Steal this Look : A Look Inside Forever 21

[Madhuri]

i dont get the whole "matching cheaply priced clothes with something more expensive". does it even serve a purpose other than just mentally knowing you are wearing both cheap and pricey? i dont even think about what was the price of the garment when i put an outfit together in the morning.

I hate how people thinks this makes them so cool or "original". It's like "I can afford Prada but I'm going wear a Forever 21 shirt with it. Aren't I edgy and different?"

[L0VE]

Well how do you think designers all end up doing the same trend =)?! I'm sure it's not just by chance. Forever 21 can just duplicate the trends better but most places copy in a subtle way. They get invited to the shows so that they can go back and duplicate the trends. Dupont does the same thing with paint on the car. They go to Oscar de la Renta and then look at the clothing coming down the runway and make paint to go with it. It's how fashion and business mix.

[L0VE]

Originally Posted by Madhuri

I hate how people thinks this makes them so cool or "original". It's like "I can afford Prada but I'm going wear a Forever 21 shirt with it. Aren't I edgy and different?"

Well matching up cheap TO pricey is smart. You're getting the trend not the item. And maybe someone wants a chanel clutch but can't get the whole outfit. Most models do that because they get the designer stuff for free and can only afford forever21 or just like the fact that it's cheap and chic. I shop at forever21 and it's not because I can't afford designer stuff, it's because it's very chic clothing and I love a good deal. I love smart shopping. I also don't even think when I'm mixing designer with forever21. They're just an outfit I am putting together.

[L0VE]

Originally Posted by morgan38

Do you feel better buying something for $2,000 that probably cost $100 dollars to make?

Thank you. Designers also make stuff in China!! It's practically the same stuff. I must say some designers can not even compare and have an amazing talent. Stick with made in Italy and products like shoes. But some, you're better off paying $20 bucks at f21 than $2000.

[L0VE]

Originally Posted by Madhuri

Is see the pendulum swinging back in favor or higher-priced, better quality, harder-to-get clothing eventually. The whole dressing beneath ones income and mixing high and low has been the rage for a few years now. Stores like F21 have made trends so accessible that EVERYONE is wearing the latest fashions and looking like clones albeit trendy clones. Having something that no one else can afford will probably come back in Vogue.

Anyone with "money" (or a brain) knows that you go designer for the pieces that will last you a life time, not a season. And saving money is better than blowing it on a $5000 bag that's out of season soon. Not everyone from old money does this but the ones from new money blow it (more often but not ALL. I shop smart and it's ignorance to think that more money means quality. Some designers are left who make quality clothing, but some are just not up to par and are overpriced.

[Madhuri]

Originally Posted by L0VE

Well matching up cheap TO pricey is smart. You're getting the trend not the item. And maybe someone wants a chanel clutch but can't get the whole outfit. Most models do that because they get the designer stuff for free and can only afford forever21 or just like the fact that it's cheap and chic. I shop at forever21 and it's not because I can't afford designer stuff, it's because it's very chic clothing and I love a good deal. I love smart shopping. I also don't even think when I'm mixing designer with

I agree it's smart but my point was that it doesn't make you cool or different. I get tired of interviews with so-called It girls where they act like mixing high and low is sooooo original.

[L0VE]

I must say something else too. Forever21 is not quality it's just a TREND. There are so many trends today that quality is the lesser of the few. I used to buy just quality but forever21 offers me the option of buying a polka dot top and chucking it a few months later. I feel better doing that with a 20 dollar top than a 400 dollar top. And say express who is 60 bucks a top, forever 21 is the same stuff. Express falls apart and is not even designer. So my option of shopping at express or forever21, forever21 wins. Quality = designer.

[L0VE]

I'm ranting. But in my other post, I'm trying to define this in a way that ; some parts of my city we have the old money and new money (old dress in a classic fashion and new just buy the logos to "show off") I don't look at clothing as $$$ or to show my value. I look at it as fashion and something that catches my eye. I don't buy it based on $$$ signs but because I like it. I've noticed that many people buy Chanel or LV to get attention or to show their value, from vain things instead of valuing who they are based on theirselves. I don't know but I get annoyed reading that people base $$$ instead of the clothing make or style. And anyone who thinks that they are below a $20 top, just goes to show that you are trying to impress someone that is not yourself and that's sad. I don't mean because of quality or dislike, but just because of the price.

[Star Foreman]

Originally Posted by kahlilg

clarification please. for some people it's all that they can afford. besides, it's not what you wear. it's how you wear it.

I am working with agency models, and when I am not able to pull for a shoot the models must bring their own wardrobe. When they bring items made with cheap fabric, badly dyed items, or just plain ugly items it creates images that are less than par.

These girls are going on go-sees with the designers that make the originals that F21 is stealing from.

I have found that many aspiring models are basically clueless when it comes to fashion, and how to look fashionable. As such I have to send out dos and don'ts and one of the don'ts is no Charlotte Russe, no Forever 21, no Red Eye etc...

Bad fabrics photograph as bad fabrics, and cheap items look just as cheap in photos.

[L0VE]

^ That's what a tank top or T and jeans are for =). So my question, what do you like if they can't wear designer? Because express, limited, bebe and those type, are mostly made in China and fall apart after a few washes too. I also think that they photograph the same, my BCBG and F21 jeans photograph the same.

[L0VE]

Guess which is which. BCBG or Forever21?

[Fabulyss]

Originally Posted by Star Foreman

Bad fabrics photograph as bad fabrics, and cheap items look just as cheap in photos.

On the contrary, I completely disagree with this. It all depends on the talent of the photographer and stylist. H&M catalogs always look fantastic for example, but in the store the clothes show their true quality.

[Star Foreman]

Originally Posted by Fabulyss

On the contrary, I completely disagree with this. It all depends on the talent of the photographer and stylist. H&M catalogs always look fantastic for example, but in the store the clothes show their true quality.

I actually recommend H&M as a place to go for models who can't afford better. They do not use cheap or badly dyed fabrics, at least no where near as bad as the stores I actually mentioned.

I think it is a cop out to say that a talented photographer can get art from crap, it has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with opacity, weave, color temperature shifts from badly dyed fabric, and above all the nature of the garment and its ability to look flattering.

Also catalogs are made with sample pieces, not from the actual production line pieces so it is really apples and oranges when it comes to the photo in the store vs. the actual garment. The catalog shoots happen while the piece is being put into production, because the images must be printed and ready to go when the items hit the stores.

[2Nova]

^ and H&M is actually decent in quality

[kahlilg]

Originally Posted by Star Foreman

I am working with agency models, and when I am not able to pull for a shoot the models must bring their own wardrobe. When they bring items made with cheap fabric, badly dyed items, or just plain ugly items it creates images that are less than par.

These girls are going on go-sees with the designers that make the originals that F21 is stealing from.

I have found that many aspiring models are basically clueless when it comes to fashion, and how to look fashionable. As such I have to send out dos and don'ts and one of the don'ts is no Charlotte Russe, no Forever 21, no Red Eye etc...

Bad fabrics photograph as bad fabrics, and cheap items look just as cheap in photos.

O ok I get your point now. it's funny that most aspiring models know very little about the fashion industry. then again, they really don't need to know.