Forever 21, 1984 – 2025

Fashion store Forever 21 announced on March 17 that it will be filing for a (second) bankruptcy, and will be shuttering all of its stores. Executives blamed unfair competition from Chinese clothing brands, which can churn out crap even cheaper (the chain was founded by South Korean immigrants—I must look up the history of the Chinese/South Korean relationship!). Forever 21 was founded in as “Fashion 21” in Highland Park, Calif. Their clothing was marketed to youngsters with not much money to spend, and consisted of bright, garish and inexpensive togs (me, I was always more of a “Forever 65” kind of gal). Online shopping drove good old-fashioned “try it on, check the fabric and workmanship” shopping, which I so dearly miss.