This year, I wanted to buy a friend’s daughter athletic apparel for her Christmas gift. She’s a gymnast and this was something on her wishlist. I searched the mall but apparently athletic girls apparel (in the size range 7-16) is hard to come by! I had no trouble shopping for her brothers, but I guess the market for girls athletic apparel is much smaller.
I wanted to share where I was able to find success since it was a bit of a frustrating endeavor.
JC Penney
JC Penney was the most promising in store. They had a wide selection but only from their house brand Xersion. Besides that, they carried only 3 Nike apparel items. I ended up choosing a hoodie, tank top and yoga pants from the Xersion line for my gift. The hoodie was soft but I guess it remains to be seen how well the yoga pants hold up to wear. Online, the Nike selection is much wider and there are a few more Xersion items as well.
Macy’s
I was terribly disappointed in the abysmal selection at my local Macy’s. I’ve purchased (girls) Nike workout pants in store before, so I was expecting to see more than just 1-2 different Puma items. The online selection is much improved, with a full selection of t-shirts, pants and jackets for Puma and Nike. There are also Columbia and The North Face coats online.
Nordstrom
In store I found a few Nike and Under Armour items but at full price they were a little out of my budget. Nordstrom.com has a lot bigger selection but most of it is full price. They also have Zella Girl online, which I didn’t see in store but its possible I could have just missed it since I’ve seen it in the past. They also have Patagonia and The North Face coats.
Fred Meyer
I found absolutely no girls athletic apparel at Fred Meyer! They have a small selection of Russell Athletic and Under Armour for Boys. Perhaps they have some in the spring/summer season but there wasn’t any when I shopped in December.
I didn’t get a chance to check out standalone sporting goods stores like REI and Sports Authority. I know that REI has technical wear all year round for babies, girls, boys and adults, however if I remember correctly, most of the kidswear is REI brand and is definitely functional vs. fashionable. 🙂
Perhaps it is due to seasonal priorities that athletic apparel isn’t well stocked at the mall this time of year, but it was a bit frustrating trying to find something cute that my friend’s daughter would love!