How to Tuesday: How I Make My Forever 21 Clothes Last

Hey guys,

So this might seem like an odd post but I was shopping online at Forever21 looking at clothes to buy and I was also thinking of new blog post ideas because I'm pretty much always trying to think of new blog post ideas haha. And I came up with this one (and a few others but those will go up later). 

So I have some clothes from Forever21 that are probably at least 9 years old or maybe even older and they still look brand new or at least barely worn. And people are always asking me about the clothes I wear and where I get them from and most of the time my answer is from Forever21. I love shopping at Forever21, however, I am extremely picky when it comes to shopping there. I will only buy items that I think will last and since I live about an hour away from a Forever21, I always buy quite a few pieces every time I go in. I'm that girl that brings in like 20 pieces to the dressing room when you're only allowed to have 7 at a time haha. 

But I wanted to share with you guys how I actually take care of my Forever21 pieces.

So for starters, I have a lot of clothes and buy a lot, I mean I probably own over 100 different tops (this includes tank tops, sleeveless, short sleeves, 3/4 length sleeves, long sleeves, plain v-necks, and some other styles) so if think about it, I could wear a different top every single day for like 100 days which means that the pieces that I buy from Forever21 aren't actually getting worn that much. 

However, if I didn't have such an amazing mom that loved to shop and didn't have a credit card to almost every store then I probably wouldn't own so much clothing, which means my Forever21 items would be getting so much more wear and tear. So if we take out the fact that I own a lot of clothes and if I only wore my Forever21 items every single day then they probably wouldn't last as long but I definitely think the way that I take care of them really is what helps to make them last longer.

So I pretty only hand wash all of my Forever21 clothes and by hand wash I mean I throw them in the washing machine and turn on the hand washing cycle haha. But I never dry my Forever21 items in the dryer. I hang dry or lay them flat to dry. Drying clothes in the dryer can be very rough on clothes and if you want to extend the life of your clothes then I highly recommend air drying them. Putting them in the dryer can cause them to pill or get snags. They can also shrink or stretch out in the dryer depending on the material.

Another tip I have is to make sure that you turn tops inside out that having beading on them, sequins, or some other type of details that may get damaged. This will also help to lengthen the life of your items because turning them inside out will protect them from getting on other items of clothing or possible something within the washing machine.

Also I hand wash items from Forever21 even if the tag says it can be washed on the regular cycle and dried in the dryer. I have learned that no matter the brand, washing clothes on the hand wash cycle and then hang drying them can definitely help to lengthen the life of all of your clothes. Yes, it can take so much longer to wash your clothes like this because it takes like 24 hours for them to dry but at the same time, at least your clothes are already on hangers and you can just put them away once they are dry.

Also, I only use Tide detergent. I happen to be allergic to several other brands and so I just try to stick to Tide because I know it won't cause me to break out in hives haha. I don't use anything else when washing my clothes, just your typical tide detergent.

I also do separate loads of hand wash cycles depending on the color. For example, I do a lights load (whites and other very light colors) and a darks load (black and other dark colors).

Like I said earlier, I am extremely picky when it comes to buying items at Forever21, I will search for items that I know are made out of good material and I will typically only buy blousey material tops. When it comes to the dresses, I'm not as picky because I love wearing dresses and I go through dresses so much quicker than I do tops. When I'm shopping for a top, I am sometimes looking for something specific. For example, I am obsessed with buying white tops or black tops and I have a little collection going at the moment so when I'm shopping for a new white or black top then I will look for a good material and I will check it out to make sure that it's already not pilling, doesn't have a snag, or any strings hanging out at the seams. 

I love buying my clothes at Forever21 because they are so cheap and trendy but you definitely have to make sure that you are looking very carefully before you make your final purchase if you want the item to last. 

I only buy tops and dresses from Foever21, I pretty much refuse to buy any bottoms whatsoever. I do have yoga pants and workout pants from them but I'm not counting those as bottoms because I would only wear those in public if I were exercising haha. The reason I avoid buying bottoms from them is because I have bad experiences with their bottoms for example, their sizing is wayyy off. I'm a true size 0 or size 25 depending on the brand and I can barely get into like a size 2 or sometimes a 4 so I don't really recommend buying their bottoms only because I don't agree with the way that they size them. I would only buy a pair of bottoms from them if I absolutely needed to and if it were for a costume party or something.

I have purchased skirts from them in the past but they didn't stay in my closet for very long and most of the never saw the light of day haha. I do have a couple pairs fabric shorts (or scarf shorts) and I still own them and where them but it's mostly just around the house. They are cute and comfortable but so thin and short so sometimes I just don't feel comfortable wearing them in public.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I also hope that it was helpful!

XO, Steph