Some people grimace when they hear that I shop at Forever 21. Where’s your environmental consciousness, they’d ask. Trumped by trend curiosity, I’d retort with some indignation not to be confused with justification.
What they don’t know is that I am simply too much of a Scrooge to allow my merchandise credit to go unused. It’s a two-year campaign that may finally see the end of its run by year-end, owing not to my initial suspicion that inflation will eventually render my credit worthless but to the diversification in quality of Forever 21 styles (which motivates me to actually keep things).
Take this clutch for example. I was surprised by how non-inexpensive looking it is in person. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it looks expensive but it really doesn’t scream “I-COME-FROM-FOREVER-21!”
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| Zara Coat with Gathered Shoulder and Metallic Button | Theory Annea Caledon Sleeveless Jacket/Vest | Zipia Lace Cropped Top | Parisian Print Box Pleated Skirt, a gift from the talented SewPetiteGal | Forever 21 Classic Midsize Faux Leather Clutch | Pour La Victoire Chantel Scalloped Pumps (also here, here + here) |
The clutch has plenty of room to hold bare necessities and a few discretionary items. Even with a bulging wallet, another clutch filled with travel sized products, and car keys (clutch in this set of photos contained those items), the bag doesn’t look lumpy or overly distended.
On the topic of clutches, I also picked up the (much larger) Classic Oversized Faux Leather Clutch, meant to be worn folded in half. Unfolded, it’s taller and only an inch narrower than tabloid-sized paper. Like others who purchased this clutch, I find the unfolded clutch truly oversized but do not intend to ever wear it in that state.
Polyurethane is a popular material among retailers for constructing cheaper handbags and accessories but I do not find the clutch to be inexpensive-looking. Some reviewers also mentioned an unpleasant chemical smell but I did not experience this issue with the two clutches I received; in my experience, that smell normally goes away if you let the item “breathe” for a few days.
This oversized clutch comfortably holds my long wallet, this clutch filled to capacity, an iPad, and keys.
Forever 21 also has a few other clutches and pouches in various sizes and finishes if you would like more choices. Find others here, here, here, here, and here.
