American Apparel: To Buy or Not To Buy?

American apparel fashion is everywhere in Leeds and is a wardrobe staple for many Leeds students. But many of us shoppers are unaware of the scandal and slander that has happened within the American Apparel company. On Friday 21^st October, I went to the massive warehouse sale on Brick Lane at the Flea Market in London and spent £50 on American Apparel attire. Buying the same clothing from a normal store would have cost around £200. I for one was astounded at the drop in price, but was also blissfully unaware of the detrimental impact American Apparel has had upon the fashion industry and media.

Wait! Did somebody say burgundy AA hoodies were in? I’d never have known…

Being a Leeds University student, I enjoy wearing the plain yet classy American Apparel clothes, and am always seeing both the popular hoodie and the scoop neck dress everywhere on campus. However, I have only just found out about all the scandal within the fashion-forward company. My eyes have been opened to many of the happenings within the firm and I would like to share my knowledge with all of you!
 
My housemate was the person who told me about these scandals within American Apparel and she sparked my own interest in the subject. I proceeded to type into Google ‘American Apparel Scandal 2011’ and sure enough 589,000 results appeared. I was shocked at how talked about these scandals within one of the world’s most fashion-affordable stores have been! One of the major scandals related to American Apparel is the way in which they hire their staff. Obviously, they are supposed to accept people of all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, and all styles. But upon entering an American Apparel store it is obvious that they have opted for a certain ‘type’ of person; namely tall, slim girls and pretty muscular yet lanky guys. That does not in my opinion show any diversity within the American Apparel team. On the Telegraph’s online website, there is an article indicating that the CEO of American Apparel- Charney- has fired people due to them not being ‘hot enough’ to work for American Apparel. Charney asked the stores that weren’t doing well to send in group photos of their team, and those who were not deemed attractive enough to work for the company were encouraged to be fired. The assistants of American Apparel have to send in 3 photographs of themselves as part of the application process; this is not normal procedure for most other high street fashion stores. But for American Apparel, it is obvious how important aesthetically pleasing people are to the company. I understand that the assistants within the stores make the garments look good because of their model-like looks and attire, but to rule out those who would have been good assistants and who love the brand is unacceptable.

Along with the stringent application process, there is the issue of the CEO himself being sued for alleged sexual harassment of members of the team. According to http://www.dailyfinance.com/, the CEO has “confessed to having numerous affairs with female subordinates and has been repeatedly sued for sexual harassment.” Is this a place you would want to buy your clothes? For many, the fact that the CEO has had affairs with his staff will not have any impact upon your life and you will not change your minds about the brand. But for some, this article, along with various other stories in the press, will have a dramatic effect on whether you will buy from the store or even consider it being a brand you would want to associate yourself with.
 
When asking myself the question of whether or not to buy American Apparel goods, I don’t personally think I would let this new lease of information cloud my judgement on the clothes themselves. I do love American Apparel and although the CEO of American Apparel has been deemed a “world class weirdo” by dailyfinance.com, I would still shop there. But that is my choice. So, the question I pose to you, Leeds University American Apparel buyers, is: has this new load of information changed your mind about shopping there? Or does the personal life and rigorous application processes of American Apparel not bother you when thinking about buying fashion? You decide. 

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