4-20-2025 MY WEEK: recession indicators and spoiled mothers

 i want to be forever 21

do you remember your first forever 21 purchase? i got my first yellow bag from my aunt the summer of 2014 after i was begging for a skater skirt. american apparel everywhere digitally, but in reality i lamented alongside 5sos, "so close but so far away..." yet forever 21, quick in following trends, came in handy. not just with a plain black skirt but also with flower crowns, and boho crop tops i ordered from my aunt when she would ask what i'd like from the usa. 

while i am a big supporter of the thrift and slow fashion, forever 21 was my saving grace upon moving and needing clothes. it continued to be a savior for nights out when sib felt like "she had nothing in her closet". 

i haven't been to my local (basically half-empty) mall since last year (successfully avoiding it during the holidays), and i almost forgot that the forever 21 company filed for bankruptcy, until we went shopping for my mom (this lady has orders when we come and visit). i hate to confess i felt a pang of sadness seeing the bright yellow signs with giant letters saying everything must go and closing sale. 

i nudged sib to enter the ruined kingdom of fast fashion, and i confess my sins: i spent money and bought stuff. i like to say we got the necessary staples, but i guess i wanted to final rush of carrying bulky items until the hangers start cutting off the circulation on your wrist. 

did we have to buy all that we bought? no, absolutely not. everything we purchased could've been avoided or bought more sustainably at the thrift, or bought from a higher quality brand. there's no ethical consumption. 

maybe we did it out of grief, this store saved us hours before birthday parties, and provided us with our first purchased items upon moving back to the states. it also is the strongest powerhouse of the mall, alongside the still-standing dillards dept store.

what does the store closing mean for the mall? is it finally the end of the mall culture in total? has internet shopping won? are we just exhausted by all the convenient and instant options saturating us in ads everywhere around us? 

i am a sinner. i went to confession on monday, and sinned again on tuesday, committing my personal sin of shopping at fast fashion. is it like having your final cigarette after you vow to quit forever? maybe we did it knowing forever 21 will no longer be there for us to tempt us, no longer there for us to judge on corny crop tops.

would you like a haul of all that was purchased? hell, why not. be the ultimate judge!

the topic of forever 21 closing came up saturday night while boyfriend and i were out with besties  nicole and luka. the joke of the night was for sure recession indicators, a phrase i'm delighted to use in any way possible. we discussed the safe choice of a black top and jeans with some comfy sneakers. nicole and i agreed we saw more of those outfits in downtown cleveland than in the smaller willoughby. the conclusion we came up with, is that most suburbian girlies may feel comfortable in a safer choice since it's a longer drive from home, the scene is more active, and you want to have a safe choice but still be cute (even if it's mediocre). 

a big recession indicator was the fact that the club we were at was practically half empty until 11:30. my theory? it's probably cheaper to pregame at home than spend your evening downtown. boyfriend confirmed this when he was at the bar, and heard some dude exclaim "$14 for a drink?!". we're in the trenches, y'all. the positive part of this was that nicole and i were able to dance our asses off almost completely comfortably on the dancefloor with no problem of getting smushed. this did change toward midnight though.

the eldest siblings match it up - is this a recession indicator or do we just have great taste?

one lovely lady doesn't have the fear of recession because she has the best daughters ever. being our mother's personal stylists is a job sib and i take seriously every season we visit for the past 6 years. mom watched the girl on the train with emily blunt, years ago, and was dying to get a powder blue robe coat like one she had in the movie. this resulted in sib and i searching every department store nearby, and around christmas time we finally found one almost perfectly identical. there was no choice, no matter what the price was, it had to be bought.

beside random clothing we save for her, she fell in love with a baby pink ralph lauren purse i thrifted ages ago, and since we're bagged up, that was another thing on her list she wanted. finally, she's supposed to retire this year, and demanded to be treated with a chanel no. 5  perfume. when sib finally came this weekend, our mother was impatient, somewhat like us when family came back from the us with piles of forever 21 and justice clothing. this resulted in a facetime photoshoot i told her would end on this blog.

you can't even be surprised at my superficial-ness. look who raised me?!
 

my nail nightmare

i've been doing my nails for about 7-8 months, since early fall last year. i've heard all the warnings about using gel polish and proper curing. i was a lucky girl, i practiced all my fave designs, my natural nails grew more than ever in my life, i was proud. the only cath, i never gave my natural nails a break. 

as i was removing my old set (which you can find a few blog entries prior), and prepping my nails, i began filing and filing away, discovering a discoloration that i knew wasn't leftover polish. i began sweating and my vision almost began to blur in a panic (alongside the chemicals in my corner where i was hunched and filing away). i was terrified. i felt no pain but i know what discoloration meant: it was a nail fungus - or what people call greenies.

i know i have no reason to be telling you my fails but i am a firm believer in brutal and raw honesty and i am a huge hater of painting your life picture perfect. 

so i cut away all my nails, filed all and any leftover hard gel, and buffed away. thankfully nothing hurt, but i was so upset. i enjoyed having long claws (as sib describes them), i have a folder on my phone with all nail designs i want to try (the funkier the better). but i had to do the right thing. so i disinfected everything extra, cut my nails down to nubs, and left them bare naked. no easter set for me this time, until my nail clears out. then we go slow and steady again. 

i scoured tiktok for tips to avoid this issue, as this is the first time it happened to me. but there's so many reasons why it can happen, trapped moisture, undercuring, or simple allergies to the chemicals. 

sib is out of town for two weeks visiting parents and that will be my guide - hopefully my nail clears up by then, and then we go for a new set, fresh and recovered.

looks of the week

monday at work i debuted the new forever 21 rolling stones t shirt, with the also brand new pants. it's a good day when you don't have to drag a bulky coat around.

monday afternoon i had to do my catholic duties and go to confession. i dressed simple, just my college sweatshirt, american eagle bell bottoms and my sketchers. this is totally a fit a i'd wear in second grade.

all earthy tones, fully organique for tuesday's work fit. a white sweater (with tank top underneath, not pictured), brown plaid slacks, and more plaid! with my old sherlock holmes coat from forever 21. 

one of my many errand days this week, tuesday afternoon, i wore sib's uniqlo top, american eagle wide leg jeans, my ugg slippers and bulky jacket.

wednesday at work i doubled the patterns again, a horizontal striped sweater and my vertical pinstripe suit. paired with target loafers.

call me an outfit repeater, but it was another errand day on wednesday after work, so i wore the uniqlo top again, but switched it up with my sketchers and old navy straight leg jeans.

thursday i simply stopped bothering. for bother work and driving sib to the airport, i wore my strand bookstore sweatshirt, old navy jeans (again), converse. luckily i was in no need of jacket this day.

friday is when my church bender begins. i wore a very bella swan adjacent top and a long skirt (mormon realness?). it was a wonderful warm night that ended in going to the bar after church.

saturday we continue the easter festivities, and i wore a linen blouse with these mint green pants. i switched into denim and sneakers for a relaxed fit at boyfriend's place for family lunch.

saturday night the bar trend continues as boyfriend and i met with bestie nicole and luka, the night ended in a recession indicator analysis...

sunday morning for church i wore a top sib let me borrow, which was initially part of a set form mom. even though it was sunny, the breeze did not allow me to go in full mini skirt so i wore this silky maxi skirt.

kept the floral theme going for easter lunch wearing this more saturated blouse, and pink slacks. 

what am i looking forward to this week?

as sib is out for a couple more weeks, i created a list of all chores and errands i have in mind to do while she's out. being home alone (beside days that boyfriend is here) seems like a great palette to do some nitty gritty cleaning, finding stuff we've been neglecting, to switch up, clean out. 

besides these plans, i have some art festivals i'd love to go to , like the artbar jazz performance, and next weekend's fine print festival at the museum of art. i was over