First swimsuit spotting of 2009: 15 January, Folsom, CA, Target.At least 3 full racks of bikinis. Overnight low: 36 F. What is this world coming to?
Heh. I guess “cruisewear” is next out, for those winter vacations when it’s unbearable at home??
It took that long in California? Here in New York you’ll find people wearing them, at the beach, on New Year’s Day! (Pictures are from last year.)
I was at Target in around Dec. 10th or so, and they had bikinis right next to the snowman sweaters…in Boston.
Heh heh, you said “rack”.
I saw them in Baltimore County in December. Lots of people heading out of town to the sun in the mid-winter.
Like me! Going to the Caribbean tomorrow!
Look at them as incentive for all those people who make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight.
It was pushing 80 F yesterday in the Los Angeles area - I suspect it was quite pleasant down at the beach.
We didn’t go to the beach, but we did walk the 1-mile trail at El Dorado Park Nature Center a little before noon. It was really nice out… 
Every Friday night, the local telemarkers dress up in themed costumes for night skiing at a ski hill.
There is talk of having a bathing suit night this year. We tried it several years ago, but it did not end well for one poor fellow who fell while skiing at speed – nasty abrasions.
I just bought a new swimsuit!
But I swim as exercise and go through 1 or 2 suits a year, so now is a great time to buy because they are on sale.
I realize that the idea is to sell things ahead of the season you need them in, but why do they sell things so far in advance? Everywhere? It seems like stores (the head quarters) are trying to prevent sales when they’ve got the seasonal section full of patio furniture and tiki lamps this weekend, when we’ve just gotten over a foot of snow. Look, it’s going to snow for another three months, so people aren’t going to buy any big bulky seasonal items they can’t use until May, so why aren’t they allowed to use the space for things that might actually sell in January - like shovels to replace broken ones, or more rock salt?
Last winter a manager I ran into was complaining that he could have sold a couple thousand pounds of salt if he’d had it, but they sent him charcoal. I’m sure he’s not the only one with a store filled with stuff that won’t move this time a year. And the heads of retailers wonder why they’re not doing better - this is just more proof that they’re totally disconnected from the consumers’ reality.
I’ve wondered that many times myself, elfkin. When it’s 32ºC out (that’s really hot for you Murkins), the stores have no fans. When it’s -32ºC, they have no heavy-duty extension cords. Come on, guys. You have turned studying customers into an artform; you KNOW what we need and when we need it. No one knows they need a new bathing suit yet; we aren’t digging out our summerwear and realizing that we can’t find our swimsuit, or it doesn’t fit any longer, or it has a gaping hole now, or whatever.
However, I do actually need a new suit, so I am bathing suit shopping now. You gotta do what you gotta do. 
ETA: And maybe I’ll pick up some patio furniture and a new garden hose, too.
Sell them to folks heading off on vacation to warmer climes.
Three full racks, huh? How were their legs?
Swimsuits can sell, sure, but who takes a grill and a patio set with them on vacation?!
Given that January and February are high season in the Caribbean and Hawaii, I’d say that having swimsuits out is a good idea.
I’m leaving for St. John in 11 days, not that I’m counting.
Well, it’s about time! I have been trying to buy my son a new set of trunks for months. We swim indoors, at the Y or when we travel, in a hotel. I just was able to find him a suit last week at Target. It’s been a pain not being able to get him a new suit until now.
I’ve never taken a patio set on vacation, but I have taken a grill on vacation – a wilderness wild water canoe trip. I hid the grill in a large pack, zipped ahead of the others to select the campsite each night, and had the grill going by the time the other caught up. By the end of the trip, I had them convinced that Algonquin Provincial Park rangers provided a gas grill at each campsite on the Petawawa.
On Saturday - when it was atypically cold for the DC metro area (lows the night before were near single digits, or maybe that was 2 nights before, but I digress) - we went shopping for new snow boots for the kids. First stop, Target.
They had lots of bathing suits.
They had a few toddler-sized pairs of snow boots. And not a damn thing in adult sizes.
We wound up at Sports Authority, which had 3 styles in women’s boots. Any size we needed.
As long as we only needed size 8.
I found one pair in size 9 (my puppy has big paws and we wanted them big enough to get 2 years wear out of 'em). Naturally this was the most expensive style they carried.
Dweezil’s selection was even more limited.
FORTUNATELY they were all marked down somewhat (even Moon Unit’s which listed for 75 bucks a pair :eek:).
Last week in the midwest we almost made it up to 0.
Of course being 14 today, I could see wearing a swimsuit.