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Shopping Alert: Wet Seal Closes All of Its Stores

Another one bites the dust.

2017 has not been kind to mall retailers. First, the Limited closed all of its 250 locations. Then came the shuttering of American Apparel, marking the official death of velvet bike shorts and metallic sports bras. And now, Wet Seal is shutting down.

The store originally filed for bankruptcy in 2015, closing 338 of its stores. The company was then acquired by Versa Capital, but it wasn’t enough to offset the damage. Versa was unable to find a buyer for Wet Seal, and the company was unable to attain the funds to keep itself afloat. A January 20 memo officially marked its closure.

This is sad. Wet Seal was the store at the mall that let you try out unfortunate childhood fashion experiments, a store that ushered you into adulthood via the proliferation of going out tops. R.I.P.

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