Old Navy gets a new look

I’ve always been a fan of Old Navy’s cute T-shirts and trousers and such. But I’d never been fond of the way the store resembled a lazy teenager’s bedroom (please tell me I’m not the only one who’s appalled by people who don’t pick up after themselves in public – if you see a shirt fall off the hanger and land on the floor, just pick it up, shake it off and put it back where it belongs before someone trips over it and breaks a hip). So I was totally jazzed when I walked into the store this afternoon and realized our local store had taken part in the Old Navy Beautification Project.

They’ve rearranged everything and given the whole store a thorough tidying (I didn’t see a single piece of clothing carelessly discarded on the floor – not even in the oft-disheveled Clearance section). The dressing rooms are now in the middle of the store, plus there are “Quick Change” booths scattered throughout the different departments. (But unless you have someone to stand guard and keep an eye on the Quick Change booth’s curtain I would opt for the real deal dressing rooms instead – you know the ones with locking doors … There are too many curious little kids just waiting to whisk back those curtain and reveal to the world that your days of squeezing into a Size 6 are long gone for my comfort.) The cash registers were relocated to an easy-access front-and-center location – plus, they’re all lined up along one easy-to-see counter so you can relax while standing on line without fretting that you’ll miss the next open register and raise the blood pressures of everyone standing in line behind you.

Even the lights seemed brighter. Then again, maybe my Clearance Rack Glow was illuminating the place in a way it never had before. Tons of stuff – lounge pants, T-shirts, skirts, jeans, undies, shoes, shorts and dresses – has been marked down and neatly arranged on racks, then topped off with “Take an EXTRA 50% Off Last Marked Price” signs. For less than $20 I picked up three pleated jersey dresses, a hooded jersey shirt and a pair of yoga pants! Life is good.

All their Halloween stuff is 40% off now, too. They had great costumes for kids and dogs for around $13 to $18 with the discount – and when I was there they still had Bee and Princess costumes for both the two- and four-legged little ones. How stinking cute would it be to dress up your favorite small creatures in matching outfits and hit the Trick-or-Treat circuit. Yes, very stinking cute.