This past weekend I woke up super early, excited for my trip to King of Prussia. Not that it was my first time going there, but I had a good feeling about it. Let’s just say I saw deals in my near future. The mall known to many as KOP is located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and has more stores than any other mall in the United States. It is a quick twenty minute drive on a shuttle provided by Swarthmore College. The shuttle leaves the Rose Circle to KOP at 1 p.m. and leaves KOP to return to Swarthmore at 3:30 p.m.
Overall, KOP has impressed me for all the wrong reasons. Part of the reason why most Swatties are excited to visit this mall is that everyone wants to get off campus every once in a while and everyone wants to have more options than the Springfield Mall. However, KOP has too many stores and sacrifices quality for quantity. Most of its stores are small and contain less merchandise than expected. Regardless of the circumstances, my gut feeling was right about this trip, and I still managed to get some great deals and have fun shopping around. On your next visit to KOP, make sure to visit Forever 21. You’ll have no regrets!
Forever 21 is a clothing retailer that sells affordable women’s, men’s and, most recently, children’s clothing. It offers anything from basic to dressy clothing. F21 is located on the third level of The Plaza.
RATING: 3.5 Stars
Pros:
I never shopped at F21 until this past fall break because I had yet to learn exactly how to navigate my way through the best merchandise this chain has to offer. Now I cannot get enough of it.
My favorite thing about F21 is its basic party clothing. You can easily get a deal for a basic black cotton skirt for $7.80. Yes, it is an unbeatable price. Here, you can also find affordable body con, or short and tightly fitted, dresses for as low as $12.98.
My tip for anyone shopping at F21 is that if there’s something you want that is trendy and cute but you know you are not going to wear often, buy it here. There is no way you can overspend here like you would in department stores and boutiques.
During my trip I fell in love with a few items, some of which I bought and some which I chose to leave behind. I found a basic color block dress and a circle dress each for only $17.80. I also bumped into a mini skirt and crocheted skirt both for $22.80.
F21 offers basic tees and tanks starting at a low of price of only $2.98 and now has a collection designed in collaboration with Rory Beca, a fashion designer known for her contemporary women’s line. Beca’s F21 collection offers dresses, jumpsuits, peplum shirts and even woven tops which are reminiscent of those seen in Beca’s own collections. I spotted a gorgeous red mock halter dress with a t-strap back detail for only $19.80. In comparison to Beca’s collection which has a price of $98 to around $298, her F21 line is definitely the line to shop for if you’re working with a small budget.
Cons:
It was a huge surprise to see that this Forever 21 failed to have a men’s section. In New York, whenever I went to a F21, there was bound to be a men’s section, even if it was tiny in comparison to the rest of the store. It’s a bit disappointing to learn this considering such a huge retailer normally puts its best merchandise in the store, especially since it is located in one of the country’s most famous malls.
Like in every F21, the order and location of their clothing was very confusing. As I made my way from rack to rack, I overheard one customer comment, “How does anyone ever find anything here?” It’s so true!
Entering the store, you can clearly see where the division between the casual clothing, party and formal wear, activewear and sleepwear is, but that is as far as it goes. If you want to ever find the real good stuff here, you literally have to go rack to rack searching for items. A lot of stuff here is also misplaced and you might just go crazy trying to find where a clothing article originally came from.
Well, that’s enough about F21 this week. I just want to give a shout out to a store I couldn’t resist but to enter, Madewell, my new favorite store in KOP simply because I scored big during this trip. It sells women’s casual contemporary clothing that has a modern edge but also with vintage details. I managed to find the perfect paisley print maxi skirt which was previously $138.99 on sale for only $29.99. WOOT! WOOT!
Until next time my lovely shoppers! And remember, go big or go home!
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Dying for me to visit a store before you give it a try yourself? Need me to go on a hunt for a store with a particular style of merchandise? Shoot your suggestions via email.
Gabriela is a first-year. You can reach her at gcampov1@swarthmore.edu.
