Thanks to longtime WSBer Diane for spotting a “Moving/April 1st” sign on the door at smallclothes (map) and letting us know; sounded like a good excuse to check in on a local business that also happens to be working in the spirit of sustainability – so here’s what WSB’s newest contributing reporter found out during a visit to the store:

By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Good news for fashion-forward kids and their cost-savvy parents: The resale kids’-clothing and gift store smallclothes is moving across the street to a new space on April 1st. Besides being larger and having an open floor plan, what’s the best thing about the new store? Mother-daughter co-owners Ruth and Stephanie Hargrave agree: “No stairs!”

For the past four years, faithful parents have dragged strollers up a flight of stone stairs to reach the duplex that houses smallclothes, seeking gently used and new clothes for their well-dressed tykes. The owners buy clothes without wear and tear, offering cash or store credit in return. Some of the clothes and shoes are brand-new and still have store tags on them; some have only been worn a couple of times.

The owners say they very carefully choose only fresh, high-quality items. Ruth Hargrave notes, “We check the buttons and zippers,” so customers can buy like-new clothing at not-like-new prices. Ruth went through the racks and pulled a couple of tiny tops — a pristine girl’s button-up shirt and jacket — each priced at $7.50.

Not surprisingly, business is up slightly from a year earlier. “People are being very careful right now, taking what they need and not doing frivolous shopping,” Ruth observes.

As much as possible, smallclothes features Seattle-area vendors such as See Kai Run, ImpWear, and West Seattle’s own BabyLegs. Promoting other West Seattle businesses is important to the Hargraves, whose store displays a number of WS business cards — some offering discounted services to smallclothes customers. They hope to continue this sense of community and business camaraderie in the new store with more wall space for display and promotion. Additionally they hope to promote WS artists, a goal important to Stephanie, who’s also an artist and has a studio next door to the current smallclothes storefront.

The new space, located across the street at 3215 California SW, will provide more floor space and easier browsing. Books will be displayed higher on the walls so parents don’t have to get down on their knees to see the bottom shelf; bringing that boxful of never-worn clothes from Grandma to sell will be made easier by the store’s street-front location and its side entrance.

This move coincides with the store’s 4th anniversary and the launch of a new website — smallclothes.info — so the Hargraves are planning a Grand Opening event in early April.

Ruth Hargrave says that if they have a motto, it’s “First-Rate, Second Use.” The concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is central to their business model; in fact, Stephanie noted they will be asking people to bring their own bags when visiting smallclothes.

Perusing the impossibly tiny shoes and downy-soft baby clothes, Ruth and Stephanie exclaim, “Look at this! It’s SO cute!” as they pull another miniature outfit from the collection. After starting it as “something fun to do together,” they’ve turned smallclothes into a successful business, and hope the new, more easily accessible storefront will help them continue to grow.