The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted retailing; the industry shed approximately 2.8 million jobs in 2020 and is still realizing a current 400,000 position deficit (Clark, 2021). Retail sales dropped 10.3% in the fashion sector in 2020 (Coronavirus impact, 2020) and an average of 91% of shoppers have modified how they shop (In General, 2021). Job and sales losses in retail can be partially attributed to state-mandated shutdowns (Moore, 2020). The International Council of Shopping Centers notes that “states announced temporary closures [and] adjusted hours to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and keep their employees and communities safe.” (ICSC, 2021, para. 1). However, variations in state shutdown policies have hit certain retailers harder than others, as the co-founder of J-Brand Jeans stated that “California Coronavirus shutdown ‘could cripple the industry’” (Moore, 2020). Given the impact of COVID restrictions on the economically important 2.5 trillion USD apparel retailing industry, this research investigates retail apparel sales in ten categories for two U.S. states during the COVID-19 pandemic.