Rant by Blogger Stephanie Syjuco on Urban Outfitters

via www.stephaniesyjuco.com


urban outfitters = SATAN
several reasons why urban outfitters is a purely satanic manifestation:

1. crappy badly-made, high-priced clothing spun mostly out of *acrylic* (lord!), or some other type of fabric that will eventually pill and look horrible

2. the new "DIY"/indie aesthetic that they've been channelling, the "hand-beaded" or "handmade" look in the clothing they carry (which is probably all made by twelve-year-olds in china or india, in reality). last time i wandered into the store, it was chock-full of their "Urban Renewal" remade/reconstructed brand and it irritated me to no end to see how they've cornered the market on the aesthetic. I'm very curious to be proven wrong about their manufacturing practices on this one...like, is all this stuff assembled locally or sent overseas?

3. ill-fitting clothing that makes my crotch look strange, or sits too low on my hips, or is too tight. the sizing on the clothing is just whacked-out crazy! who's the pattern maker on crack?

4. when things get marked down, they are so drastically marked down it makes you realize how much of a MARK-UP they do when selling retail. it should be criminal!

5. this clinches it: the posting at the supernaturale website that shows how UO ripped off a t-shirt design by small-time designer Johnny Cupcakes. You be the judge and check it out, but the story stinks. Says the designer, "...this company is my life, and this awful, scummy situation upsets me..."

OK, here's the deal: copying/influence, etc, happens on all levels--in both the fashion world and the artworld. like, everyone's doing puff sleeves, but does that mean someone's ripping off the first person who did puff sleeves? no, of course not. But what chaps my hide is the BIG guy absorbing the LITTLE guy's turf. urban outfitters is a giant octopus bloodsucking freak that churns out fashion at an alarmingly disposable rate. and since they have the production means and the outlets to move the merch at a fast pace, they can undercut everyone and look like they're offering edgy, individualized fashion.

bah! i'm on a rant...