Tweens of Bakersfield, rejoice!
Valley Plaza Mall on Ming Avenue is getting a Club Libby Lu. That’s a store shamelessly packed with pink and glitter where girls in the neighborhood of 6 to 12 years old can get makeovers, buy dress up clothes and accessories, decorate customized plush toys and hold theme parties.
The store is opening April 14, and girls so inclined can get free makeovers April 15-18. Alas, accessories and Hannah Montana and Sharpay wigs are not included in the freebie.
A subsidiary of Saks Inc. and based in Chicago, Club Libby Lu has 98 stores nationwide, including nine in California. Bakersfield’s, at 2701 Ming Ave., will be the 10th in the state.
“We’ve been doing really great up in Modesto and Fresno, and we know Bakersfield is growing and it’s a very family oriented community,” said district manager Veronica Fajardo.
Club Libby Lu founder Mary Drolet, formerly of Montgomery Ward & Co. and Claire’s Stores Inc., named the store for the imaginary friend of her childhood.
The “girl-centered environment,” as the store bills its girlie-girl paradise, includes a style studio where patrons can dress up as pop stars and princesses; a Sparkle Spa where little divas can create custom spa products such as “Soapy Sundae” body scrub and “Kool Karma” body spray; a Pooch Parlor where girls can customize a pup or kitten and take it home in a fancy carrier; and an ear-piercing station.
Products for sale include clothes, accessories, home decor, gifts and tween-friendly cosmetics.
There’s also space for themed parties in which guests can live out fantasies of being everything from a rock star to a princess to a glamour queen.
Strolling through the mall with her four children in tow, Claudia Ibarra, 25, said she had never heard of Club Libby Lu, but it sounded like something a couple of her girls would love.
“For Halloween they dressed up as a princess and a fairy,” she said.
The eyes of 10-year-old Meghan Collom, who lives in south Bakersfield, sparkled as she discussed the Valley Plaza’s newest tenant.
“I like dressing up,” she said on a visit to the mall with her older sister.
Lisa Pollard, 43, of the northeast, gushed almost as much as 6-year-old daughter Sarah when she heard the news.
“Oh, she’s going to loooove that,” Pollard said. “She has lots of princess dresses.”
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Source: The Bakersfield Californian, Thursday, Apr 3 2008
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