{ODE TO FOREVER 21}
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Ok. You all know that I buy a lot of my tops from Forever 21. I get a lot of questions about how the clothes hold up because…well…they’re cheap AND how I wash them so they don’t fall apart because…well…they’re cheap. So here’s my experience with Forever 21 clothes (which I’ve been buying forever…since I was 21. No. Not tired of that one yet.) I don’t do anything too special with my clothes. I toss them in the washer with the kids’ stuff on a regular cycle with regular old Tide. I don’t dry them in the dryer. I have a small clothes rack in my laundry room that I hang my tops on to dry. That’s it. That’s all I do. And yes. Sometimes I find a small hole in my shirt or a button missing, but they are always easy, minor things to fix/disguise. There has been a time or two that I have taken a Forever 21 shirt into the Tailors to mend and I’ve paid more for the mending than I did for the shirt! And I’m ok with that. I shop at Forever 21 for a reason.
Over the years I’ve developed a bit of a “clothes philosophy”. I believe in spending good money on my jeans and my shoes. Jeans because there is nothing like a good pair of jeans that really fit the way they are supposed to. They make me feel better about myself (by tightening things that should be tighter!) and because I stay home with my kids, I’m in jeans 90% of the time. I keep a good pair of jeans for years so they are absolutely worth spending a some money on. I also spend good money on my shoes because like jeans, I’ll keep a good pair of shoes/boots for years and I want them to be comfortable (especially since I prefer a bit of a heel). Jeans and shoes are neutral staples. Now tops are a totally different story. Shirts, sweaters, blouses – I get tired of them quickly. Styles change and each season it’s fun to buy new things to wear. Some of my Forever 21 tops have held up ok and I’ve had them for years, but most of them I buy and wear for a season or two and then send them to Goodwill – with no regrets since I didn’t spend much on them. I’ve found that shirts I’ve spent more on from stores like Nordstroms, Banana Republic, and Anthropology still end up not looking as good after multiple washes and have faded or torn or lost a button. I get rid of a lot of those after a season or two also. It happens to all clothes. Once in a while if I see a top I just can’t live without, I’ll splurge on it. But most of the time, I head to Forever 21. Spend 50 bucks and come home with four cute new tops to wear! Love it.
And speaking of cute new Forever 21 tops, how adorable is my sister-in-law in this orange blouse?
(Please ignore the poor lighting and the dirty dishes! Of course now you won’t ignore them because I pointed them out to you. But I still feel the need to point them out to you. Why is that?)
When my family came to visit for Ellie’s baptism we hit the mall. I sent Dayna straight to Forever 21 because they have fun stuff right now for Spring. She bought this blouse and wore it that night to Ellie’s baptism. I was so in love with this top on her! And those shoes!! How perfect are they with that orange blouse!? Shoes are from Target. (Target – allow me to express my love for you once again.) Of course they aren’t “wear all day chasing kids shoes.” They’re “wear to a one hour baptism where you will be sitting most of the time” shoes. But man they sure look good. Of course it also helps when you are tall and tan and drop dead gorgeous like my sister in law is. She would look good in a tent. I tell her all the time it’s a good thing she’s so nice because she would be very easy to hate. ;)
A better look at the blouse and it’s true color.
Here’s another one of my new finds from Forever 21 that I am LOVING lately. I can’t pull off orange with my hair and coloring like Dayna can, but I love to wear yellow. This shirt screams SPRING! HAPPINESS! SUNSHINE! I walked in the store a couple of weeks ago and Kole was DONE being at the mall. I knew I only had minutes left so I thought I’d just do a quick loop through the store and see if anything stood out to me. And there it was. This top hanging on a rack. I moved to it quickly thinking “please have my size…please have my size…please have my size.” They did. Then I tried it on quickly thinking “please fit the way I want…please fit the way I want…please fit the way I want.” It did. And so I bought it. And the two of us have been living happily ever after ever since.
It’s casual and comfy and looks great just plain.
I also like it with this fun new Forever 21 belt. (Six bucks for the belt!).
My cute dad approves. He thinks Forever 21 is all the rage. And you can tell by his NCIS shirt that he is a fashion maniac. ;) Love you dad.
Happy Monday everyone!
**Linking up @ The Pleated Poppy
xoxo, Erin
I’m with you on that. I love buying inexpensive tops to go with wardrobe staples. I even manage to sell the odd one after I get sick of it which makes them cost even less!
I so agree…splurge on jeans and shoes for sure! I need to make a trip to Forever 21!!!
I swear the tops I spend good money on wear out just as quickly as the cheap ones too! They use the same material and just charge more…I love your philosophy and will remember that one—jeans and shoes, Forever 21 for tops. You are the best.:)
I think you’ve gotten the fashion philosophy right because you look fabulous!
For jeans… I’ve yet to spend much on a pair because I don’t know where to begin. What are your favorites?!
I love the green skirt and the brown skirt you have in those pictures…So cute! I definitely agree about the jeans; there is nothing that compares to a good-fitting pair of jeans.
Love and agree with your philosophy. Although Forever 21 store just overwhelms me with my situation – love Target.
I LOVE me some Forever 21 as well! After reading this, I feel compelled to visit real soon – – – they should put you on their payroll, ha! :)
I have the exact same philosophy on $$ spent on shirts vs. jeans. It is amazing what a pair of well fitting jeans can do for a girls confidence and comfort.
Love your spring-y yellow stripes!
~H
I am a big fan of yellow, so love that top for spring, but is it wrong that I want an NCIS shirt like your dads? :) I tink I would feel very Gibbs like and in control of this crew if I had one ;)
*dad’s
Sorry, little fingers decided to “help” so I rushed to post. :)
I am happy to hear that you also find a hole here and there in your forever 21 shirts. I wish I could have read this 2 weeks ago. I told my husband that the washer was making holes in my new shirts, and we needed a new one. Oh well, I got a new front loader that matches my dryer. It drove me crazy that they didn’t match anyway.
Good jeans and shoes are a must!!
Enjoy your week
:)
I have to get back to shopping at Forever 21, the shirts you post are so cute and they go great with anything. I stopped shopping there when I gained weight, I just did not like the way the tops looked on me. But not that I am close my goal I may have to take a trip to the store. So you mentioned you buy good jeans. Do you mind me asking for tips on great jeans? I would not mind spending money on a good pair.
I am having forever 21 withdrawals. Have not been since a trip to Florida last year! I share your clothes philosophy 100 percent. Except, I think you should send your next batch of Goodwill my way! Without access to Forever 21 on a regular basis, I could be considered needy! For sure!
Great advice! After I get rid of the baby weight I’m buy me some good jeans, and heading to forever 21 for my tops!
Great post Erin. I love Forever as well. I myself only have a couple of things from there but both of my darling daughters love their clothes and its nice that they can spend their own money. Now that you can buy kids clothes there too my youngest fashionista Aliya cannot get enough. I’m totally with you on air drying the items I read the tags a lot and that’s what they prefer you to do anyway. I find myself hanging a lot of their tops up for air drying. To comment on other things you’ve mentioned I didn’t see any dirty dishes maybe Dayna’s darling shoes was so much of a focal point I totally missed that and I’m a big fan of yellow as well. My oldest darling daughter Ayanna would love that top just because it was striped that’s her must have item this year. All things striped.
I need to get over to Forever 21 here very soon! I have been wanting to get there but it has been too cold around here to go anywhere! I am ready for spring and want to get a few things! You and your sister in law are both gorgeous! I love her top and you always look so cute in everything you wear!! Hope your girls have a great Valentine’s Day at school and little Cole enjoys his Valentine with his momma!
you always look so cute! and your sister in law is rockin’ those shoes–love! i’m, too, am requesting like another commenter did…please do a post on tips for buying jeans!
Have never been to Forever 21, but apparently next time I’m at the mall I will! Last spring, I was looking for an outfit for my oldest’s high school graduation, but since I was still nursing my 6 month old, I knew I needed a skirt and a nice shirt. I finally found and purchased a $55 cute shirt from Anthropologie and sigh – what a low quality shirt!
Erin, this is so random, but I’ve meant to tell you how much I appreciated your hair video from months ago! I’ve finally started “fixing” my hair again and it feels good! I recently stumbled across this “no heat” waves tutorial and I LOVE IT. It achieves a similar style to yours but without heat damage. Thought I’d share in case you wanted to try! :)
http://shauna-thereedlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-heat-curls-shauna-reed-style.html
I always look forward to a new post on your blog, so fun, thanks for all of the great ideas!
Thanks everyone!
I’ll do a Fashion Friday jean tip post in the future! :)
Amazing photos! I will definitely be back to read more.