A Review of Forever 21+

While I have been addicted to the internet since the first time I went online more than 13 years ago, I have never been a big online shopper. I have always done a lot of online research before purchasing items in a store, but other than mostly just books here and there I have never done much actual purchasing. I have had problems with my orders from both Amazon.ca and from Chapters.ca, so those experiences didn’t exactly leave me eager to begin much in the way of online shopping habits.

Well, it seems the excitement of finding out that there are great clothes for us curvy girls out there that I didn’t know about has been enough to give me the push to try some online shopping.  I was very nervous about it not only because of my past experiences of online shopping, but also because of the fact that it’s clothes that I’m purchasing. I can have so much difficulty finding clothes that fit me right by going into stores and trying stuff on, so I was definitely wondering if there was any hope for me ordering something when I couldn’t try it on first.

I decided to try and overcome this fear about a month ago when I found out that Forever 21 carries plus sizes, unfortunately I can only get them online as none of the stores here carry them. It still took me a couple weeks from my first look at their website to give it a try, I was assured by a girl in the store here that I could return the items in the store if they didn’t fit. So that and the fact that shipping is free if you purchase $60 or more gave me enough courage to place an order.

My first order I placed was for 2 dresses and 2 belts. I love dresses but have a hard time finding dresses that fit right , if it fits up top it’s too small around my midsection usually. And as for belts, I’ve never been a big belt person, before these the only belt I had was a ratty one I just wear with jeans, other than that belt I haven’t worn belts since my skinny days. Seeing all these blogs and all these lovely curvy ladies making belts look so good made me think why can’t I make a belt look good too!?!

Here’s the 2 dresses I ordered and one of the belts, try as I might I can’t find a pic of the other belt because it’s sold out and off the site, the second dress(the Maxi w/straps) I didn’t actually get in black(the Canadian site didn’t even have it in black ), but I got it in red.  All 4 of these items are sold out on the Canadian website now, though the strapless dress is so far still available in a coral color.

 

So, how did this online shopping experience go for me? Fantastic!! Both dresses are a perfect fit in every way and soooo comfortable! And I love the way they both look on, I feel they both make me look a little more slender even…..which I have never found a dress that could do that in the 13 years since I put on weight(13 years overweight and I have a 13 year old….see any relation there?? LOL). I have worn one dress twice so far and the other once….only because we haven’t had enough nice days for wearing them though. I really like the belts too but have only worn each once so far, I’m still having difficulties figuring out how to wear them. I’m sure I’ll be more likely to wear them in the fall/winter than in the summer.

One thing I learned in this order was about belts. I learned that you really need different sizes of belts. When I first got them I thought I was going to have to return them because they are both big on me, but then I realized that was only over a single layer of clothing and that’s not necessarily how they are going to be worn. The one is only slightly big so I can get away with it over a single layer but still wear over a couple of layers. The other belt is quite big but I did wear it over a tank and cardigan with jeans and it was a bit better fit, I picture it working best in winter with sweaters or vests that are a little heavier….if I ever wear them that is LOL, hot flashes tend to turn me away from thicker clothes even in Winter.

Anyway, holy moly, I warned you in my first post that I can ramble and here I go proving that to be true! So to sum up my first order, loved what I ordered, fit and all, and it came FAST! I placed the order very late on a Sunday night and it was here on Tuesday….very impressed!
My second order was just this week. This one was not as quick, there was a long weekend in there so that obviously delayed my order getting sent and then Purolator took longer to get it to me than the first one. I ordered last Friday, May 20, the order was shipped on Tuesday(day after the long weekend) and I received the order today, May 28.

This time I ordered Skinny Jeans, Jeggings, a Jean Jacket and a pair of tights. ….will post pics below. I haven’t tried the tights on yet, but the other 3 things….I LOVE!! Once again, fantastic fit….well, the jacket might be just a touch big, but I don’t think a smaller size would have worked. I wore it out tonight and it felt just fine!

So, all in all I am pleased in every way with my experiences ordering from Forever 21+, I also have gone into their store a couple of times to buy jewelry and other than the horrible and loud music(gosh, I must be getting old!) that I wish they would turn down a bit, the service and selection was fantastic…I just wish they would carry some of the Plus Sizes in the stores here, but as long as I can get free shipping(though wish it was for $40 or $50 instead of $60) and I can return the items in store so I don’t have to pay to ship them back(though I can only return for credit, which is fine for me because I can use it online) I’m happy to be a customer.

The only possible complaint I can come up with for Forever 21+ is that I do find some of their clothing a little ratty looking, I mean they have some pieces that are just gorgeous then next to it is something that to me serves no more purpose that being a cleaning rag….just my opinion. They also use a very skinny model in some of the Plus Sized clothes, I know most of us curvy girls can’t stand to see that….there are more than enough gorgeous plus girls out there that can model clothes meant for us. And one of the models looks like she is so pretty but they do her hair and make-up so awful that she looks like a child playing dress-up. So I do think they have some room for improvement in those areas. Their selection could stand to be a little bigger too, they do add a few pieces to the site most days, but some stuff sells out so fast that it really doesn’t end up increasing the amount of pieces available. Also, they obviously don’t have enough stock, the dress I got in red I really wanted in white as well(and would have loved in black too), but they were sold out so fast that you didn’t have a chance. Same thing happened with a couple of other dresses on there, adorable dresses and they were out in just a few days.

Ok, that’s it….I’ll shut up now LOL…..gotta learn to control my rambling….I’m a relatively quiet person IRL that I guess not having to be face to face with someone and deal with nerves the words just flow right out of me LOL! I don’t think I have anyone reading yet, but hopefully soon some people will find their way here .

Jolene