Having "American" in this brand will make countries laugh at how unsophisticated we are.
You are going to make something in America at least make something good like New Balance. We don't care to known for making neon green tights.
And on the "make something good" tip -- AA makes the highest quality and best-fitting T-shirts I have ever found. MILES ahead of the crap on sale at Walmart. And they do it in America, so they've earned the right to put it in their name.
Company politics and alleged lechery aside: they make a damn fine product, without cutting corners.
"I don't want to pay for the privilege of wearing a billboard."
Your are paying $20 for a plain grey t-shirt. You don't think you are paying for the AA billboards that are everywhere??
Again, I am not sure what you want from a T-shirt. AA shirts fit me great -- better than any other manufacturer. What is ugly about a T-shirt that fits?
I'm glad you are satisfied with your plain $20 t-shirt http://store.americanapparel.net/men-short-sleeves---t-shirt... based on it's fit and comfort.
In my subjective view, it just makes me sick to see American Apparel in other countries and people go in and see that "Americans" are about looking like 1970s high schoolers. Like it our not this brand does represent us.
What single brand does? American Apparel is a single clothing brand out of thousands that are exported from the US, and they are all different.
Certainly American Apparel represents a portion of the US, whether you like it or not.
I think you're too busy trying to troll that you forget that they're not trying to be Dior or Gucci.
I am the owner of an AA tagged T-shirt; black, with a modest picture of a prinny on it, of good quality. So I see your point about the stuff being "good." But as to what's on display in the retail stores, their "designer fashion" is really truly gawd awful. I wouldn't call it "bland and tasteless" though--it is a full-on assult on one's sensibilities.
And if you don't want to pay retail, just get them on Amazon. You can get yourself a basic shirt for $6 (and the aforementioned tri-blend for $9). There's a reason why a huge number of bands/artists print on AA shirts, they are top end.
Anyone who dresses themselves according to mannequins styled by 20something art school students is bound to look slightly ridiculous to those who are not 20something art school students. Most of the clothing is great and reasonably priced for what you get.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe Wal-Mart clothes are 1/3 the price of what they should be?
And I don't think we as Americans needs to worry about other countries perceiving us as unsophisticated because of AA. There is plenty of low hanging fruit in that category already.
Checkout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_%28clothing%29 They are a Spanish company that do not outsource their manufacturing. They are able to keep their costs down and deliver the most trendy clothes to their customers. AA on the other hand made clothes that look like 1970s gym clothes.
I usually don't care about apparel brands, but I have a soft spot for Zara. They consistently create nice stuff for very reasonable prices. They make clothes that make you look good, as opposed to having attractive models looking good in whatever.
Their way of doing business is very hackerish (in the best sense), beautifully optimized.
No external marketing, they just put their shops in premium locations, letting their wares "sell themselves".
Instead of paying expensive prima donna fashion designers, they employ an army of young talented people. They constantly monitor fashion trends and consumer demands in their stores, able to rapidly innovate designs and change their production.
Their retail stock is completely rotated every two weeks, which creates an extra incentive for customers to come back to check what's new, and it also encourages Woot-type impulse buying, as the stock is limited.
Using state-of-the-art logistics they manage to keep their operations costs down. Thanks to their efficient procedures they can create better products for cheaper prices than competition.
$5.99. (just to save the long debate)
Wal-Mart clothes are precisely as expensive as they should be.
All other clothes are also precisely as expensive as they should be.
There's a very good reason why Wal-Mart clothes are 1/3 the price of other chains, and that word starts with a capital Q. Most people who've never worked in manufacturing call bullshit on this, but they really, really don't know the reality of things. You do get what you pay for.