Upon entering the massive Forever 21 store here at the Oak Park Mall, Goldia Kiteck and three of her close friends scattered like spilled marbles.
The high-school seniors were on separate missions and pursued them through corridors filled with clingy leggings, racks of chunky necklaces and tank tops with kittens across the front.
“It has all my favorite things, in one place,” Ms. Kiteck said of the store, where she spent $51 on a skirt, a pair of earrings and a black sweatshirt with the words “Super Awesome” emblazoned in gold print across the chest.
Fast-fashion chains such as Forever 21 and H&M HM-B.SK -0.11% are eating the lunch of traditional teen retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters AEO +1.06% and Aéropostale. The sector’s onetime leader, Abercrombie, posted a loss of $11.5 million in the nine months ended Nov. 2, as sales fell nearly 7%.
To learn more about where teens are shopping and why, The Wall Street Journal went on an extended tour of the mall with two groups of committed shoppers, and it is clear why fast fashion is winning.
Teens’ tastes can be fickle, but on the Journal trips, buying decisions were almost invariably driven by two considerations: developing an individual style, and doing so for less.