i saw taylor swift in concert last night. and it was amazing!! she is a great performer. maybe too much of a ham. so basically, we should be best friends. and yes. she sounded great live!
i love american apparel. loren can suck it.
I recently read my friend Loren’s blog entry about fashion. This particular entry was focused on American Apparel. Apparently Loren and I’s fashion opinions differ quite a bit. While I’m sure you could find some similarities in our wardrobe, mine contains a great deal of American Apparel and Loren’s does not.
I love American Apparel because it is comfortable. Seriously, they have the softest fabrics ever. It also fits me. I have many different tops from AA and they all fit me just right (i fit in between a small and a medium. i have both sizes in my wardrobe). I also love love love their hoodies and track jackets. I have both solid and stripped jackets which makes matching my clothes super easy and effortless.
Ethically, American Apparel is made in Downtown LA in sweatshop environments. The average factory worker at the company makes $80–120 per day, or roughly $500 per week compared to the $30–40 made daily at most other Los Angeles-based garment factories. They also donate to many different causes including immigration, gay rights, and other important causes (hurricane katrina relief, haiti earthquake relief, etc).
Here are some of my counter-points to Lauren’s comments on his blog:
Loren: “I’ve come to realize that there are some stores that are good-quality and are worth buying, but then there are others that look like the owners are just trying to make bank….boo on them.”
Charney, Founder and CEO of American Apparel has earned recognition in the media for management decisions to pay a fair wage and refusing to outsource manufacturing, while still running a profitable business. The Los Angeles Times named him as one of the Top 100 powerful people in Southern California and in 2009, he was nominated as a Time 100 finalist by Time Magazine.
Don’t even get me started on CEO’s who are out to make a buck. Remind me again who owns the Limited Brands and was a primary developer with Arnold Schwarzenegger for Easton Towne Centre…? Victoria’s Secret, Pink (Victoria’s Secret), Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, C. O. Bigelow, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza. Previous brands that have spun off include: Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner New York, The Limited Too (now Tween Brands, Inc.), Structure 9, Aura Science, The Limited (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Sun Capital Investments, made official as of August 3rd, 2007), Express (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Golden Gate Capital, made official as of July 6th, 2007).
Loren: Another thing that the store is currently doing is a “Best Butt Contest,” where people from all over send in pictures of their butts……What?!? Is it just me, or is this an invitation for people to start prostitution?
American Apparel designs, creates and prints its own advertisements. The company is known for its provocative and controversial advertising campaigns, which is largely the inspiration of the company CEO Dov Charney. According to Adage, American Apparel’s advertising ‘telegraphs the brand’ from person to person. Their print campaigns are widely considered to be some of the best in the industry. The sexually charged advertising has been criticized, but has also been lauded for honesty and lack of airbrushing.
Loren: Plain and boring clothes (no prints or patterns), soliciting sex (about as bad as Abercrombie), false advertising of job opps, and useless articles of clothing?
American Apparel began by selling high-quality t-shirts to screen-printers and boutiques in 1990 under the American HEAVY label. Although it has made its transition into a primarily retail brand, the company is still one of the largest wholesalers in the country. American Apparel shirts are used as band merchandise and concert t-shirts for the bands, among many others, Van Halen, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Metric, and Flogging Molly as well as websites like Busted Tees, Print Liberation and the I Can Has Cheezburger? store as the t-shirts are said to fit true to size. All shirts sold on Shirt.Woot are printed on American Apparel tees. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights advocacy group, prints its merchandise on American Apparel clothes because they are made domestically and animal-free.
Charney is known for his passion for clothing. His fashion sense is geared towards“young metropolitan adults.” (We’re from Smalltown Ohio. As much as you and I both may think we’re metro and modern, we still have smalltown biases and views. It’s just part of us. And I’m from a smaller town than you!)
The ‘fit’ of a shirt is something he often stresses.
He was named Man of the Year by both the Fashion Industry Guild and Apparel Magazine for his design work.
In 2008, The Guardian named American Apparel “Label of the Year”.
When you’re a successful business, you can be selective about hiring. Does it suck to not hear back from a business about a job? Yeah. Sure. I’m not excusing the fact that people apply and never hear back, but I’m also saying EVERY RETAILER DOES THIS. Including the ones you and I work for.
Bottom line… AA isn’t just a fashion retailer. They are primarily a wholesaler. You can’t compare them 100% to other fashion outlets like Express, Abercrombie, and Hollister. Apples and Oranges.
still love my bobcats and marching 110.
i feel bad for people who went to another school. that must have sucked.
butternut squash soup
dewey's salad!
pork tenderloin. omg.
tort!
best bro!
emily’s sister Jen had a dinner party for her birthday. it was amazing. good food. fun friends. and a 90s dance party until 3:30am. all in all, a great time!
cincinnati’s very own taco truck.
ok. i’m interested.
i guess you have to follow him on twitter to see where he’ll be that day.
maybe tomorrow?
(thanks to rich for the tip)
