now, pronto! I AM in a mood this week.
Would you like to be featured here and on 
I agree with every once of myself, and I just went on a cruise and ate way too much, so that’s a lot of ounces! I too think the Juicy swimsuits at Nordstroms right now are so cute, I almost tried one on just for the fun of it, but decided not too. I agree that buying a purse for even $95 for a child is absolutely ridiculous, but my issue with Juicy is the tag across the butt. No little girl should have anyone reading her butt and thinking “JUICY”. Even a little tag is too much for me, maybe I’m just too conservative, but I stand behind my convictions and you will not see either of my girls in anything Juicy. My friends, feel free to harass me if you see me wearing or carrying anything Juicy as well. (For the most part, I agree it’s cute, so I should never say never - I learned that since becoming a parent almost 11 years ago).
Okay funny story- well I think it is….when I was I early in my career I was a GM for a large fabric manufacturer in LA. One of our house accounts was a new and upcoming account called ‘Juicy’. It was two woman running the company- and they were looking for ‘baby rib’ to make tight Baby tees for women. I was remember being shocked when I found out they planned on selling the t-shirts for $45.00! It seems cheap now- but back then it was an insane amount to pay for a T shirt. So I told them so, thinking they would just LOVE advice from a supplier! Do you know what they said? “If you tell woman to pay it-she WILL pay it”……………immediately I knew they were evil and nuts.
But the joke was on me- they went on to be one of the most successful fabric accounts we had- just selling baby tees and then sweat suits….and now they are a small empire. I too share your disgust. Another reason to be glad I have boys….
I remember the day when I wanted, HAD TO HAVE, a pair of Guess jeans. My mom said “I am not paying $50 for a pair of jeans”. Oh my, if only she knew that years later she would be purchasing $200 pairs of jeans as Christmas gifts for my siblings and I. I bet she wished they were ONLY $50
Oh my god! I had no idea. I’m not even comfortable paying over $80 for a purse for myself. I can’t even imagine buying something like that for my daughter – if I had a daughter. I do think it sends the wrong message to young girls and is extremely excessive. Geez, all this is going on while I’m trying to figure out whether to patch or not to patch the knees of my young sons’ $10 jeans.
Suzanne, thank you for writing about this – I have just officially joined the boycott.
No Juicy for me or my daughter, thanks.
The thing is I want my daughter to look like what she is– a little girl– for as long as possible. I’m not into making her look like a mini-woman. That’s what disturbs me about Juicy.
I love living in Orange County but I do wonder about the effect it will have on my daughter. Today I was pushing my daughter’s stroller into the Spectrum Macy’s when a young girl, no older than 11, came strolling out by herself. She was talking into a cell phone and carrying a Louis Vuitton Murakami purse.
I stopped to watch and see if she was going to meet her mom outside, but there was no adult in sight and she disappeared from my view. For all I know she ended up meeting mom at the other side of the Spectrum, but I couldn’t help thinking wow…I don’t know that I would want my young daughter by herself at an outdoor mall, talking into a cell and carrying an obviously expensive purse. Maybe that makes me strange or uptight, but there you have it.
I can’t stand Juicy Couture. No one should have their behinds stamped with the word “juicy”….it’s just wrong. I think it is easy to get caught up, especially here in the “OC”, with name brands, but I really try to keep my kids (my daughter mostly) out of that game. Does my daughter (9 years old) have some name brand clothes? Yes, she owns some Roxy, Gap, Abercrombie…all bought at Children’s Orchard (love that place!), but I really try to avoid clothing that has the brand name flashing across it. They don’t pay me to advertise their clothing line!
Way back when Juicy was still new, my friend and his co-worker were outside taking a smoke-break and saw a family walk by with a young girl who was wearing a Juicy Couture shirt with the logo across the chest. My friend’s friend, being a country boy and not knowing what “Couture” was, said, “How can they let their daugher walk around with a shirt that says ‘Juicy Cooter’?”
That’s my favorite Juicy story ever.
In whole-hearted agreement,
Nik
Thanks everyone for your comments. I was happy to know I am not the only one who feels this way.
I was really hoping I would get someone to defend Juicy, but it looks like all those who love it aren’t joining in. Darn!
I myself was hoping for some delicious hate mail from Juicy-lovers—always fun to read—but we can’t always get what we want!
Thanks for the link!
I am certainly not going to defend Juicy but as the mother of a pre-teen daughter, the Juicy phenomena (and so many other labels - Dooney Bourke, Coach etc) has been raging with her and her crowd for years and finally seems to be losing steam. For them, it’s not abut style but about fitting in - remember teenage angst - I do. Yet, I never purchase these luxury items for my daughter but leave it to the largesse of grandmas with the understanding that words such as Juicy or Victoria Secret’s “Angel” are not appropriate on 12-year-old anatomy. The good news is my daughter recently told me that she is “so over” the label thing. Of course, she said this while clutching the small Coach purse grandma gave her for Christmas.