Road Trippin: Biggest Forever 21!

in the beginning...

This will be a two part post. The women's is substantial, but the men deserve an honorable mention.
I decided rather than wait to find or meet friends in my current location I would live as if I had that friend and just go! Scary? Of course, but I could be waiting until my twilight years since not too many women enjoy superficial activities and I'm far too ashamed to meet someone who says, "In my spare time I hike, volunteer, teach autistic kids, and when I'm feeling selfish, I hike, or have wine and theatre at the Mondavi Centre" to reply, "Me? I love fashion, style, makeup, beauty, trying different outfits and reading, dreaming and obsessing about self improvement ... aesthetically..." As vain as it sounds, those things are my form of fun. It isn't saving whales, but it's something I enjoy that isn't harming me, my finances or those close to me. The same can be said about many diseases or addictions, but what's the point of life if you can't have some fun?
I decide against thrift stores. I wind up buying books and things I won't wear but look cool or can be a d.i.y. project. That would be too much work. Rumour had it there was a huge Forever 21 near UC Davis and they have a nice college town to have lunch so away I go.

hipster section

It was Saturday afternoon and most people were in malls so this place was nearly empty. I later learn that not many people in Davis care about fashion and that most college students only shop when special occasions occur such as Homecoming Week, Winter Ball and things of that nature. Initially, I passed the store twice as I didn't expect it to be in a strip mall with no signs or landmarks. A kind officer gave me directions rather than a ticket for driving reckless. The car park was small and vacant. I usually like parking farthest from the store (exercise), but I am in a strange place, so I accept the close space. I walk into the store and nearly fainted. There was no loud music. There was room to walk around without stepping on clothing and it looked like I was in a high end department store. The employees didn't follow me asking if I wanted to try on anything, and the clothes were neatly organized. *Cue sounds of angels singing*
Each genre had it's own mini store. Most F21 stores have their genres in different corners of the store. I like the evening or career styles so it's usually in the back corner, in theory, but in reality I would find a nice pencil skirt in the wrong size or colour and hunt for remnants of the others. No bits and bobs to mess about with. What's more, me snapping photos like a mad woman didn't cause one bit of a stir. They didn't confiscate my bag, give me odd looks nor did I feel security or loss prevention had me on their radar. The sales assistants were all so kind, well dressed and ... I am speechless when I think about this store as I could not find a flaw. Even the line to check out was organized. I can go on and on about this gem of a store, but it was a nice fan-girl experience, I felt like Alice in Wonderland. It encouraged me to continue to venture to new places more often. Why should I not make more of the simple things into fun adventures? They had a Trader Joe's next door, a Starbucks in the building, and a sushi place but I was anxious to get on the road. The only downside is when you are on that "high" from a good time out and about, there's no one to share the adventure with. But, the upside is there isn't someone who's ready to go, or bored and waiting to go. It's nice when one finally gets to the place where there is happiness in the simple things? Where to next?