Is it just us, or has American Apparel turned the corner from brash indie upstart to ubiquitous corporate behemoth like the Gap, bulldozing its way onto every corner? Especially after taking a closer look at their corporate policiess, they are starting to bug us, and those pseudo porn ads are just tired!
This time, it appears they have displaced one of the city's best Army Surplus stores, Weiss & Mahoney, a longtime lower Fifth Avenue merchant. We hope W&M will reopen in a new location, because AA is starting to become just as homogeneous and predictable as the stores they are trying to compete against.
I'm totally with ya. What the hell is up with AA? Their clothes aren't even all that attractive...they're made with the cheapest materials as you can get (they literally sell the type of gym shorts I wore in junior high), every piece is monochromatic, and the color palette flirts with the early 80's. I thought the retro thing was cool five years ago?
I've been in two stores in NYC, and the vibe was just bizarre. The layout is awful...there was a rack of men's long sleeve items in the back of a room dedicated to women's tops. Wtf? Plus the employees simply congregated and socialized with one another while trying to exude some kind of attitude. "Made in LA" for sure.
Posted by: some dude | October 06, 2006 at 11:21 AM
American Apparel is hardly the Gap! They have what... 130 stores worldwide whereas the Gap has that many just on the Upper West Side. I still love their t-shirts, they're great to print on and the softest available on the market. Hardly cheap at all. If you want cheap I suppose you can buy clothing manufactured in 3rd world sweat shops. American Apparel is also hardly monochromatic - I don't know where you can get sweats, jackets and ts in a wider selection of colors. But whatever, bashing American Apparel is the cool hipster thing to do now. So who cares about the 5000 well paying blue collar jobs or the commitment to organic cotton. the low key evil bastards that run Haines, Gildan, Fruit of the Loom and even The Gap are laughing their asses off.
And since when did they displace Weiss & Mahoney? If business was good, they'd still be there but everyone's already got a Mao cap and besides, they're cheaper at H&M. That's progress baby.
Posted by: Vicci | October 06, 2006 at 11:31 AM
I don't get it. Why do you say they "displaced" W&M...didn't W&M choose to not renew their lease? I'm sure the building wouldn't care who is in that location, so long as they pay the (probably expensive) market rate rent. I suggest being annoyed at people who would shop at all the cheesy stores on that stretch of 5th ave: Club Monaco, Juicy, Gap, Lucky, and so on. Demand causes real estate prices to go up causes cool funky stores to move out.
But I'm totes with you on the porn ads. They are so tired.
Posted by: minx | October 06, 2006 at 11:33 AM
the stuff is overpriced crap... "hipster" A&F ...how dreary.... and the attitude... mall kids with piercing and ink
blehk!
Posted by: Nixoni | October 06, 2006 at 01:02 PM
GET A LIFE LOOOOOoooooooZERRZZZZZZZZZZ it's just fabric. fabrice, take a chill!
WTF is up with AA ? they changed
WTF is up with my body? it changed
WTF is up with that traffic light? it changed
Posted by: trevor | October 06, 2006 at 03:09 PM
OMG--Nixoni, "hipster A&F" is so apt!
That is seriously the BEST characterization of AA I have ever heard. Brava!
Posted by: Elsa | October 06, 2006 at 05:46 PM
Yep..the store is creepy with their weird porn ads and that creepy owner. We are supposed to think its so great b/c they dont use sweat shop offshore labor..umm ok..its crap and expensive for what it is..
anyhow..I cant wait for it to fail.
Frankly, I find the place offensive.
Posted by: Patty Cake | October 07, 2006 at 05:33 AM
Patty Cake. No one's saying you have to think American Apparel is great. No one's saying you MUST shop at American Apparel. I personally am happy that I have a non-sweatshop alternative to the gap and nike and diesel. I am happy that I am not a walking advertisement for Diesel or A&F or Adidas. But above and beyond anything else Patty Cake I am most pleased that I am not a callous and mean spirited person who would gleefully wish for the end of a company that provides good employment for close to 5000 people. Oh well... guess they could always get a job at Walmart.
Posted by: Vicci | October 07, 2006 at 09:36 AM
"that creepy owner" - if we didn't shop at every store that has a creepy owner we'd never leave the house. i mean, somewhere along the line the stuff we buy has some shady deal behind it...just the gas used to ship all our crap from china is a ransom to some shady people! every time i've been in american apparel i've never seen the "creepy owner" - i just don't get how one person's perceived persona gets slammed on 130 stores - or however many AA has now. i mean, just because Monica and Bill did their thing didn't mean that I was going to stop voting.
Posted by: hamster | October 18, 2006 at 09:52 AM