While watching CNN last week I heard them ragging on Forever 21 for trying to capitalize on teen pregnancy by creating a line of trendy maternity clothing, Love 21 Maternity, for their stores. Now, my first thought was that this accusation is absolutely ridiculous and my thought now is that this accusation is absolutely ridiculous.
Forever 21 is a store with reasonably priced, trendy clothing for women, men and even kids. The stores female line is not just for teens, but also women in there twenties and up. Let’s remember that teenagers are not the only ones who get pregnant. Many women in there early 20’s and up get pregnant to and need maternity clothing. I will be 27 in August and I shop at Forever 21, so if and when I do need maternity clothing, I will for sure check out the selection here. While I do not condone teen pregnancy, we all know it happens. Teens will also need maternity clothing during their pregnancy and their parents or they will have to purchase those items, so having a place to find stylish, affordable maternity clothes is not a bad thing for anyone.
If you visit the Forever 21 website and view the maternity section, the women modeling the clothing do not look like teens. If this line were being modeled by teenage girls, I would maybe question who Forever 21 was specifically targeting, but that is not the case. Also, the fact that some of the first stores carrying the new maternity line happen to be in states with the highest teen pregnancy rates is simply a coincidence because two of those states, California and Texas, are the largest and house a majority of these chain stores.
We need to start instilling a sense of respect for ourselves as women in our teens. They also need to be taught about their bodies and how to protect themselves. This is our responsibility as parents and society. While teen pregnancy will always happen, Forever 21 is never going to be the reason for this problem.






East Coast Chic (ECC) began as a fashion blog in 2010. I created ECC because the diversity of style on the East Coast is inspirational and endless. ECC allows me to share my favorite fashion thoughts and spots from my headquarters in Washington, DC, as well as other trend setting states along the East Coast and beyond. 
