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Heritage 1981 Review

Ever since I blogged about Heritage 1981 people have been leaving me comments about it. {I come up high if you google it.} I was delighted to see they had a store locater up on their site and when I saw there was one an hour away in San Jose I recruited my friend Emily to take a field trip. Perhaps I had too high of expectations… But, I was not at all impressed. Imagine a better organized Forever 21 but with clothes that aren’t very cute. It reminded me a little bit of American Eagle but with clothes that were boring. Also, the rumor of better quality clothing is a farce. The clothes are the same as Forever 21.

I know it is a new store so I’ll give them a year to get it together. But right now I give it two thumbs down. You are better to go to Forever 21 where there are clothes up the wazoo and a ton of cute choices.


  1. liz s

    March 28, 2007

    high? besides the website for the actual store, you’re the next site listed on google!

  2. Rachel

    March 28, 2007

    I agree. I went to one in Philadelphia and I’ve seen a couple peices here in the SF Forever 21. They definitely aren’t higher quality, there was nothing that I just had to have, and the prices are higher.

  3. Anonymous

    March 28, 2007

    I have to counter your statement. There is a Heritage 1981 in the northern virginia area I recently discovered. While the clothes certainly aren’t high quality, they are more accessible for the “older” and professional crowd. I always have a hard time finding clothes at F21 that don’t make me feel like I’m an 18 year old.
    Heritage has some cute pieces that are a little more mature, but don’t make me feel like a moth-ball smelling old lady.
    They have some decent accessories, too.
    Keep trying! I hope you will be pleasently surprised.

  4. nomadic gnome

    March 28, 2007

    I have to counter your statement. There is a Heritage 1981 in the northern virginia area I recently discovered. While the clothes certainly aren’t high quality, they are more accessible for the “older” and professional crowd. I always have a hard time finding clothes at F21 that don’t make me feel like I’m an 18 year old.
    Heritage has some cute pieces that are a little more mature, but don’t make me feel like a moth-ball smelling old lady.
    They have some decent accessories, too.
    Keep trying! I hope you will be pleasently surprised.

  5. Anonymous

    May 22, 2007

    There is a new store that just opened in MA, and I went in there for the first time. I bought a top that I thought was cute, not the best quality but it is trendy so I will probably only wear it for a season. When I wore the shirt to work I recieved a lot of compliments. Most of the people my age (26) try to find cute trendy clothes that are acceptable to wear to the office but have a hard time. It is a cute store for the money.

  6. Anonymous

    July 12, 2007

    I concurr with the above anonymouses… Forever seems way too high-schooly for an older crowd, AND I just bought a great-looking pair of khakis (and their black counterpart) for 8 dollars!

  7. Quackie

    September 17, 2007

    I quite like the store as well. I don’t feel like a teeny-bopper shopping there or impossibly overwhelmed by sprawling racks of clothes. I like whole American Eagle-esque style, at half the price. I got a couple cute dresses that I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on 🙂 But that whole better quality thing was a hoax. I washed one of my dresses once and the zipper broke.

  8. Anonymous

    March 29, 2008

    The Forever 21 around my place has Heritage 1981 and the mother site jammed together in one store, instead of that separate standing H1981 I see in your blog pictures. The quality of the fabric is a lot thinner and not as good a quality as F21, but the style is definitely different. I wouldn’t say it’s more mature, though. It depends on how you wear the clothing, and don’t we all want to look younger??

  9. Anonymous

    March 6, 2009

    maybe it depends on the season you go, but when I first went to a Heritage store in Ca, I thought I was in heaven because I loved everything and it was all cheap enough for me to buy. It wasn’t the best quality, but it has lasted me a while through many washes

  10. Anonymous

    July 29, 2009

    its all based on personal preference. It is evident that their clothes may be a little overpirced ovver a non high quality clothing. But, it is a great place to go to if you are ever to look for a mature alternative to f21. My whole closet is full of these clothes only because if i do go to f21 it makes me feel like im in highschool again & im not into the whole high end brands with prices that run your pockets dry.So H81 is a great cheaper alternative.

    Keep in note that even though the store is considered high priced it is actually not. Hints the poor quality. If ever your looking foward for a high end quality just go to nordstrum.

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