Image by anne.oeldorfhirsch via FlickrSo it was 103ish degrees outside and I decided to by a new sweater at American Apparel. I was looking at them and I thought "Its a good time to come in here because it's a nice day, and plus who wants to by a sweater in 103 degree heat?" The staff people looked relieved because I bought something. The both of them were friendly and nice, which is a plus for any store. I got my white bag full of my new "apparel" and I really started to think about how I feel about the company.
Advertising: I'm not going to stay on this one for long, but I the advertising is kind of...Erm... Strange? Not strange in a bad way, but that other strange the "unfamiliar" type of deal. Its like the 70's met the 80's and had children. These children grew up to be yuppies. These yuppie children got a hold of their parents retro "chic" camera and started to sell advrage clothing with unusual names. Like "deep V" or "track tee". Whatever those yuppie children are doing, its working.
Clothing: Like I said before, the names are "strange" but the clothes are top quality stuff! I want to say that they are pricey, but you do "get what you pay for" at American Apparel.
- T-Shirts: Because I love T-shirts, I do have the right to rant about them as much as I want. In a nut - shell, regular shirts are not American apparel. If you have one, then you know what I mean. These shirts are like clouds. You can wear it 50 times and I swear, it will still feel the same. (Trust me, I have like 15 of these AA shirts). These shirts are pretty good to silk screen or stencil on because they transfer easily, but if the design starts to fade on your favorite shirt, it must be well loved or was silk screened with really bad paint. If you want to pay extra, go ahead and get the organic cotton shirts. If the regular shirts are soft, then the organic ones are just the softest ones ever! I'm kind of cheating myself if I say that a "shirts a shirt" but these shirts are all great. I go for the "Fine Jersey Short Sleeve", it has just about every color you can think of, even Kelly Green (one of my school colors). The sizes are dwonky so, always go to the store before you buy it! This is true when you are buying wholesale shirts from other websites (like cafe press or something)
- Pants: I haven't really looked into these yet, but at the store, most of the pants weren't cotton. Strange right? It was this weird, plastic, shiny stuff that I wouldn't' choose to wear. I just wish that they had Low waist pants! I don't want to look like someones grandmother in 1985 when I wear their super high waist pants. That's just what I think though, I'm sure someone else wants to look like that.
- Sweatshirts: If I had to buy one thing from this store it would be a Zip Hoodie. I only have one, and its my debate team hoodie, so I have to wear it every Friday for school spirit day (well I don't have to, but still). Trust me, if it wasn't hot outside, I would be living in this hoodie. I washed this thing 50+ times, and its well lived in. The cotton is kind of getting "worn" or whatever its called, but it feels just as good or better then the first time that I got it. I highly recommend these. They are just as expensive as the sweaters, but are still worth it.
- Sweaters: Again, funky names, but are very top notch. I just bought the sailor stripe pullover, and I can't wait to wear it! (I guess I could wear it now, but I might get heatstroke...again...) I love this sweater so much, I might get another one in wine and creme because it looks so nice. and if I had the money I'd get the thin stripe crew neck sweater. The only bad thing about that one is that its so thick! If you had a button up or whatever under that thing, I'm sure you wouldn't need a jacket, even in the dead of winter.
- "Select Vintage": What makes these so "vintage" anyway? These are "on-line" only, so I have no idea about these. I don't think I'm planing on buying one of these "vintage" items anyway.
The Sizing at AA is kind of weird. If I order something custom from cafe press or something like that, I go for a large. It fits me fine, but the bottom is too large. I went to AA this week to see what size that I really was, it ended up that I was a... Extra Small!! What the heck? In my book, AA doesn't keep the sizing consistent, this is true when buying Unisex stuff (oh wait, half of their stuff is unisex!). They always say to order two sizes small when getting the unisex stuff, so lucky me, I'm a xx small, or if I'm lucky an xxx small (yes, they do have that size!). Thanks AA, I know know that I'm classified as a super small petite. Want to know something crazy? I can fit a kids small AA shirt! That's just wild...
Price:
"You get what you pay for" and at AA, you really do get what you pay for. Yes, I did spend 18 bucks on a "organic recycled cotton" hat, but that is the best hat that I have had ever. Yes, it might be outlandish to pay 40 dollars for a sweater, or 18 for a shirt, but buy it! Trust me, I'm always low on cash, but I always have some money saved for AA shopping trips! (Yeah, it took me like 3 months to save for this trip, but it was well worth it.)
Other Customers:
Have you heard the saying "Only hipsters shop at American Apparel?" Well, that isn't true (well, some of it at least). When I was there, I seen some 20 year old with his dear old mother paying for his 140 dollars worth of clothes. I feel bad for his mum, but you can never know about other peoples lives. I was the only other person there, so the customers were pretty scarce this Saturday.
Quick tangent: If I was 10 years older than I am now, I probably would be a hipster. I have no clue why, but I would fit the mold. (Remind me to make this my next rant. "Hipsters, what happens after your emo grows up".
*Just in case you missed it again... I do have part two of this review up. It is less of a rant and more of a review. I packed in more info and links and even added in what my readers wanted me too! Click that link ok. Here it is again*
I think I wanna start shopping there! :D
ReplyDeleteWe should go! I can't be artsy by myself D:
ReplyDelete