Bright Beginnings

Very disappointing. Too crowded, too expensive, and «helpful» but not sincere staff. I shopped at this store about 2 years ago when they were at 38^th and Lamar and was happy with my purchases then. Change in ownership? Not sure, but don’t think I can recommend to my «grandmother» friends or their daughters. Sigh.

I love coming to Bright Beginnings for children’s gifts, clothes and baby gear. Sally, the owner, is amazing. She spends time helping you navigate the store and makes great suggestions. And they do a great job gift wrapping as well.

This store is so cute! It’s perfect if you are looking for unique clothes for your little one. Sally helped me and she was wonderful! I will definitely shop here again!

This is the best little kids store ever! They are the nicest ladies that can help you find things for your kiddos! I love the unique brands they carry in here.

I always love coming in to find unique gifts here. They have really cute kids items and are super helpful

Wow do they have a lot! I was there for premie clothes which they had a very nice selection. I really liked that they offered monogrammed bloomers relatively fast. They have bows and tutus in EVERY color! I can see myself spending too much money here in the very near future.

This is definitely a hidden gem! I live with in walking distance and can’t believe it was my first time here. I was a little overwhelmed walking in because they really do have everything but the owner helped me find what I was looking for in no time. We chatted the entire time and she wasn’t pushy. this is definitely my new favorite children’s store!

This is a great store for children’s clothing! They have tons of merchandise and the owners are very helpful! it’s rare these days to go into a store and actually get to interact with the owners, which is so nice and refreshing. They take the time to really help you and are not pushy at all.
I went there looking for a baby shower gift and had no clue what i was going to purchase before I got there. When I arrived, i was met by Sally, who is the owner, and she was able to really help me decide what my gift was going to be. She broke it down for me on the basis of price, and showed me all the options of the various items I could buy that were in my price range. Sally also told me what her customers had to say about various products, which really helped me decide.
An experience that I was walking into blindly turned out to be a really great retail experience. It was very personable, which is something that’s rare in retail at those big box stores.
I’m proud to support a locally owned business!

Love, love, love this baby and kids shop. Both «precious» and «fun» describe it well. I’m picky and downright hard to please when it comes to my daughter’s outfits and shoes, and the ladies here patiently and happily bring out treasures to show us. Lots of variety from traditional classic (which I prefer) to more modern trendy kid stuff. I love that they don’t stock dozens of the same piece– the mark of a good boutique. They’ll also order it if it’s not in stock. They mostly carry higher quality and higher end items, but with frequent sales and discounts we always come out with great finds. Darling accessories galore and gift items as well. I haven’t found such a large selection of hats, hair clips, dresses anywhere else in town. I almost wish I’d keep the secret to myself!

Such a fantastic selection of children’s clothing — from boy clothes to girl outfits, even swimwear, kid shoes and baby toys, there’s something here for all your little ones. The staff is knowledgable and friendly… very helpful. The new shop at Anderson Lane is conveniently located and it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. Bright Beginnings is ideal if you’re looking for a baby shower gift, or even just shopping for the kiddos.

Just found out while shopping for another baby gift that Bright Beginnings also carries my favorite Fresh Produce brand in women’s sizes and at least right now they’re on sale.

Broad selection of goods and lots of specialty items. Perfect for a baby shower, especially for a mom that «has everything.»
Staff is extremely helpful, and can help you do triage if you have bundles in tow and are not into browsing. They listened, and quickly came up with suggestions/​examples that fit my needs.
Discovered Claesen’s here — a brand I had not seen elsewhere. Terrific fitted boys underwear. We use them as shorts for gymnastic’s class — they are fitted enough for the class and stylish. (Got lots of compliments! Hard to find stylish practical boy’s clothes — now I have an option.)
Nice collection of developmental toys that are not ordinary, like the Lauri Peg toy. Like the Claesen’s — I would not have given them a second glance if I had not seen my little one checking these out at a friends house. Peg builder toy thingy here we come!
They also have a toy corner to keep a little one occupied while you shop.
Great selection of bigger kid clothing, I noticed some stylish and age appropriate choices for a soon-​to-​be-​pre-​teen friend I know.
Not cheap, but the Claesen’s were priced competitively and are a great find.

This is a great place to buy gifts because the outfits and accompanying bling are just so darned cute and plentiful.
They also have unique items that can be helpful… like clothes fit for cotillion or poodle skirts, etc.
However, I’ve bought several outfits for my daughter here and realized a short time ago that each and every one of them has had something wrong with it before the second wear. On one, the head opening was entirely too small (and my daughter has a tiny head to begin with!); on another, the bling fell off upon wearing the outfit for the first time; on the third, the shirt was true to size but the pants were proportioned more for a husky build.
For the prices paid, I’d prefer to get the piece of mind that comes from better quality clothes.

ok-​this is one of those hidden treasures that I am so glad that I found. It was actually their website
that allowed me to find the store. The website is by far superior to any other local children’s clothing store. It looks professional, has a good search engine, and actually lists pricing unlike many other local children’s clothing stores.
Agree with Jeff K in that the widest selection I have seen-​especially in a kid’s clothing boutique store. But I actually liked how everything was grouped by sizes. I knew what size I was looking for so I could go straight to that section and look through that area. Nothing is more frustrating for me is to see a cute little outfit on the rack and then have to look at each one to find the right size that you need. I would rather you direct me to the area of the sizes that I am shopping for and let me look through those options rather than fall in love with an outfit only to find out they don’t have the size I need…
Staff was very friendly and when I called the Westlake store to find some ballet slippers for my friend’s daughter, she said she had to go look. Instead of keeping me on hold for an «eternity», she took my name and number and said she would call me back. She called me back within 30 minutes and said her store didn’t have the color and size I needed, but the one on Lamar did have them. She called the Lamar store and had them put them on hold for me.
At first, it was overwhelming with all of the stuff they have in there but the staff were there willing to help me look for anything I needed such as ballet tutus for toddlers. The rolling backpacks/​suitcases for kids were adorable and if I had more time, I would have spent way more time in there.

First review. Huh. I’ll start with the pros of the place: they have the widest selection of baby and kid clothes, at both the high and low end, of any place I’ve seen in Austin. There are hundreds of individual outfits here covering just about everything you can think of besides baby scuba gear.
The downside to having everything under the sun is an organizational nightmare. The store’s layout makes no sense at all. Everything is jumbled together in a maze-​like function coupled only by size; thus, you see formal smocked-​shirt attire right next to casual onesies. Even more frustrating, the formal stuff and onesie stuff aren’t grouped together in the same part of a particular size’s rack, so you have to rummage through everything in a size to find what you want. It’s roughly akin to digging through a bowl of 100 orange M&Ms to find the sole two red ones placed in there.
Then there’s the store’s interior design (as opposed to layout). In summation, they have Gucci-​priced clothes housed in a Kmart-​like interior. Not good. If I’m paying upwards of $ 100 for an outfit for a baby barely a foot long, I’d rather not do it in an environment with linoleum floors and generic sliding-​wire shelving units bought at an office supply warehouse, housed in a nondescript ‘70s-​era strip mall.
And finally, the problem with them having a huge selection is that they apparently keep one piece in stock of each. I cannot even begin to describe the frustration of looking for matching outfits for my twin nephews when there’s only one of nearly everything in stock.
So: four stars for breadth of selection, 3.5 stars for decent customer service, one star each for layout and interior design caliber, and the average is slightly over the two stars I’m giving Bright Beginnings. FYI, I also visited their Westlake branch — less of a maze-​like layout, but same generic furnishings and same irritating availability of one piece of everything (and none of it was the same as what I saw at the Medical Arts store).

Thirty seconds with a three year old:
«Hi Kimbery!»
«Hi sweet pea! How was your day?»
«Great! I went to the park. How was your day?»
«Great! I worked. What did you do at the park?»
«Played. What do you want to do now?»
«Well, I thought we could play puppets or paint.»
«Why?»
“Because you like to play puppets and paint.”
«Why?»
“Because we have puppets and paint.”
«Why?»
“Is there something else you would like to do, Amelia.”
«I am Fred!»
«Fred… is there something else you would like to do?»
«Well, I was wondering what you brought me today?» While twisting her adorable redhead to the side like when a dog hears a high-​pitched whistle. Complete coquetry.
«Like a present?»
«Yes, like a toy! You usually bring me a present but you haven’t mentioned it today…»
(«Usually»? «Mentioned»? WTF! Is this how a three year old talks? Really?)
«Well, I did not bring you a present today. Wanna paint?»
«YES!»
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
I am the self-​ordained aunt Kimbery with boing-​ey red hair that matches my friend’s redheaded little angel. I lurv Amelia!
I was there for her first belly laughs, when I said «Quack quack!» and she was laughing so hard so I said it again, «Quack quack!» and it worked about 20 times, until her mother and I thought we should stop before we passed out. I am a whore for a belly laugh. I have known her since she was in her mama’s belly and we went to the Cheesefake Factory and her mama ordered her favorite spinach artichoke dip.
Bright Beginnings offers many incredible items for infants to 16 year olds… clothing, toys, games, jewelry, blankets, keepsakes… and the people who work here are always helpful in finding a gift for a certain age child. Whenever I come through the door, I have a moment of complete overwhelm, like I have walked into a room overstuffed with clothes, all impeccably ordered by size and age. Whose closet exploded?
The owners live in Austin and also have a website for selling stuff, so when you come in to their store, you get the benefit of seeing EVERYTHING. I have bought a cool shirt for an 11-​year-​old boy, a heavenly soft blankie for a newborn, a set of rainbow bracelets and rings for a 5 year old.
Yesterday, I bought a bright red bow ($ 7), Roxette the redheaded Groovy Girl ($ 14), a sweet beaded necklace ($ 3.50), and a game ages 3 and up called «Quack Quack» ($ 22). I am ready for Amelia, or Fred, or whoever she creates herself to be today.
*Quack Quack.*