Last week I had a few minutes of down time so I did something I haven’t done in about a year and a half. I went to Strawberry. If you don’t know what Strawberry is or totally forgot they existed, Strawberry is an affordable retailer in the northeast that’s comparable to Forever 21 and Wet Seal. The pieces are trendy and wallet friendly. And I used to always {and I do mean always!} shop there when I first moved to NYC.

Fast forward a few years and the pieces are still trendy and the prices are affordable for the most part. Check out what I found, including the most adorable, ladylike skirt and how to know when to walk away from a cheap chic find.

Let’s start with what I didn’t purchase and quickly walked away from. Let’s face it, cheap/cheaper clothing isn’t made with the same care that more expensive garments are. For this reason, I tend to stay away from heavily embellished pieces at stores like these. The gems, stones and threads start to fall away pretty quickly. The sequin and fringe tank top above was already showing signs of wear {the threads were fraying at the bottom}, so you know it would just get worse once you got it home and washed it.

I tried on an embellished bustier knowing I wouldn’t buy it, but I wanted to try it on anyway. I could already anticipate the gems falling off. If they would have been a been smaller, maybe you wouldn’t notice one or two missing, but these were the size of dimes, so you’d notice if they fell off.

So as a general rule, think twice before buying anything too heavily embellished or intricate at a store like this. If you only plan to wear it a few times or wash it once, then cool. But just don’t be surprised when little stones start falling off or hems are frayed.

I’ve thrifted so many blazers over the years that I stopped buying them, but I was drawn to this bright printed blazer. That is until I saw the price tag. At $37 I did a serious double take. Um, close to $40 for a blazer at Strawberry? Pass!

A few pieces I tried on included this black and white dress that impressed me with the structure. It had a low neckline and tulip style hem that added a bit of interest. The small was a little too snug and the material was rippling in the arms, hem and waist. When a garment doesn’t fit properly, it automatically makes it look cheap and that’s never a good thing. Even if your clothes are “cheap” {I hate that word!}, they don’t have to look it. There weren’t any medium dresses left, so the dress stayed behind.

However, I did fall head over heels for this crop top that was on clearance for $10 and an a-line woven white skirt that was more than worth the $24 price. The structure was perfect and the material was on point. The entire look was so flirty and trendy, yet ladylike.

When I was walking out I saw these “wanna betta butt?” jeans from YMI that promised to make your booty look toned and perky. I was intrigued but didn’t have time to try them on. I believe they were $17, so maybe I’ll go back to check them out another time.

Have you ever shopped at Strawberry? Are there certain clothes you won’t buy at fast fashion retailers?