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Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

nytimes.com

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Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#161

Post by proverbialbunny »

dehrmann wrote: post #63
proverbialbunny wrote: post #28

Back in '08-'09 Forever 21 was my favorite clothing store. They had styles there that fit well, looked good, used comfortable fabric, and was relatively cheap. Given how the economy was doing at the time, it gave Forever 21 an advantage: clothes 2-3x cheaper and clothes quite a bit more enjoyable to wear. But the fabric they used disintegrated on me, as woman's clothes tend to. (Men get thicker fabric, but at the exp…

> Men get thicker fabric, but at the expense of being less stretchy Not sure if it's the thickness or the fabric. Men's clothes are more likely to be cotton, women's have more synthetics to get stretchiness and better draping. Not sure what that does for durability, but it might explains issues in the dryer. I'd also be curious to know the staple length of the cotton used by fast fashion brands, but I'd bet it's shor…

The stretch/synthetics in woman's clothing comes from plastic. It's normally more durable than normal clothing. It's intentional planned obsolescence.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#162

Post by proverbialbunny »

amyjess wrote: post #156
dehrmann wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Men get thicker fabric, but at the expense of being less stretchy Not sure if it's the thickness or the fabric. Men's clothes are more likely to be cotton, women's have more synthetics to get stretchiness and better draping. Not sure what that does for durability, but it might explains issues in the dryer. I'd also be curious to know the staple length of the cotton used by fast fashion brands, but I'd bet it's shor…

When I transitioned to female, one thing I was told early on was that I shouldn't put my tops in the dryer anymore, because the dryer will wreck them. So nowadays I hang-dry all my tops. And one interesting side-effect of my transition is that I actually like the feel of clothes now. Stretchy materials are so much more comfortable. I've never been able to stand the feel of cotton against my skin, and I'm so glad I ge…

Yep yep. Guy's don't get it. It has something to do with the fat content in skin, but they can't feel much. Imagine if you had a weakened sense of taste your whole life. It must suck to not be able to feel things with any level of detail.

But on the other end, guys can go for hours on a computer no problem, but due to a lack of upper body strength, I need to exercise my neck and shoulder muscles once a week or slowly over time I'll start to get headaches.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#163

Post by proverbialbunny »

colmvp wrote: post #144
xivzgrev wrote: post #115

Here’s some info on potential reasons why they are going bankrupt. -they are mall centric store and mall traffic has been declining. Other chains have been “right sizing” -big discount stores (target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, etc) have upped their (discounted) fashion game -forever 21 was slow to adjust to these broader trends vs competitors I also agree with proverbialbunny. My girlfriend used to go there regularly but we…

Overall mall traffic might be declining but I’ve been to malls here in my city where the higher end malls are thriving and more popular than in previous decades. The Forever 21’s in my area are located in malls that are dated, and ripe for a major renovation.

That's a really good point. I can understand why other stories have been dying to wanting quality merchandise. Victoria Secret is going out of business, but True (an online only company as far as I know) is amazing. I'm in love with their products. Victoria Secret I never cared for.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#164

Post by magduf »

emj wrote: post #155
magduf wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Now though I stick to brands such as COS, yes they do cost x5 or X10 what H&M costs, but the difference in the clothe is evident. Yeah, but do they really last 5-10 times as long? If not, then from a purely economic point-of-view, they're not as good a deal. Spending 10x as much for something that lasts 2x as long really doesn't make economic sense: you can buy 2 of the cheaper thing and still spend 1/5 as much mone…

It's cheap "if your time is free", it is nice being able to depend on your clothes.

What are you talking about? It doesn't take any more time to buy 2 shirts than to buy 1 shirt. Maybe it adds an extra 5 seconds at the cash register, but that's not significant.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#165

Post by magduf »

mumblemumble wrote: post #146
magduf wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, maybe not. The longer-lasting but expensive stuff might not be available in styles you like, for instance. So, for example, what good is a long-lasting shirt if it looks like something only your grandfather would wear?

This seems to go right back to the grandparent post's closing sentence: > But, until people get past fashion, I can't expect this will happen.

People are never going to "get past fashion". People who have any money at all have been worried about fashion for millennia now. The only people who didn't were people too poor to do anything but worry about keeping themselves clothed with whatever they could find.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#166

Post by VvR-Ox »

Angostura wrote: post #27
VvR-Ox wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about those brands really being sustainable etc. - it's about their claims (the same with food and their labels). If those claims seem authentic enough they will ease the mind of the customers it helps them enjoy their spent money again though deep down they should know how bad this consumption is for our environment and the poor people involved in the production.

Its almost as if we could do with a strong regular to stop companies abusing terms and greenwashing their products.

We'd need some officially accepted labels which are controlled by organizations that share absolutely no interest with the share holders of these businesses.

But it seems we have like 20 different labels for everything, one less worth than the other.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#167

Post by thorwasdfasdf »

I'm a little surprised by this. Forever 21, I thought was the fashionable dollar store equivalent for clothing. It should've done much better than other higher end brands, considering how millenials are spending less and less on clothing.

Also, how are people wearing out their clothes so quickly. I bought a super cheap shirt from forever 21 once and it lasted for years with no sign of wear.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#168

Post by kennywinker »

benbristow wrote: post #23

My ex took me there in Tokyo when I visited Japan. Shiny shops and good background music but crap for men's clothes. 3 floors of women's clothes and a tiny corner for men's. Not great.

One thing they DID have is a great selection for larger women. While most stores cater to the skinny+young (see brandy melville's "one-size-fits-all" policy), many forever 21 locations had a large plus size section that I know was appreciated by many women.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#169

Post by proverbialbunny »

cerebellum42 wrote: post #35
proverbialbunny wrote: post #28

Back in '08-'09 Forever 21 was my favorite clothing store. They had styles there that fit well, looked good, used comfortable fabric, and was relatively cheap. Given how the economy was doing at the time, it gave Forever 21 an advantage: clothes 2-3x cheaper and clothes quite a bit more enjoyable to wear. But the fabric they used disintegrated on me, as woman's clothes tend to. (Men get thicker fabric, but at the exp…

>Since then H&M has caught on like wildfire taking over the market Forever 21 once had. They do a lot of the same, but their clothes are even cheaper (why?) and in my current wardrobe my favorite clothes have come from H&M. I'm afraid the same fate will come to H&M that has come to Forever 21. Or maybe H&M will learn from F21's mistakes. Only time will tell. That's a rather weird characterization in my opinion... H&M…

>That's a rather weird characterization in my opinion... H&M stores in roughly their current form have been around a lot longer than Forever 21. H&M is also 4-5 times the size of Forever 21 by revenue.

My apologies. Faulty assumption on my part.

Re: Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy

#170

Post by seanmcdirmid »

proverbialbunny wrote: post #169
cerebellum42 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Since then H&M has caught on like wildfire taking over the market Forever 21 once had. They do a lot of the same, but their clothes are even cheaper (why?) and in my current wardrobe my favorite clothes have come from H&M. I'm afraid the same fate will come to H&M that has come to Forever 21. Or maybe H&M will learn from F21's mistakes. Only time will tell. That's a rather weird characterization in my opinion... H&M…

>That's a rather weird characterization in my opinion... H&M stores in roughly their current form have been around a lot longer than Forever 21. H&M is also 4-5 times the size of Forever 21 by revenue. My apologies. Faulty assumption on my part.

H&M is very European (Swedish), I think they’ve only been in the states for less than a decade. I’m more of a C&A person myself, H&M always struck me as too urban (in Switzerland at least).
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