Hundreds Storm the New Forever 21 at the Danbury Fair Mall

At the stroke of 10 am this morning the new Forever 21 formally opened it's doors to the crowds that had begun gathering at 4 am. A cheer went up as the gates opened, and roped off lines that stretched from the food court section all the way down to Sears snaked their way into the store, hoping to be among the first 400 people to get a gift card and be eligible to win another gift card for $210.00.

 This store is the second biggest store on the East Coast, second only to the mega store in Times Square. Forever 21 chose the Danbury Fair Mall because the space for perfect for their needs and the people in Danbury had always been very supportive of the smaller store located on the first floor.

 People of all ages came to opening from all over Fairfield County, many having received email alerts. Weary parents sat on the floor as they awaited the opening, and many teenagers talked about their excitement about the new store.

Stephanie Schutt from Bethel said, "It's huge! It's awesome!"

 Forever 21 is arguably the biggest, most important fashion store for young women today. The big news is that now, when moms take their teens shopping, their sons can also find an entire department for themselves, and moms are likely to find their sizes too. You might as well bring the youngest members as well, as Forever 21 is now catering to almost the entire family. (No baby clothes.)

 In contrast to it's previous location, where every nook and cranny was stuffed to overflowing with clothing and shoppers, the new store is as different as the other side of a coin.

 Shoppers of the new store who were on line this morning agreed. Jessica Oliveiri, a teen at Danbury High School said, "The old store was really small, this one is huge and really exciting.”

 Her friend Jessica Miller also goes to Danbury High and she said, 'It's my favorite store and there is more of a selection now.”

 Accompanying the girls was their friend Matt Friedmann who was just as excited as the girls. “It's realy cool they finally have a men's selection. I already live at the mall, I work here, so this is awesome.”

 The creamy white walls and many of the displays reflect Victorian elegance and there is enough room between displays for as many shoppers as will come. Each room is now decorated to reflect the clothing it holds and the overall feeling is more of a genteel department store than the dark mad rush of the old space.

 This mega store boasts 80,000 square feet of several different rooms of fashion. Want jeans? Go to the denim room. Want clothing for elementary school kids? Yup, they have a room for them too. Rooms of shoes, of belts, of lingerie, rooms and rooms and rooms. The store seems to go on forever. Take a tour in our photo gallery, you can see most of it there.

 The store opened unofficially earlier in the week and some shoppers said the only thing wrong with it is that it was almost too much to cover in one day.

 Forever 21 has close to 500 stores worldwide and is privately owned by a husband and wife who founded the store in 1984. The new Danbury location has hired almost 200 employees, and there are almost 80 dressing rooms.

 XXl Forever is the name of the vision stores, the larger stores which contains every one of the concepts and indicates the direction in which the company has set their sights.

 There are no stockholders and the entire family is involved in the business. They are proud of the quality, fashion and low prices that the store provides as well as the fact that there truly is something for everyone. Jewlery starts at only $1.50 and boots, which are probably the most expensive items in the store, cost just under $40.00.

 For those who were on line this morning and would like free copies of their photos, please write to Christine Rose at RosepetL5@aol.com.