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So I went to Old Navy today, armed with a gift card that I got as an early birthday present, hoping to buy a zip-up fleece. I've seen them there before, and I liked the ones they have there and on their website, so I figured I'd pick one up.
Unfortunately, although my calendar says January 27, apparently theirs says it's May 27th. It was ridiculous. There were almost no winter clothes in the entire store, and most of those that they did have were on clearance (and for good reason). There was not a scrap of fleece in the store. It was all t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, and short-sleeved shirts.
People always complain about stores putting out Christmas stuff before Halloween, but what about them putting out bathing suits in January? Seriously...who buys bathing suits in January? Who decided that it would be a bad idea to keep at least some clothes for the current season in stock in case someone decides they want something mid season?
I've never heard anyone say, "Gosh...it's almost the end of January! I'd better get moving on my summer wardrobe!" It's not as if this is the first time this has happened. Since I have a January birthday, I'm generally not allowed to buy anything for myself, including clothes, after October. By the time my birthday has passed, and I have birthday and Christmas money to spend on clothes, none of the stores have winter stuff anymore. It took me about three winters to finally find a coat a few years ago, because by the time it got cold enough to need it (December or January) each year, the stores had already stopped selling them.
When I am ruler of the world, one of the many changes I will make will be for stores to not start putting out shorts and bathing suits until March. They'll need to be out a few weeks ahead of Spring Break for all the kiddies, but that should be plenty of time. January and February will still be focused on winter clothes.