SHOPPING THERAPY: Forever 21

Long time no blog!  I know...I know...where in the world have I been all this time?  Well, pretty much keeping up with life and all that life throws at you.  I think at a certain point, I just got too lazy to keep updating this blog as well as my food blog.  I started these blogs as a creative outlet, but I lost interest somewhere down the line.  Although my interests may stray, they don't go on a permanent hiatus.  So, here I am logging back onto this blog (I admit I had a hard time remembering my password!) and posting my first entry in MONTHS!  I am going to refrain from making promises to keep up with this blog on a more regular basis because I just don't want to be riddled with guilt later, like today when I realized it has been forever since I posted anything on this blog.  Instead, let's just say, "Hello again, friend!  So nice to blog with you again!"

SOURCE:  Forever21.com

And with that introduction, let's just jump right into things, shall we?  I haven't been buying too many beauty products recently.  My drawers are becoming full of products that I haven't used yet.  Instead, I thought I would submit a shopping therapy post since (1) I haven't done one of these in a really long time; and (2) I've been doing more clothes shopping lately than shopping for beauty products.

I admit that I rarely if ever go into Forever 21 and if I do, it is a super rare occasion that I actually buy something from there.  I don't know what my hang up is about the place.  Perhaps it's because the original Forever 21 at the mall I frequently shop at was always such a mess.  Clothes were poorly displayed or mismatched on the racks due to the small store space.  I also didn't think that the clothes were all that great.  You kind of get what you pay for -- meaning that the quality of the clothes was...well...rather cheaply made.  Plus, I was starting to think that I had fallen out of the the store's target age bracket.  But then, Forever 21 got a bigger two-level store space at the mall with plenty of room to nicely display their merchandise.  Because of this, I was able to actually browse through the racks and discover items that I can wear without looking like I am desperately trying to cling to my 20s even though I am well into my 30s!

SOURCE:  Forever21.com

The other night, I was at the mall with a lot of time to kill before meeting up with friends for dinner.  I decided to pop into Forever 21 and take a peek.  I mean after all, just because I browse through the racks, doesn't mean that I am going to buy anything!  (Yeah, right!)  Well, as you can already predict, I ended up finding a cute blouse and dress that I can wear to work.

The first is a cream chiffon blouse with contrast black short sleeve cuffs and rounded neck and self-tie.  I usually pair this top with a black pencil skirt and wear it either tucked in for a neat, polished look or out for a fun, flirty look.  The other is a sleeveless navy polka dotted chiffon dress with a floral crocheted waistline.  I usually pair this dress with a cropped white three-quarter sleeve two button blazer that I got from Banana Republic years ago.  I love how the skirt of the dress is flirty, but you must be careful on windy days because it has the potential of flying up.  This dress does have a drawback.  The skirt length is a little too short.  Look at where the skirt length falls on the model in the picture.  Since I am short (5'3"), the skirt falls a little longer on me than on the model's long legs.  However, it is still a little short for my personal comfort zone even though my coworkers insist that the length is fine.

So, am I hooked on Forever 21?  Only time will tell.  I am still a faithful Macy's shopper.  After looking through the entire store, I can say that I would wear about 10-15% of its inventory.  By in large, I still fall outside of its target age group.  Gone are the days of teeny short shorts and tube tops.  I can't be forever 21.  Sigh...