How To Shop: Forever 21

I remember the first time I went to a Forever 21.  It was my senior year in high school and my mom took me on a shopping trip to the King of Prussia mall.  I had been to France that summer and had seen a Parisian girl in a navy and white polka dot dress with red shoes.  For some reason, this is a big, big moment in my love affair with fashion.  I think it was at that moment that I was shocked by the unconventionalism of this look.  Red shoes?  This didn't match and yet... look at how perfect that girl looked!  My mom had seen the look in my eye and she knew that I loved that outfit.  For the rest of the summer, all I wanted was a navy polka dot dress with red heels.  When I went into that Forever 21, I found my dress, and I kept it until a couple of years ago when, through wear and tear, I wore a hole in the cotton fabric.

Forever 21 makes sure to be on top of the trends for a reasonable price.  If you want that fur vest, green military jacket, asymentrical skort, you got it.  You can always guarantee that there will be a dress you can wear out to make the guys swoon (get it, girl).  And you know that you can walk in there with a $50 spending limit and leave with at least one item.

But there are downsides - the quality isn't the greatest and the sizing isn't always appropriate.  You might not be 19 anymore, but you still are on the same budget as you were... so why must you be forced to the stores where you can get the same look for triple the price?

Here are my rules for shopping at Forever 21 even if you aren't 21:

1. Use Forever 21 for your trendy items, not your staples.  I really want a fur vest.  I will not be spending more than $30 on a fur vest, though.  While I have yet to see an outfit on a blog with a fur vest that I don't like, I have a hunch that in 3 years, that fur vest will not be seen once in a year.  Fashion sometimes is that way, and we have to accept it.  I love trying out trends and at that moment, I go to my trendy staple.

| Poncho | Necklace | Jumpsuit | 

2. If you're shopping for professional wear stick to tops/pants - avoid skirts and dresses.  I love my dresses from F21.  Some are cute and adorable sundresses (my polka dot hi-lo dress, my pink flutter dress, my floral strappy dress, for examples) - but trust me, even at my fun workplace, they would look childish and inappropriate.

| Pants | Top | Sweater | 

3. But if you're going out - F21 has some of the best low price party outfits.  Things I've learned in life - if you plan on dancing for hours in dingy, dark places, don't wear your expensive outfits.  It'll make you cry in the morning if you're trying to figure out how to get that mysterious sticky substance off your $80 dress.

| Dress | Skirt | Shorts |

4. Check out Love 21.  It's a great addition to the 21 family with more realistic sizing.  The skirts and dresses are longer, the cuts are more flattering for all body types, and the quality is a smidge better.

| Dress | Skirt | Blouse |

5. Embrace the huge crazy chaos of the store.  It may seem overwhelming but forcing yourself to look through the racks tends to make you try things you didn't know you wanted.  You may not end up buying them, but at least you try.  And sometimes you find something awesome (like my white peplum top I loveeee).  OH!  And try on items.  Time-consuming, but more worth it with their sizing.

Forever 21 is great if you know how to shop there - and you find one in almost every mall - you never knew you were so freakin' fashionable on a small budget!