Style Experiment | Trendy Retail Stores Choose My Outfits

It’s interesting to see how trendy retail stores piece outfits together. The outfits on mannequins always intimidated me because of their bold elements. That didn’t stop me from loving and wanting to wear them anyway! I’ve never been the best at styling different pieces together, so seeing the pieces as a whole outfit helped a lot.

I decided to buy three outfits highlighted by different trendy retail stores via their mannequins. My main goal in mind was to assess two things. 1) How do the trends of each store overlap and stand out from one another this season? and 2) Would choosing a mannequin’s outfit make my shopping experience any easier?

This post is inspired by Safiya Nygaard (one of my favorite YouTubers of all time). About a year ago, she posted a video called “I Dressed Like Store Mannequins For A Week” and compared outfits from 7 retail stores, including Forever 21 and TopShop. Definitely check out her videos if you haven’t yet, she’s awesome!

For my experiment, I visited Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, and Windsor. On to the outfits!

Trendy Retail Stores Choose My Outfits

Charlotte Russe

I should preface this by saying that Charlotte Russe is my go-to store for everyday wear. They also have fancier pieces, like cocktail dresses and blouses. As soon as we walked in, Alejandro spotted an outfit that was displayed in the front of the store. He mentioned that it looked like something I’d wear on an average day. He was absolutely right.

Jeans and a simple v-neck top. Although I like experimenting with patterns and colors, this was a basic outfit that’d work for any event.

When I first tried on the outfit, I noticed that the jeans were extremely comfy. The shoes were a bit lackluster for me, initially. I wondered how they’d work out with the rest of the pieces. Plus, I had similar shoes in my closet. They actually grew on me pretty quickly and looked so cute with the jeans!

Out of all the pieces, the v-neck top ended up being a bit of a disappointment. For some reason, it wouldn’t sit right and kept riding up. That was kind of a bummer, because the fabric was super soft!

Charlotte Russe’s outfit was definitely the comfiest of the bunch. In general, the store also offers a lot more basic pieces in comparison to Windsor and Forever 21.

It was easy to locate the main pieces of the outfit together, but I couldn’t locate the sunglasses and necklace. I did end up finding a comparable necklace that went well with the look!

Overall, I had a good experience shopping at Charlotte Russe. I also felt comfortable in this outfit (aside from the top), and fell in love with my shoes!

Full Outfit:

Wrap Crop Top  |  Boyfriend Jeans  |  Ankle Booties  |  Necklace (similar)

 Forever 21

Talk about an Instagrammable outfit! This entire look gave me Nancy from Stranger Things vibes.

Forever 21 has such an eclectic selection of clothing. They also choose pieces that reflect the current trends. We saw plenty of stripes, denim, and sweaters that day (which I’m obsessing over). A lot of the pieces reminded me of the 90s and early 2000s.

They also had a good amount of 70s inspired pieces. I saw a lot of bold patterns and flannels.

I was most excited to try on this outfit, even though it was a bit intimidating. Each piece stood out individually and I worried if the sweater, skirt, and boots together would be too much. I’ve always been a fan of striped sweaters, though. After all, the best time to wear a striped sweater is all the time. (Yes, I just quoted Spongebob hehe!) Plus, those boots! I mean, wow!

Y’all….the look did not translate well from photo to real life, and I don’t mean aesthetically. The sweater was gorgeous and the pieces looked good together. But let’s talk about this skirt. The front buttons would unfasten with the slightest moment. Super terrifying! I couldn’t even really sit down.

Fun fact: I moved at a snail pace while posing for the bench photo. Yikes!! Cue the nervous laughter and extremely awkward pose here!

The boots were epic. I even reached my goal of being taller than Alejadro! Aside from that accomplishment….they were pretty tight and uncomfortable.

At the end of the day, this outfit is trendy and perfect for an Instagram photo shoot! However, it’s not exactly practical or easy to wear in real life.

Full Outfit:

Striped Sweater  |  Faux Leather Skirt  |  Boots (similar)

Windsor

The last store that we stopped at was Windsor. I don’t shop at Windsor as much , but their clothes are great for formal events. Just by looking through the store for a few minutes, I noticed that Windsor didn’t have as many mannequins. Instead, they tended to highlight certain pieces (like a blouse or bodycon dress).

The Windsor at my local mall had a smaller selection of pieces, so my options were more limited. There were a lot of fancier pieces perfect for going out, and the store didn’t offer as many daytime outfits.

Like Charlotte Russe, Windsor seemed to focus more on timeless pieces rather than trendy fashion staples. I did see a few plaid outfits and bold patterns here and there, though. They also offered a lot of dresses for homecoming and even bridal pieces!

After some browsing, I found a mannequin that had on a cute blouse and statement necklace. I think the blouse would look perfect for the holidays. For my look, I ended up pairing the blouse with a patterned skirt and shoes from my own closet.

Even though Windsor didn’t always display a complete look, I do think their individual pieces work well together. They’re super versatile, so I didn’t struggle piecing together my outfit. Overall, I was happy with my complete look!

Full Outfit:

Blouse  |  Necklace (similar)

Final Thoughts

After going shopping, I realized that each retail store’s personal styles both stood out and overlapped. Forever 21 offered the trendiest varieties out of the three shops. They’re also heavily inspired by trends. Charlotte Russe was somewhere in the middle and had more basic pieces. Windsor offered versatile but fancier pieces in general. As for similarities, their racks featured a lot of fall themed clothing and summer-to-fall transition pieces.

I don’t think getting styled by trendy retail stores necessarily makes the shopping experience easier. However, it brought me out of my comfort zone and introduced me to new pieces!

I hope that you enjoyed this post, lovelies! Have a great day! x

What are some of your favorite stores to shop at? What do you think of Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, and Windsor’s pieces? Also, which outfit did you like the best?