Forever 21’s New Maternity Line

For some insane reason, my husband records “The View”. Yes, you heard me right. My husband. I never quite pinpointed why he suddenly started watching this daytime talk show. Was it because he thought I wanted to watch it when I got home from work? Does he have a secret crush on Whoopi or, gasp, Elizabeth Hasselbeck? Perhaps he is the one man in the universe who loves to hear a group of women get catty with each other on a daily basis about hot topics. Whatever the reason, I found myself watching it the other day and became intrigued when I heard mention of a clothing store I love to frequent: Forever 21. Inexpensive and cute clothes for teens, twenty-somethings and those thirty-somethings like me that like to pretend I am still twenty-something. The topic on “The View” was that recently, Forever 21 announced that it would start selling maternity clothes in five states, three of which boast some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the entire nation.

If you have never heard of Forever 21 before, this store offers hip and fashionable clothing virtually straight off the runway for very affordable prices. Naturally, to do this, the clothing is not of the highest quality but it is nice enough to wear a few times. For this very reason, both times I was pregnant, I headed to the Forever 21 at our mall and bought as many extra-large cute shirts I could get my hands on. After all, I only needed the shirts to last through the last few fat months of my pregnancy and most of the shirts were stretchy enough to keep my belly under wraps. So it comes as no surprise that when I heard Forever 21 announcing their pregnancy line I was a little annoyed only because my husband and I have pretty much decided we already had all the kids we are going to have and I will not be able to personally partake in their new maternity line.

I was not at all surprised to hear Joy, Whoopi and Elizabeth discuss the instant backlash that Forever 21 received with this new announcement. Many parents and conservatives were appalled that a store that markets highly towards the teen population would have the audacity to promote a maternity line, and, thus (in their minds) teen pregnancy. Many critics felt Forever 21 was glamorizing teenage pregnancy with their hip maternity tops and dresses. If I can give my opinion here, I think that is a bunch of baloney. And you know what? So does Elizabeth Hasselbeck (I think this could very well be the only time I will agree with anything Ms. Hasselbeck has to say). Sure, Forever 21 has a high teenage market but every single time I have shopped there, I have seen just as many women my age shopping there. Why shouldn’t Forever 21 get their mittens on a piece of the maternity line pie? Have any of you ever gone to stores that sell ONLY maternity clothes? It is sheer highway robbery. Maternity clothes are not an investment (unless you are from the Duggar family); you buy them, wear them once or twice and then give them to your friends who get pregnant after you. There is no need to spend $85 on a maternity tank when you can head to Forever 21 and get one there for five or ten bucks. Bottom line: if parents are worried that Forever 21 is glamorizing pregnancy enough to make their teenage daughters run out and get pregnant, then those parents may want to worry less about a clothing store and more about the values they are instilling in their children.