I bought a pair of American Apparel pants.
They cost $70.00. I had to buy them with my credit card. The card is called a "Freedom" card. When I bought them, I felt like the card was actually giving me more freedom. I know that living on credit is bad and all, but the last "affordable" pair of pants I bought cost $25, ripped within a week, and weren't that awesome in the first place.
In 2008, I moved to NYC, and by 2009, I felt like I didn't belong. It was a vague feeling, but it gradually gained focus. When I felt that outsider feeling, I began to focus on all the guys who had skinnier, more rock star-like legs than me, all the trustafarians, all the non-trustafarians whose self-destructive hard work intimidated me, all the girls who refused to smile or blush when I talked to them...
All the nice things cities like NYC had- nice things that were so close to my dreams that I became painfully aware that I was a demographic, not a unique snowflake...
All the things that I rebelled against by refusing to listen to music that wasn't folk music for nearly a year...
They all could be encapsulated in one brand:
American Apparel.
When I thought of American Apparel, I wanted to take the A train all the way to JFK airport and pick a destination.
But, in July 2011, I was still in NYC, and I really wanted to have a nice pair of pants. I also really didn't want to sift through a thousand thrift stores to find one. I wanted to possibly get to talk to a hot sales clerk in the process, rather than chitchat while avoiding eye contact with homeless white dudes.
I also really wanted to support a business that continues to pay its employees American wages and keeps its factories in America, and refrains from changing those practices even though it could very well go under in 2012.
So I went to American Apparel. I'd describe the shopping experience, but many blogs have already done that better than I would, and, in any case, it was pretty much exactly the way I imagined it two paragraphs ago.
They cost $70.00. I had to buy them with my credit card. The card is called a "Freedom" card. When I bought them, I felt like the card was actually giving me more freedom. I know that living on credit is bad and all, but the last "affordable" pair of pants I bought cost $25, ripped within a week, and weren't that awesome in the first place.
In 2008, I moved to NYC, and by 2009, I felt like I didn't belong. It was a vague feeling, but it gradually gained focus. When I felt that outsider feeling, I began to focus on all the guys who had skinnier, more rock star-like legs than me, all the trustafarians, all the non-trustafarians whose self-destructive hard work intimidated me, all the girls who refused to smile or blush when I talked to them...
All the nice things cities like NYC had- nice things that were so close to my dreams that I became painfully aware that I was a demographic, not a unique snowflake...
All the things that I rebelled against by refusing to listen to music that wasn't folk music for nearly a year...
They all could be encapsulated in one brand:
American Apparel.
When I thought of American Apparel, I wanted to take the A train all the way to JFK airport and pick a destination.
But, in July 2011, I was still in NYC, and I really wanted to have a nice pair of pants. I also really didn't want to sift through a thousand thrift stores to find one. I wanted to possibly get to talk to a hot sales clerk in the process, rather than chitchat while avoiding eye contact with homeless white dudes.
I also really wanted to support a business that continues to pay its employees American wages and keeps its factories in America, and refrains from changing those practices even though it could very well go under in 2012.
So I went to American Apparel. I'd describe the shopping experience, but many blogs have already done that better than I would, and, in any case, it was pretty much exactly the way I imagined it two paragraphs ago.
Haha! Even I, hipster extraordinaire, have never actually bought anything at American Apparel. But it is secretly on my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back in the big bad blogosphere!
Hey Ben, nice post!
ReplyDeleteSteveL
I get the creepy feeling of being a consumer sometimes. Yuck. I used to shop a lot more than I do now, now it's every few months and usually at a thrift store.
ReplyDeleteThrift stores are my mecca, but when you need a new pair of pants that's going to last, American Apparel is a good choice. They actually make pretty decent clothing.