American Apparel Case Study

http://store.americanapparel.net/product/index.jsp?productId=rsams300&c=galaxy
http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/05/04/american-apparel-ironic-%E2%80%93-don%E2%80%99t-you-think/
http://www.salon.com/2009/04/10/american_apparel/
   While home for Thanksgiving break, I took a trip to King of Prussia Mall with some friends. We were strolling through the mall and decided to browse American Apparel (a clothing store for men and women) because they have simple, stylish clothes available in a wide variety of fun, nontraditional colors and prints. When we first walked into the store, the first thing we saw were jeans that had a waist that looked as though it would fit only one leg into...they were size "XXS". (These are in the women's section.) My friend and I were very bothered by this. It was ridiculous and completely irrational that these jeans were made and targeted to sell to full grown women. Not to mention it did not make us feel especially good about ourselves... We left the store and when I got home I was still thinking about the pair of jeans and I did some further research on the matter. First, I went to the American Apparel website to see the jeans and the actual measurements. XXS was an option to order yet it was not listed in the size chart. XS was listed on the measurement size chart and they claimed this was a "0" with a measurement of 23-24 waist. The largest size offered was an XL which they consider a "12-14" with a 33-35 waist circumference. They also featured short slideshows of the models in clothing. The models were all very thin, with ribs and other internal body parts jutting. Next I found many articles on the internet opposing American Apparel, for more than what I was expecting... The founder of the American Apparel Company is Dov Charney. He has been accused of sexual harassment of his employees a number of times. Only "super hot" or "special" men and women are selected to work. In addition to the snarky ways of advancing and the promotion of employees, commonly through sexual favors as reported by a number of past employees, their consistently pornographic advertising also speaks for itself. Although claimed "artsy" to try to justify ads that sexualize women in an attempt to use women’s bodies to sell products.
   The company recently launched a plus size line...only available to men however. The founder has said this is an effort to attract tall, muscular, "bodybuilder" men who also want to be fashionable to purchase clothing from American Apparel, which in turn is also just a masculine form of the beauty myth!
   However, ironically it is mentioned that among this madness, the clothes are not made in sweatshops and the employees are all paid above minimum wage. Regardless, I will not be applying to work or looking to purchase from American Apparel in the future.
-Nicole
(MWF 12-12:50)