More

Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors
Rachel Kane

Rachel Kane

Posted: January 23, 2011 01:03 PM

Some things, like hairless cats or babies with overtly large heads, can be so ugly they are cute. And some things, like pretzels inside M&Ms or Paula Abdul trying to make a point on national television, are so wrong they become right.

Forever 21's newly released line of faux-vintage clothing is not one of them.

Forever 21′s foray into the drastically under-appreciated and highly lucrative hipsters who are homeless and/or blind market has hit Los Angeles stores. It's hit it HARD.

The new Forever 21 Vintage line, pictured in part here, has only been made available to a select number of cities. Presumably, those cities which have the highest concentration of people willing to pay almost $25 for a pair of sweat pants with Cosby sweater ankle attachments and faded out hoodies with the sleeves replaced by old swatches from drag shows.

Basically, New York, Florida, California and Vegas - the capitals of jaded pedestrians, crazy headlines, celebrity worship and legal prostitution.

"It looks like it was made for you, because it was! Each piece is a little different but don't worry, the look and finish is so unique, no one else will ever have the same one."

- From Forever 21′s blog announcement

Real world translation:

"It looks like shit, because it is! Each piece has a different left-over swatch of otherwise unusable material and the look and finish are so truly horrendous, you're probably the only chump who will shell out for this trash, so no one will ever have the same one."

The only place I could see anyone ever wearing this stuff would be to either the most casual or, conversely, the most formal drum circle on the planet.

Forever 21, WTF?

For more shining moments from Forever 21, visit WTForever21.com.

Facebook Announcement
1 of 9
These are the images Forever 21 used to notify the Facebook public at large about their new "line." THESE are the images that were supposed to get people excited. Holy Hell.
Total comments: 46 | Post a Comment
1 of 9
Rate This Slide
Wearable
WTF

  • 1

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9

  • 10
Current Top 5 Slides
Users who voted on this slide
loading...

 
Some things, like hairless cats or babies with overtly large heads, can be so ugly they are cute. And some things, like pretzels inside M&Ms or Paula Abdul trying to make a point on national televisio...
Some things, like hairless cats or babies with overtly large heads, can be so ugly they are cute. And some things, like pretzels inside M&Ms or Paula Abdul trying to make a point on national televisio...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 46
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2  Next ›  Last »  (2 total)
MyrtleJune
STOP negotiating! End the American hostage crisis!
02:02 PM on 01/26/2011
Where does vintage enter the conversation? I mean dumpster diving for source material yesterday does not make something vintage.

What a hidious mess this is. I could whip out my sewing machine, spend $10 at the second hand store and create a whole line from the worst of the worst....... How is this fashion?

Please tell me people are not buying these..... garments.....
01:20 AM on 01/26/2011
vintage??? did a blind crazy seamstress on crack put all that together? you could make the same crap from random pickings at the local thrift store, 5 bucks and a glue gun...Forever 21 is ripping off the moronic
07:06 PM on 01/26/2011
It's flat out NOT vintage. Totally true.
04:45 PM on 01/25/2011
don't get it. what makes these atrocities "vintage"?
04:12 PM on 01/25/2011
Hobo style more than vintage or hip. Nice idea that seems completely under-developed.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
artist-53
Wordy opinionated poor spelling Liberal
02:51 PM on 01/24/2011
Quite...so not nice looking. The sweaters looked itchy and the sweats looked icky.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:11 PM on 01/24/2011
Itchy Icky.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
Widespread Panic
does anyone really care??
01:42 PM on 01/24/2011
I'll pass.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
johnnygoodwud
11:48 AM on 01/24/2011
you can't create, 'hipster', give it up, these costumes are way over done.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:12 PM on 01/24/2011
The designers really are trying to latch onto that hipster vibe. I don't know if they just can't understand the idea of it or just figure there are people who would rather have an antiseptic version of it in their wardrobe. Either way, yes, way over done.
10:03 AM on 01/24/2011
I'm sorry, but when I look at the stuff that passes for fashion... done by those who are "in"... I often see far uglier ideas...and they go for hundreds of dollars and more.

I think this is a vendetta...for what reason I don't know. The poison spewing from this reporter's pen is far beyond necessary! There is a definite back-story here.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:13 PM on 01/24/2011
Hi Lellie - I can tell you, for sure, I have no vendetta against F21. I shop there often and really like some of their stuff. I also think a lot of their stuff is borderline to completely unwearable and don't get why they would ever mass manufacture it, thus, the WTFing.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
WYHKTai-Tai
Wyoming, Hong Kong, Tai-Tai
06:40 AM on 01/24/2011
Those things are about as artsy as MC Hammer pants.
06:21 AM on 01/24/2011
They'll be going the way of the Gap.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:14 PM on 01/24/2011
What do you mean?
06:24 PM on 01/24/2011
The Gap has been struggling for many years now. Recently it changed its brand and merchandise. In my view this latest change will be the end of Gap.
09:18 PM on 01/23/2011
Pretty soon we'll be seeing Forever 21's lineup of prebedazzled clothing, ugly christmas sweaters, and those punk belts with the metal studs that look like chiclets with half of them already fallen off.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:14 PM on 01/24/2011
Check, check and check. Already doing it.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Amber Berglund
Got Mashed Potato, ain't got no T-Bone
07:51 PM on 01/23/2011
Here's the thing. I'm a faithful Thrift shopper. I shop Thrift because the Thrift store is usually a fund raiser for a charity of some kind...in a way, this is similar to "Cash For Clunkers"...the same way that program took a lot of perfectly good cars off the Used market...these clothes will probably end up in Thrift stores across the country, both limiting the amount of decent, wearable clothes actually coming into the Thrift stores, as well as taking up rack space where clothes from someone's estate could have been displayed...not to mention, adding to the difficulty of Goodwill hunting, because, now, we will have to push these ugly clothes out of the way, in order to get to the wearable clothes.
This is not only a crime against Fashion, but an insult to poor people and Thrift store shoppers of America.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
05:16 PM on 01/24/2011
Where they really went wrong with this, other than the painfully obvious places, is the fact that they called this "vintage." It's not vintage. It's thrift. There is no era in which this type of clothing was all the rage. These are not faux period pieces, they're just trash.
06:46 PM on 01/24/2011
I agree with both of you. I shop exclusively at thrift stores knowing the quality of some unknown brand is much better than that of a new piece of apparel found in some so-called trendy store plus I am paying a fraction of the price AND my money goes to a good cause (I hope!) Vintage worth repeating are the classics, not the junk pictured above. Too bad in a few months when I do shop I will be finding these very pieces and won't be able to tell the difference between the real ugly OLD stuff and the real ugly NEW stuff. But if you have an eye for great craftsmanship you won't even notice, I just hope they don't take up too much rack space. Maybe I should volunteer and personally weed out some of the crap...
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Amber Berglund
Got Mashed Potato, ain't got no T-Bone
07:38 PM on 01/23/2011
Patch-work sweats make me sad...reminds me of how poor I really am. I already have patches on my clothes. If I've got $20-$50 to spend on clothes, I want to buy something that looks like I've got it together...not leg warmers made from recycled cosby sweaters.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
alyseven
Religion is the root of all evil.
12:52 AM on 01/24/2011
Lol! Fanned for that. I hear ya!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
byla
06:59 PM on 01/23/2011
Holy h.ell is right. I love vintage clothes but this isn't even close. Ack!
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
Bellanova
I'm nobody. Who are you?
05:50 PM on 01/23/2011
Ay... I didn't know you can make sweat pants look even worse than they usually do. My hat's off to F21.
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Rachel Kane
06:28 PM on 01/23/2011
It's a low day for sweats, definitely. If you already felt bad going out of the house in them, this just magnifies your shame.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
Bellanova
I'm nobody. Who are you?
07:34 PM on 01/23/2011
Rachel! (gasp and LOL!) I wouldn't be caught dead in sweats, in or out of the house. Perish the thought!

But these are so abominable they almost look artsy. Almost.