Claire’s Closing: the End of the Tween Era

Throughout the 2000s-2010s, young girls between the ages of 8-12 lined up at Claire’s en masse looking to purchase rhinestoned hair bows and candy-flavored lip glosses. If they were lucky enough, they might even get their ears pierced that day (a Claire’s specialty). At the store’s height, it’s safe to say that a shopping trip to Claire’s was practically a rite of passage for tweens.

Established in 1961, Claire’s was often seen as more than just a retailer; it’s been a symbol of the often awkward tween years for over 50 years. But now, 100 million pierced ears and 500 million dollars in debt later, Claire’s filed for bankruptcy on August 6, 2025. So, what’s changed?

Even though stores like Claire’s feel nostalgic for many people, no one is looking at malls in order to keep up with the latest trends. Instead, consumers get their inspiration from what they see on platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, and Pinterest, where users can watch a short video of their favorite influencer wearing a skirt, then purchase that same skirt for themselves a few seconds later. With that type of online exposure and convenience, a product can go viral in the morning and sell out completely by bedtime. As a store that got its magic from in-person experience, Claire’s hasn’t been able to keep up as the mall culture of previous decades is replaced by online fast fashion powerhouses. Like Claire’s, other former mall staples like Justice, the Children’s Place, and StrideRite have recently had to shut down most of their in-person locations for similar reasons.

But it’s not just that Claire’s hasn’t adapted to the online shopping world. The company has always catered to the same tween demographic, and in years past, that has never been an issue. However, the digital age has changed how young people grow up, and with that, it’s changed the way they shop. Tween-age girls have always gravitated towards products or clothing that might make them feel older – that’s nothing new. In fact, for many years Claire’s was selling exactly that: items like animal-shaped wallets and earrings, which felt “grown up” to a child but aren’t actually anything an adult would typically wear. Their products represented a perception of adult life, but usually showcased more childish designs, and that balance made Claire’s appealing to girls in an in-between stage of life. With social media in the picture, though, the entire timeline of growing up has changed, and today’s tweens can actually access adult consumer behavior instead of just mimicking it. Thus, younger people just aren’t interested in the same type of consumerism that satisfied previous generations.

Spaces like Claire’s are simply not valuable when on social media, features like TikTok shop make it easy to purchase adult trending items from home. Why settle for a unicorn purse when you can buy Hailey Bieber's exact lip gloss with just one tap? Instead of going to a mall, today’s tweens are watching Get Ready With Me (GRWM) videos where influencers show off expensive products and can link their entire routine to an Amazon storefront. With these adult lifestyles on display, the tween aesthetic of stores like Claire’s feels outdated to young consumers. When young girls have the option of purchasing the exact same products that their favorite influencer used in a GRWM video, none of them are then interested in trying on mood rings or panda-shaped backpacks. With an adult online shopping world at their fingertips, tweens can actually take on the adult market, when before they could only achieve a caricature.