H&M vs. Forever 21: A Study

I’ve thought about this topic for a while now. Both stores have recently been erected in close proximity to my home. I’ve taken note that while most people have preferences about which stores they like to shop at, almost every female between the ages 15 and 40 will stop in both H&M and Forever 21. Whenever I see someone in either store below the 15 year-old end of the spectrum, I’m disturbed. But it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as seeing someone enter the store that is way beyond the 40 year-old range. Like, Talbots is just around the corner, yo. Regardless, they are popular stores and have become almost interchangeable.

Sizing

Finding clothes that not only fit, but also compliment our body type is a life long struggle for most women. I have found that Forever 21’s sizes aren’t as  accommodating as H&M’s are. H&M has, by far, a better selection of sizes ranging from XS-3XL and Maternity. Forever 21 recently (within the last couple of years) added a plus size section which also goes up to a 3XL. However, not all of their stores include the separated plus size department. So for the rest of the people that shop there, they must indeed have the bodies of 21 year-olds…forever.

Quality

For most people, quality isn’t an important factor in their shopping sessions. It is for me, but that’s only because I have standards. Forever 21 likes to sport material with no give, unfinished hems, and scratchy fabric. Jus’ sayin’. To be fair, you are paying a much cheaper price than most stores when you shop at Forever 21. Bad quality = good prices = happy high schoolers. For people with a little more ca$h money, I would suggest H&M only because their clothes are slightly more expensive. Rightfully so. Of course, they aren’t of the same quality of higher end brands by any means, but they definitely feel better and look better in general. H&M offers a large selection of work-appropriate pieces, and I for one think it’s important for your office clothes to look nice. Unless you don’t work in an office. Then throw on some overalls and get to work. (Obviously jobs either require skirts and blouses or overalls. No in between.)

Organization

Your eyes are probably rolling to the back of your head for this one. Really? Organization? Yes. If a store isn’t organized, I can’t feel comfortable shopping in it. During my high school years, I remember my local Forever 21 as a disaster zone. Like, it literally looked like a bomb went off in the store. Clothes were everywhere. If you found something you liked, good luck finding your size and good luck finding anyone to help you. Now of course with their growing popularity, Forever 21 has stepped up their game. However, their dressing room floors are still as filthy as they were the day that I turned 17. Dust everywhere. And only 5 items allowed in. WTF. H&M has clean dressing rooms and extremely flattering mirrors. And more importantly, their store is organized to a tee.

Selection

This is probably the only category that Forever 21 excels in. Their variety of clothing items and accessories is vast. They just pack a lot of clothes into that building. However, their styles are mostly appropriate for the younger generations. H&M kind of breaks up their store into different sections. Like, one section for the high schoolers (meanwhile these clothes could still be worn by older folks…but they just have a younger feel about them) and another section for the more “mature” fashion conscious group. I like how it’s set up and that everything isn’t all jumbled together.

Overall, I would come to the conclusion that Forever 21, though offering a grand selection of items and tempting prices, falls short of H&M by not producing better quality clothes, various sizes, and having messy stores.

Where do you shop? 

My Shopping Experience

I used to be a shopaholic. I went to the mall on a daily basis and almost always came home with a new article of clothing. This addiction lasted for years. I’m bearing my heart, people. Not counting Christmas, I have gone over 5 months without any clothing purchases. It’s kind of refreshing. I don’t need new clothes. I have so many that it’s not even funny any more. Okay, its kind of funny.

One of the real reasons I’ve stopped shopping is because I literally have no where to go. Here in Canada, my malls are slightly below par. Their department store called The Bay is actually nice, but they sell Lourdes/Madonna’s clothing line and way too much of Jessica Simpson’s line. And lets face it, who wants to dress like either of those people? Unless there’s a Nordstrom around, I’m truly not interested.

I'm not letting her live this one down.

I’ve walked around the mall here searching for some kind of shopping solace but none exist. There’s a store called “Garage” which terrifies me. If I wanted to shop at a garage, I would kill myself and go to hell. Because I’m pretty sure that hell consists of endlessly picking through trinkets at garage sales.

They do have one of those stores that sells toys and gadgets and stuff like that. It’s called “Seeing is Believing”. Heh. I used to love those stores when I was little. I liked one in particular called “Imaginarium”. I don’t know why, but I was always intrigued by those water wiggly things. Those were a top seller.

Trust me, they're more fun then they look. (Okay, no they're not)

I love creative store names. There’s a store in the mall called “Things Engraved” and I’m baffled about how they came up with it. Seriously, I hope whoever thought of that name got a huge raise. The store, however, doesn’t interest me because I went through a phase where I needed everything engraved and monogrammed. Sorry that LKL is the best monogram ever.

I don’t know how many of you watch How I Met Your Mother but there’s a character who is originally from Canada and she used to be an 80’s pop star and sing in malls. Kind of like every pop star in the 80’s. I think HIMYM stopped being funny after I stopped watching. It always works out that way for me. Or at least I hope it does. What if its still funny and I’m missing out on prime jokes?! Actually, I refuse to watch because they cast Allison Hannigan to play a character named Lily and she really doesn’t do my name justice.

Anyway, here’s a clip of Robin and her secret Canadian identity Robin Sparkles. The main reason I like it is because she says “sorey” and “aboot” and mentions Canada Day.

Note: I cannot wait until Canada Day. It’s going to be so blog worthy I can hardly stand it.

Target

See how much cooler Target is?

In Illinois, Target was a big part of my life. It was the perfect place to go when I was bored, or felt the urge to spend a quick $50 on who knows what. It’s almost impossible to go to Target and come out empty handed. Even if you go in looking for one specific item, chances are you will have found 10 other items that you all of a sudden desperately need. Or does that only happen to me?

Canada has a Target-like store called Zeller’s. I don’t go there a lot because it’s called Zeller’s. I also don’t go there a lot because it’s attached to a mall. That’s just downright dangerous. If my home Target was attached to a mall, I would literally be gone all day every day. I would have no money and live in a box. So I have to avoid Zeller’s as to not spend my life savings on random items.

In the next year or so, it’s going to be insanely easy to avoid Zeller’s because it won’t be Zeller’s for much longer. Canada finally has wised up and decided to change all of their Zeller’s into Targets. I cannot even express how excited I am! A brand new Target to call my own!

I can see why Target attracted Canadians–the colors are red and white. Zeller’s colors are also red and white. Easy transformation. I think it might have something to do with the guy who owns Target also owns Zeller’s as well.

If you don’t have a Target (I’m looking at you, England) then you are a lost nation. And basically dead to me.