Some brands stick with you long after they’ve disappeared from store shelves. For a lot of people who were shopping for back-to-school clothes in 2007, the original Dear line was one of them. It was colorful, affordable and full of the kind of pieces that defined late-2000s style. Here’s a look back at what the original Dear line was, where it was sold, and what happened to it.
A line built around one price promise
The original Dear line was announced in May 2007 as an exclusive collection for Steve & Barry’s, a U.S. retail chain known for very low prices. According to WWD, the line was planned to include more than 120 clothing pieces, 28 accessory styles (including bags, shoes, belts and cold-weather items) and around 70 pieces of jewelry.
The headline detail was the price: every item was set at $19.98 or less. That was a little above what Steve & Barry’s typically charged for basic apparel, but still far below what similar trend-driven pieces cost at many mall stores at the time. The idea was simple and appealing: fashionable, fun clothes that didn’t require a big budget.
The launch: August 2007
The collection made its in-store debut on August 16, 2007, at the Steve & Barry’s in the Manhattan Mall in New York City, as reported by CBS News and Chain Store Age. The timing was no accident. CBS noted that the launch was aimed squarely at back-to-school shopping season.
The line was designed around mixing and matching. Instead of a handful of statement pieces, it offered lots of basics and layering items that could be combined into many different outfits, which suited a younger shopper building a wardrobe on a budget.
What was in the collection
Press coverage from the time gives a good picture of what the original Dear line actually looked like. Pieces mentioned in reports from Reuters, ABC7 in San Francisco and the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye included:
- Hoodies with heart and star prints, plus lightweight printed full-zip hoodies
- Striped T-shirts and cap-sleeve tops, including a babydoll style and an empire-waist striped v-neck
- Skinny-strap ribbed tanks and racerback tanks for layering, some trimmed with lace
- Shrug sweaters and shrunken cable cardigans
- Shrunken polos and oxford shirts
- Stretch skinny jeans, flap-pocket trouser jeans, roll-up pants and cropped cargo pants
- A distressed denim mini skirt and dresses
- A military-style jacket with a Mao collar
- Accessories like hobo bags, belts with flower buckles, and necklaces with hearts, chains and a little deer charm
Prices reported for individual items mostly landed between about $5.98 for jewelry and $14.98 for hoodies and jeans, with outerwear topping out at the $19.98 cap.
Looking at that list now, it reads like a snapshot of the era: shrunken fits, layered tanks, hearts and stars, stripes and skinny denim. Many of those same shapes are exactly what people are hunting for again today as Y2K and late-2000s style comes back around.
How it was received
Not every review was glowing. A Reuters report at the time described the pieces as fairly predictable looks for a tween and teen audience, and framed the line as competing with fast-fashion stores like Forever 21 for budget-minded young shoppers. That was really the point, though. The original Dear line wasn’t trying to be high fashion. It was trying to be cute, wearable and affordable, and it found its audience in the store aisles at back-to-school time.
It’s worth being honest about what we don’t know. We haven’t found reliable public sales figures, bestseller lists or sell-out reports for the line, so we won’t guess at how many pieces were sold or which ones were the most popular.
Part of a bigger moment at Steve & Barry’s
The original Dear line wasn’t the only exclusive collection at Steve & Barry’s. The chain also carried Bitten, another fashion line priced under $20, and Starbury, a basketball line known for its $14.98 sneakers. Together these lines helped build the store’s reputation for exclusive collections at surprisingly low prices.
Why the line ended
The story of the original Dear line is closely tied to the story of the store that sold it. On July 9, 2008, Steve & Barry’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The chain’s assets, including its brand licenses, were sold during the bankruptcy process, and the remaining stores were liquidated over the following months. With its only retailer gone, the original Dear line came to an end after roughly a year on shelves.
Why people still remember it
Even though the line was only around for a short time, it left a mark. Fashion blogs from 2007 and 2008 wrote about it, people still search for pieces on resale sites, and its mix of hearts, stars, stripes and shrunken fits lines up almost perfectly with what’s trending again. There’s something special about clothes from a specific moment in your life, especially the ones you saved up for or wore on the first day of school.
What 2007 style looked like in general
To understand why the line’s pieces felt so “of the moment,” it helps to remember what fashion looked like around 2007 more broadly. The late 2000s sat right between the sparkly, low-rise early-2000s and the indie looks that came after. A few things were everywhere:
- Layering: camis under tees, tanks under cardigans, and tiny shrugs over everything.
- Shrunken shapes: fitted tops, cropped cardigans and small jackets worn with longer or slimmer bottoms.
- Skinny denim: skinny jeans were taking over from the flares and bootcuts of earlier in the decade.
- Sweet prints: stripes, hearts, stars and other playful motifs on tees and hoodies.
- Accessory-heavy outfits: big bags, statement belts and charm necklaces finished a lot of looks.
Budget-friendly, trend-driven clothing was a big part of how young shoppers dressed back then, and back-to-school season was one of the most important shopping moments of the year.
Why these looks are back
Fashion tends to move in cycles, and the late-1990s and 2000s have been having a big revival. Baby tees, cargo pants, layered tanks and heart-and-star prints show up again on social feeds and resale sites, worn by people who loved them the first time and by people discovering them for the first time. You can explore the vocabulary of the era in our Y2K fashion glossary, from lace trim to cargo pants.
Then and now
| Then (the original line) | Now (the new Dear) |
|---|---|
| Exclusive collection sold at Steve & Barry’s | A new, independent brand selling online |
| Large collection of clothing, accessories and jewelry | Starting small, with one heart-and-star baby tee |
| Hearts, stars, stripes and shrunken fits | The same sweet, retro spirit in pink, baby blue and white |
How the new Dear is different
The relaunch isn’t a reissue of the old collection. It’s a fresh start: a small, independent label focused on doing a few pieces well. We’re starting with one tee, getting the fit right (see our baby tee sizing and fit guide), and growing from there based on what our community asks for. You can read more about us on the About page, follow updates in Drop News, and get outfit ideas in how to style a baby tee and the Lookbook.
Original Dear line FAQ
When was the original Dear line sold?
It was announced in May 2007, launched in stores in August 2007, and ended after Steve & Barry’s filed for bankruptcy in July 2008.
Where was it sold?
It was an exclusive collection for the Steve & Barry’s retail chain in the U.S.
How much did the original pieces cost?
Every item was set at $19.98 or less, according to press reports from the time.
Is the new Dear the same company?
No. The new Dear is an independent project and isn’t affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the creators of the original line or by Steve & Barry’s.
Can I still buy original pieces?
The line is no longer made. Some people look for secondhand pieces on resale sites.
Where can I ask more questions?
Check our FAQ or join Dear Club and the Journal for more stories.
Where Dear goes from here
We’re bringing the Dear name back with a new, independent collection inspired by that same spirit: sweet, retro basics at a friendly price, starting with a heart-and-star micro-rib baby tee in pink, baby blue and white. To be clear, this new project is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the creators of the original line or by Steve & Barry’s. It’s simply a love letter to a style era a lot of us still adore.
Want to be there when it launches? Join the Dear waitlist and we’ll let you know as soon as the first pieces are ready.
Sources
- WWD, May 2007
- CBS News, August 2007
- Chain Store Age, August 2007
- ABC7 News
- Reuters via China Daily, August 2007