Five mannequins adorned with the most current styles in the clothing industry stand tall upon a podium located at the front of Forever 21 in the Holyoke Mall. Each mannequin, silver in skin tone, is postured in such a way that suggests confidence and beauty. I notice that each model is drenched in bold, contrasting colors such as royal blue, burnt orange, maroon, and mustard yellow. I realize these are the popular colors of the season as I look around the rest of the room and see that all the merchandise are related in color.
Forever 21 is a clothing store that was first founded in 1984 in California. It started out as Fashion 21, and as popularity of the store grew, the owner opened more stores and renamed it Forever 21. Now, chain stores can be found all over the country in just about every mall.
On Forever 21’s blog, “The Skinny”, the Inspiration Board says that geek is the new chic. As I walk through the massive store in Holyoke, I can clearly see that Forever 21 has stocked up on geeky merchandise to please their customers. Plaid button down shirts are layered with argyle sweaters and stripes are plastered all over the shirts, pants, and socks. Forever 21 has even started marketing faux reading glasses to mock the look of a true nerd.
I make my way by the registers and see that impulse-buy material has been placed strategically where the customers form lines. Bins are full of different cosmetics, socks, jewelry, nail polish, and more small “stuff” for customers to sift through while they wait to pay for their clothes. I notice that the “theme” of this merchandise closely follows the geek chic trend. Necklaces are crafted with pendants resembling eye-glasses. Notebooks with owls sporting graduation caps on the front cover are stacked at eye-level. Even the small compact mirrors have graphics on them that display the alphabet or mathematical equations.
Forever 21 would be the product if Express, Macy’s, Hollister, American Eagle and Wal-mart were thrown into a blender together. Forever 21 has style catered to the business people and the night life lovers just as Express does and a huge department store feel like Macy’s. However, it also displays the California shore style and bohemian hipster like Hollister and American Eagle. Last, Forever 21’s prices compare to those found at Wal-mart. They have really hit the nail on the head with marketing to the younger generation and also pricing their product with the broke college student in mind.
In the middle of the store, there is an elongated table with an array of tank tops and t-shirts in as many colors as I could imagine. These pieces are essential to anyone’s look. Plain shirts and tanks are perfect for layering under sweaters and jackets. The highest price I could find on a tagged item from this table was $8.50 and the lowest was $2.80. Even the most expensive item on this table was inexpensive! I noticed that the highest priced item on the table was the cropped t-shirt. These t-shirts that are cut off short to reveal the midriff are also “in” this season.
While walking through the entirety of Forever 21, I can truthfully say that the store closely matches what its blog, The Skinny, is reporting on. The style experts on The Skinny hunt out the trends of the season and Forever 21 matches it. While the store accommodates many different styles, it always manages to tie in the “look” or “colors” of the season. I found ripped up, studded jeans in mustard yellow for the “rocker chick”, a blouse with pinstripes for the “office girl” and baggy cargo pants for those who prefer the “boho” look.
I look up at the five mannequins again. They look so “cool” as they present their high fashion clothing. Some have their noses pointed upward; others have their chests puffed out, each one demanding the attention of the customers. Their positioning and “attitude” leaves the customer feeling that they want to feel like those mannequins. And each time I come into the store, these five mock women are wearing new outfits that exemplify the latest trends. However, no matter what they are wearing I get the same feeling: popular. I want to buy popular clothes and this is the right place to do it. As the website says, “A phenomenon to the fashion world, Forever 21 provides shoppers with an unprecedented selection of today’s fashions, always changing and always in style”.
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