American Apparel Goes Global

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One recent afternoon, as I combed the racks at American Apparel, I realized that I owned a substantial portion of the collection,in 1981, at the age of 11, Slate.com reports.


I was a committed jock: Even when I wasn’t headed to gymnastics or tennis lessons, I favored athletic-inspired fashions. I also grew up in New Jersey.


A typical childhood outfit for me is easily approximated with items from the rapidly expanding chain store. For example: the Interlock Running Short in kelly green and white ($22); Unisex Calf-High Tube Socks, also in kelly green and white ($8); the Sheer Jersey Shoulder Tie Tube Top in pastel rainbow and white ($14, reduced from $28); the California Fleece Track Jacket in navy and white (Men’s Department, $44); and the Flex Terry Headband ($6),Bjorn Borg was my hero and locker poster boy.

Most but not all items at American Apparel are made of 100 percent cotton, whereas the fabrics back then were less wholesome. (Surely my “jogging shorts” were 50 percent polyester/50 percent cotton, while my “warm-up jacket”,as we used to say in the days before hoodie and tracksuit entered the lexicon,was definitely nylon.) But the basic cuts and shapes were identical.


When I look at photographs of myself from that period, I tend to find my outfits laughable, even piteous. The explosive success of American Apparel, however, suggests that twentysomethings and other members of the youth culture (who smartly managed to sit out the actual early ’80s) seem to find my prepubescent sensibility cool.


The company’s 2006 sales were estimated at $300 million. And in December, American Apparel was taken over by Endeavor Acquisition Corporation, which plans to open 800 new stores around the world, in addition to the 145 that are already in existence. (Controversial A.A. founder Dov Charney,famous above all, let it be said, for masturbating during an interview with a Jane magazine reporter in 2004,walked away with $200 million in shares.)


Read the full Slate.com story

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