If you're ever feeling in too good a mood and want to take yourself down a few notches, Burlington (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) has the antidote! Shoppers are greeted by shelves haphazardly organized, displays broken or incorrectly assembled, and stark fluorescent lighting that really brings out the institutional aesthetic of a mental hospital. There's an assortment of what appears to be sweatshop-produced apparel and junky accessories, much of which might appear to be decent quality but also seemed sus.
My family and stopped in to look for kid sneakers, and the nicest ones were by Nautica. (What all the popular kids are wearing, no doubt. LOL.) Without prompting, one of my kids said, "It's so depressing in here." Another kid needed to use the restroom, which was locked. When we asked the security guard, he said there weren't enough employees to unlock the door for us and sheepishly apologized. Turning to look, there were maybe two cashiers on duty, and feeling bad about making them trudge to the back of the store so my kids and I could answer nature's call, we left the store and walked to another nearby business. It'll be a long time before we ever consider setting foot in there again. read more