Petit Bateau

I read about Petit Bateau many many years ago in the pages of Vogue. Fast forward a few years. I was visiting a friend in the Aurora area and we decided to check out the new Premium Outlets. I was ecstatic to find a PB outlet there. AND they were having a fabulous sale.
People usually don’t bother going into this store unless they have kids/​need a kids present, but they have tons of stuff for women and girls! I fell in love with their 100% cotton tees. It’s a staple in my everyday wardrobe. I’ve been to the PB outlet at least 10x now and it’s pretty high on my list whenever I visit Chicago. There is usually an additional discount on top of the outlet price… like Buy 2 Get 1 Free, already marked down prices, 50% off everything (this was 2007’s Black Friday sale). They have a ton of the boxed shirts but stock varies with whatever shipments they get in. There is also a good selection of seasonal stuff along the walls. You can’t really compare the selection with the current collection in Paris — I don’t see some of the items I got in Paris in any PB store in the US — with the prices you find here. I’ve also been to the other PB outlet in Woodbury Commons in NY and was very disappointed by the lack of womens items. That store was very picked over.
This is also a great place to pick up a present for friends’ kids/​newborns. Everything is tres Parisian and chic.

So, as a rule, I kind of hate outlet stores. Mostly, because in recent years they’ve stopped selling the same stuff they sell in their retail stores, and instead sell their own cheapy outlet brand (yeah, I’m talking to you Banana Republic).
But, Petit Bateau is different– they don’t have a different line of clothes for their outlet stores, they sell the same stuff that they sell in regular stores, just from last season. And the prices are amazing! I know baby clothes can be ridiculously expensive, but I walked out of there with three tiny shirts and a pair of baby jeans for less than $ 50! If you don’t mind that your kid isn’t wearing the very latest in toddler fashion you can get some really great deals.