(Kind of) Shopping in Waikiki - Murua Hawaii & Forever21

I've mostly been posting about my Liz Lisa orders, etc because not much else goes on in my life besides work (super boring, don't ask), but yesterday I had some time to kill so I decided to head into Waikiki!
I already wrote about this on Dayre, so if you're one of the two people who follow me there, you can skip this haha.

[Does anyone else have Dayre? Because if you do, lmk so we can follow each other!  I only just started posting, but I plan to write at least once a day - no promises as to whether it will be interesting though lol.]

Anyway, S was going to join this running group after his classes were over, and I was catching a ride home with him so I had a few hours to go shopping after work. Initially I was going to try to go to Hakubundo (Japanese goods/stationary/book? store) and then Ala Moana but I can do that almost any time. I decided to catch the bus into Waikiki because I never go there. It's usually crowded, and full of tourists and people trying to sell you stuff you don't need, and parking is expensive. Plus I'm pretty damn unfamiliar with it and have no idea where anything is or even what's there anymore. However, I remembered that the Forever21 over there is pretty good and that I've been wanting to check out the Murua Hawaii store for months now!
I used to abhor catching the bus but now that I basically use it every weekday and have to pay for a bus pass  ($60 wtf), I figure I might as well use it as much as possible. Besides that, it would take wayyy too long to try to walk to Waikiki lol. I looked up the address for F21 and Murua and as many options as possible for which buses I could catch (I get super paranoid about getting on the wrong one), and then I started off.
The bus ride took like 1/2 hour, and it was super crowded, but yeah that's just another reason that I'll go this once and probably not again for years haha. [Side story - pretty sure this super talkative guy was able to pick up a girl on the bus and got himself a Valentine's Day date lol.]

I was able to find the Murua pretty quickly after some initial confusion fresh off the bus. It's a pretty small store. Sorry, no pictures of the interior of the store because it was kind of awkwardly quiet in there with the shop staff girl just silently watching the store. There was a small men's section and also a swimwear portion but most of it was women's stuff from tops to skirts to pants and also accessories. I felt uncomfortable enough just kind of looking through the clothes so I wasn't about to try and bust out my iPhone lol. If there were more people in there and less attention on me in particular, I might have tried on a several pieces, but instead I just grabbed a skirt and asked for the fitting room. I almost didn't even do that, but I told myself that I couldn't catch the bus over there without at least trying something on.

Oh yeah, this was my work outfit - Liz Lisa top and wedges lol. Unintentional ootd photo while I was trying to take pictures of the dressing room. There's only 2 in the store but the one I was in had a whole loveseat in it! These dressing rooms definitely reminded me of being in Japan with the curtain instead of the door and the circle floor mat. I was wondering if I had to take my shoes off but no one said anything so I didn't. There were even the make up/face shield things! I didn't use it because I was trying on a skirt but yeah you can see it in the bottom right picture in the bottom right haha.

Awkward photo is awkward but this was the only way I could figure out how to show the all the details of the skirt. I had no idea the folds would flare out that way based on how it looked on the hanger! It's definitely unique (and why buy something basic from a store like this right?) and I was considering buying it since it was on sale. Originally $115 down to $45 but it was a little tight (fff my upper legs and butt) and I wasn't sure what I would ever wear that with so I decided to pass. I awkwardly put the skirt back on the rack and walked out.

After that, I walked over to Forever 21!

 I casually walked around the second floor and tried on a few things. I was looking for a light knit top similar to the kind that Liz Lisa/Tralala has that are really basic but not as thick and cheaper (since I won't have to pay for shipping) or a replacement for my 3/4 sleeve sweater that I wear multiple times a week as a cover up. They actually have quite a few jumper skirt/jumpers/overall-type items right now although the prints are not really my style. Anyway, I just ended up grabbing a few things since I didn't have anything better to do.

This light "denim" jumper thing was cute on the hanger but idk I wasn't really into it. I also had to pull this top to try on stuff with because after that awkward dressing room picture in Murua, I knew that my Liz Lisa top wasn't going to go with most of these things lol.

Stretchy "denim" suspender pencil skirt. Idk. Not for me and not the best fit. 

And I picked up this floral crop top because I thought it would go with the denim things when I was trying them on. I told myself to stop buying crop tops since I never wear them anywhere and I have like 7.

I ended up purchasing a high neck sleeveless black dress and a black fitted skirt, both intended for work outfits with no dressing room pictures because they're that plain and uninteresting lol. Less than $20 for both but I didn't feel like going up to the third floor so I thought I'd head back toward Murua because there was a top I noticed there that I thought I might be able to pair with the skirt I just bought from F21.

When I got back to the Murua, it was still pretty awkward, especially since I had already been in there awkwardly browsing and didn't buy anything. Plus there was an additional shop staff in the already small store lol.

 

I had seen the top on an actual person on the Murua Hawaii FB page and was pleased to see that it was on sale at the store during my first visit. I immediately grabbed the top as I walked in because I thought browsing would make it even more awkward.

I was kind of in a rush because S was already done running at this point so the picture is not that great but I thought this top went pretty okay with the skirt. After thinking about it for a second, and realizing that I just wanted to buy something from the store (wtf bad reason but idk whatever), I decided to just purchase because it was currently on sale for $27. [Even though I said no more crop tops -__-.]

S holding up the tiny bag for me lol

Yayyy. Murua purchase. According to the Murua Hawaii FB, this top is only available at the Hawaii store. I feel like there are many pieces in there that are specific to this location as was the case with the Flag J store at Ala Moana. It's all sales final there though. That policy always makes me really nervous but I guess I understand. I'm pretty sure all the products are free size although I didn't ask about it.
If I do ever end up back in Waikiki, I think I'd go check it out again. I was hoping there would be more Murua shoes there but I didn't see any that I liked on display. Maybe I'll be a lot less uncomfortable next time as well ( - doubtful :|). I just hate going into small shops with no one in there and trying on stuff and ending up not buying anything...Like I feel guilty for "wasting" their time. There did seem to be a pretty good sale going on right now though. If there's always some kind of sale running, I'd probably buy a few more pieces. I'm interested to check out the more unique items but I know that most of them won't look great on me, and I'll end up in that situation where I try on a whole bunch of stuff and don't purchase -__-

 The Murua top with the F21 skirt. I really need to get a different set up for my camera because this one is really unflattering for my legs....or like my body in general -__-

I think maybe it's better to wear this top casually?

Or with high-waisted shorts (that I do not have) instead? I'm really not sure tbh, but I do like it. I think it's a good top to start with with this brand and maybe I'll try to build a whole outfit it if I ever go back. I was really looking forward to checking out Murua shoes but I didn't see any that I really liked in the store.