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Forever 21, a "youth-friendly" fashion store, recently opened a line of maternity wear
for teens that premiered in five states, three of which have the highest teen pregnancy
rates in America.
Forever 21 has launched a line of maternity wear "aimed at the temporarily plus-sized"
who are "tweens and teens."
Given that the store as a whole targets tweens and teens, ..
The store caters to teens. Having it carry maternity isn't going to increase teen pregnancy. There are maternity stores in malls and I doubt a teen would get pregnant just to buy maternity clothes from any of them.
It's funny because I work for a similarly targeted brand and we have always carried maternity. No one said anything. Now forever 21 has it and its a big deal. To me, If I was pregnant at any age I would want to buy cheaper trendier clothing since it would only be worn for a short period of time.
I saw that on the news. I had mixed feelings. It's a shame society is catering to pregnant teens.
BUT
When I had my first child at 28, I would have loved to have maternity clothes that fit me because Istill had the body of a teenager.
I had a very difficult time finding maternity clothes. There will be a lot of adult women who will benefit from this new maternity line.
This being said, why call it Forever 21? Let it be for all pregnant women, specializing in preppy style. Most teens don't even have a job and are depending on the parents to pay for their pregnancy, let alone maternity clothes. Many moms would love designer maternity clothes, but I doubt teens are going to pay for them unless they're a teen crib.
I remember reading an article about Forever 21 that noted that the name was very carefully chosen to not JUST cater to teens; I think the gist of it was that 21 was sort of the magical age where they got the preteens and teens who thought of 21 as being a fun and glamorous age, but not yet so old that it was uncool, while 21 for older women reminded them of younger, presumably more carefree days, but not so young that they felt like they were back in high school.
I don't see any problem with Forever 21 offering maternity clothes. I bought an informal maternity dress there myself once (the only item I've ever bought from there, actually; I was 28 at the time); I needed a dress for an informal summer wedding, and they had cheap empire waist style dresses that fit my mid-sized bump (my regular dresses were too fitted, and maternity dresses too big or too expensive for a one-time use, although since it wasn't a formal maternity dress I did get some use out of it post-baby without feeling funny about it!). While in general I'm trying to avoid buying cheaply made trendy clothes, I can see why it makes a great deal of sense for the maternity market; most of us don't want to spend a lot of money on something that we're only going to be wearing a short time. I bet the majority of women buying the maternity clothes will be well out of their teens. I took a look at some of the styles online and thought they had some great options; I might have to do some shopping there myself if we have another baby!
And in any case, I don't think there's anything wrong with teens -- or any other pregnant women of any age -- having access to affordable, trendy maternity clothes.
Ugh, who really cares whether a clothing store sells maternity clothes or not?! Oh wait I know, pregnant women care....the same ones that fuss and cuss all the time about not being able to find trendy clothes at a decent price! I think that Forever 21's name says it all. It isn't Forever 15 is it?! Besides, it will increase the adult shoppers going to the store.
BTW, it is my nieces (24,27,&29's) favorite store. I believe if the media tells viewers that this is an outrage then it will be an outrage. If the media never put the story on the air and we as shoppers seen on our own that the store now sold maternity clothes most of us would not have even had a second thought about it.
It's no worse than itty bitty bikini's for teeny toddler baby girls.
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