Debbie

Blazer (Bebe - I kid you not, I bought this when I was a sophomore in high school - similar here), T-shirt (Forever 21, similar here), Jeans (Abercrombie & Fitch - for the reals - similar here), Belt (J.Crew, similar here) Shoes (Superga - I DIE FOR THESE) Necklace (Dogeared)

WHATEVER I shop at Forever 21 occasionally and sometimes I hate myself for it. But they make a mean 4 dollar rocker tee and always manage to satisfy my not-so-kosher craving for cheap jewelry made my small children hands, okay?? LET'S FIGHT ABOUT IT.

I don't wanna fight anymore. Things were better when we weren't fighting. But this does bring up something worth mentioning: The fact of the matter is, Forever 21—that ear-splittingly abrasive brat barn of a place that promises nothing but fast fashion, sweatshop-made prices (went there), wall-to-wall racks of merch, miserable employees, and NARY A REFUND IN SIGHT—is sometimes a source of internal conflict for fashion-forward and semi-morally-conscious consumers like myself, especially for ladies my age who aren't cloaked in the protective aegis of excused immaturity and scruplelessness that 14-year-olds are so often afforded.

And yet, I can't help but be lured by their technicolor devilry of hyper-trends and dollar-store price tags. A finite amount of spending cash coupled with a healthy addiction to shopping means sometimes, YOU GOTTA SLUM IT. Forever 21 scratches an itch that occasionally needs scratching. And moreover, by economizing the trickle-down runway trends of designers on high, they're inherently democratizing those trends, and contributing the "diffusion fashion" movement that's become a large part of what "Fashion" (capital F) means today for a broader-based population of participants (the exclusionary devices of Fashion's yesteryear are of course, still an integral part of the mode, but no longer completely dominate it). And is that really a bad thing? What's lost in the process, though?

It's a first world problem to be sure, but that doesn't make it any less worthy of discussing. I suppose I could just stop shopping there. But my checking account doesn't want me to. So for now, I'll take my cheap Debbie Harry t-shirts (which they have an abundance of, by the way) and my sweatshop bangles THANKYOUVERYMUCH, and I'll be on my merry, blazered way.

We all need our cheap thrills in some form or another.