CLAIRE'S  STORES  ANNOUNCES  SECOND  QUARTER  RESULTS


     PEMBROKE PINES, Florida, August 17, 2000 - Claire's Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CLE)
today  announced sales and earnings for the second quarter of Fiscal 2001, which
ended  July  29,  2000.

     Net  sales  for  the  second  quarter  increased 35 percent to $251,982,000
compared  with  $186,090,000  for  the  second quarter of last year.  Same store
sales  for  the  second  quarter  decreased  1  percent  on a consolidated basis
compared  with  an  increase  of  9  percent  last  year.  The fashion accessory
division  decreased 2 percent while Mr. Rags increased 5 percent on a same store
sales  basis.

     Net  income  decreased  16  percent  in  the  second quarter to $17,112,000
compared with $20,320,000 last year.  Diluted earnings per share from continuing
operations  (which  excludes  prior  year's gain on investment of $3,929,000, or
$0.05 per diluted share) to $0.34 versus $0.35 for the comparable quarter in the
prior  year.

     Rowland  Schaefer,  Claire's  Chairman  and  Chief Executive Officer, said,
"Sales  for  the  second  quarter  of  fiscal 2001 increased 35% to $252 million
compared with $186 million last year.  The increase in sales was due to a larger
store  base with 3,055 stores this year compared with 2,151 stores at the end of
the  second  quarter last year.  The second quarter was a challenging period for
us,  as it was for many retailers.  We continue to be disappointed with the same
store  sales  trends  which  resulted in lower earnings than the prior year on a
consolidated  basis.  Afterthoughts  stores  sales are not  included in our same
store  sales  results  until  December  of  this  year.

     The  lack  of  strength in our sales is primarily in North America, and was
due  to  a  combination  of issues. The organizational changes we have made have
impacted  our  performance  and  resulted  in  softer  sales in that subsidiary.
Challenges   individual  to  our  business  included  the  final  steps  of  the
integration  of  Claire's and Afterthoughts as well as the conversion to the new
payroll,  POS  hardware  in  the  stores  as  well  as MMS allocation and Arthur
planning systems.  There also was a general slow down in mall traffic which hurt
all retailers.  On a more positive note, our sales trend continued to strengthen
each  week  throughout  the last quarter.  Marty will further elaborate on these
issues  later  in  the  call.  We  are  cautiously  optimistic  as  we head into
important  back  to  school  and  holiday  selling  season and  feel we are well
positioned."  Mr.  Schaefer  added.

     Mr.  Schaefer  also  noted  that  at the end of the second quarter we had a
total  of 3,055 stores in operation.  These comprised 1,591 Claire's Accessories
in  North  America,  801  Afterthoughts  which  includes  the  Icing Stores, 315
Claire's  Accessories stores in Claire's U.K., 91 stores in Japan, 101 stores in
Europe,  Mr.  Rags  had  153  stores and 3 Velvet Pixies. We have opened 230 new
stores  so far this fiscal year with an additional 62 new stores to be opened in
the  4th  quarter.


<PAGE>
     The  Company  will  host a conference call for the second quarter of fiscal
2001  on August 17, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).  The call in number is 888-677-5721 and
the password is Claire's.  A replay will be  available  through  Monday  August
25th.  The  replay  number  is 888-568-0013 and the password is 25247.  The call
may  be  accessed  over  the  Internet   through  the   Company's   web site  at
www.clairestores.com.  To listen via the Internet, please access the web site at
least  15  minutes prior to the call to ensure your computer contains the proper
software.  A  replay  of  the conference  call  will  also  be  available  over
the  Internet  at both sites.

     Claire's  Stores,  Inc.,  the leading mall-based retailer of popular-priced
pre-teen  and teens accessories, costume jewelry and apparel, currently operates
approximately  3,055  stores   under  the   following   trade  names:   Claire's
Accessories,  Afterthoughts,  the Icing, Mr. Rags and Velvet Pixies.  The stores
are  located  throughout  North   America,   Japan,  United  Kingdom,   Ireland,
Switzerland,  Austria,  Germany  and  France.

     SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF
1995:  This  release  contains  "forward-looking statements" which represent the
Company's   expectations  or  beliefs  with  respect  to  future  events.  These
forward-looking  statements  are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that
could  cause  actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.  Those
factors  include,  without  limitation,  changes  in  consumer  preferences  for
pre-teen  and teen apparel and accessories, competition, and economic conditions
in  North  America,  Europe,  United  Kingdom  and  Japan.

For  additional  information  at  Claire's  Stores,  Inc.:

Sonia  Rohan
Director  of  Investor  Relations
Phone:  (212)  594-3127
Fax:     (212)  244-4237
E-mail:  sonia.rohan@claires.com

Note:  Other  Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile and most
recent  10-K  and
10-Q  reports  are  available  by  fax  at  no  charge.  For a menu of available
material,  call  1-800-CLENYSE  (1-800-253-6973)  or  via Claire's Internet home
page:  http://www.clairestores.com.


<PAGE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
CLAIRE'S  STORES,  INC.  AND  SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED  STATEMENTS  OF  INCOME
(UNAUDITED)
<BTB>
                                THREE MONTHS ENDED                             SIX MONTHS ENDED
                        -----------------------------------          ----------------------------------
                        JULY 29,2000          JULY 31, 1999          JULY 29,2000         JULY 31, 1999
                        ------------          -------------          ------------         -------------
<S>                     <C>           <C>     <C>           <C>      <C>           <C>     <C>           <C>
Net sales               $251,982,000  100.0%  $186,090,000  100.0%   $483,982,000  100.0%  $356,753,000  100.0%
Cost  of  sales,
 Occupancy and buying
 expenses                125,051,000   49.6%    91,603,000   49.2%    253,446,000   52.4%   176,596,000   49.5%
                        ------------          ------------           ------------          ------------

                         126,931,000   50.4%    94,487,000   50.8%    230,536,000   47.6%   180,157,000   50.5%
                        ------------          ------------           ------------          ------------
Expenses:
 Selling, general &
  administrative          86,920,000   34.5%    61,285,000   32.9%    171,711,000   35.5%   120,396,000   33.7%
 Depreciation and
  amortization            11,164,000    4.4%     6,434,000    3.5%     21,706,000    4.5%    12,723,000    3.6%
 Interest expense
  (income), net            2,401,000    1.0%    (1,358,000)  -0.7%      4,343,000    0.9%    (2,992,000)  -0.8%
 Gain on investments               -            (3,929,000)  -2.1%              -            (3,929,000)  -1.1%
                        ------------          ------------           ------------          ------------

                         100,485,000   39.9%    62,432,000   33.5%    197,760,000   40.9%   126,198,000   35.4%
                        ------------          ------------           ------------          ------------

Income before income
 taxes                    26,446,000   10.5%    32,055,000   17.2%     32,776,000    6.8%    53,959,000   15.1%

Income taxes               9,334,000    3.7%    11,735,000    6.3%     11,671,000    2.4%    19,839,000    5.6%
                        ------------          ------------           ------------          ------------

Net income              $ 17,112,000    6.8%  $ 20,320,000   10.9%   $ 21,105,000    4.4%  $ 34,120,000    9.6%
                        ============          ============           ============          ============



Net  income  per
 share:
  Basic                 $       0.34          $       0.40           $       0.42          $       0.67
                        ============          ============           ============          ============

  Diluted               $       0.34          $       0.40           $       0.41          $       0.66
                        ============          ============           ============          ============

Weighted  avg  shares
 outstanding:
  Basic                   50,299,000            50,932,000             50,719,000            50,893,000
                        ============          ============           ============          ============

  Diluted                 50,524,000            51,419,000             50,925,000            51,376,000
                        ============          ============           ============          ============
</TABLE>