I prefer to shop in places where I can walk  in the door and already know where everything is. Psychology 101: People like the familiar.

When I shop, I’m a girl on a mission. I’m not looking to spend extra change — I’m looking for a specific type of item, and I want to go home after I purchase it. You may have guessed correctly that I’m not much fun to go shopping with.

When I walk into Loft, Gap, Banana Republic, etc. I like that I know where to get what I want.The new arrivals are all in the front of the store. Jeans are in one section. Essential tops and tanks are in another. Clearance is at the back of the store, along with shoes.

So when I walked into Forever 21 last weekend hoping to get a basic t-shirt and new pants with whatever I had left on my Christmas gift card, I nearly had a heart attack. I easily get sensory overload. Walking into Forever 21 has gone from a teenage, “This is exciting, I don’t even know where to begin!” to an adult, “Holy crap, I need to get out of here.”

Long story short, I left with a basic gray t-shirt (which took me over an hour to find) and  three other shirts. Now that my conscious/gift card is cleared, I think my Forever 21 days are coming to an end. The styles are becoming odd and ill fitting, and I can no longer empathize with the teenagers congratulating each other on a “good find.” I prefer not to dig through 50 different tops crammed onto a rack for a “good find.”

My point being that a shopping experience should not be like this because:

• If you come for something specific, you usually leave with something you didn’t come for instead.
• The prices are low, so you feel you can grab as many as you want and not feel the burn.
• How are the prices so low, you may wonder? Truth is that shops like Forever 21 aren’t as innocent as they seem.
• If it didn’t come out within the past month or so it’s on a rack and there are a limited number left, making you feel like you have to take anything good you find. After all, what are the chances it’ll still be there next weekend, or that you’ll even find it again?
• It’s a type of marketing that tries to put your mind into shopaholic mode.
• You’ll pull something off the rack and not be able to cram it back on. We’ve all been there. It’s ridiculous.
• Quality of the clothes aren’t the best because everything is overproduced. My Forever 21 clothes last about 3 months.

A shopping experience should be easy, fun, and straightforward. It should not make you feel like you’re trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I’ll take my shopping simple, please.

What are your thoughts on Forever 21 and shopping layouts? Let’s Discuss!

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