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Have I Ever Mentioned How Much I Hate Those American Apparel Swimsuit Ads?

At my office, it's practically impossible to avoid those ubiquitous ads for American Apparel clothes, most of them featuring disembodied butts and boobs, ostensibly advertising good, clean, sweatshop-free American clothes. Lately, it's become sort of a joke: The chick in the teeny skirt was replaced on the Stranger's back cover by chick in teeny hot pants, who was in turn replaced by a chick wearing nothing but a thong. (Well, a chick's butt, anyway. The rest of the chick was nowhere to be seen.) Anyway, we figured the next model was going to have to be completely naked -- it's hard to imagine what else they could have to shock at that point.

Turns out I was wrong. Here's the following week's model:

24685_300x250_tweener_01_1_.jpg

Let's look at her more closely:

160x600_tweener_01_1_.jpg

That's a girl acting sexy, yes--nothing unusual about that. The disturbing part is that she looks to be about 12 years old. No hips, no body hair, no breasts--just kiddie porn disguised as advertising. The tag line on the image says it all: "Tweener." Just another reason I don't shop at American Apparel.

Posted by ericacbarnett on July 19, 2007 7:14 PM |

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Comments (418)

superyeadon:

agreed. and tweener is the gross word of the day.

Posted by superyeadon | July 20, 2007 12:15 AM

Posted on July 20, 2007 00:15

C.K.:

Serious yuck. You really notice how young the model is in that second picture. It's completely unnerving.

Posted by C.K. | July 20, 2007 8:47 AM

Posted on July 20, 2007 08:47

flamingbanjo:

No issue more perfectly sums up my reservations about a certain form of American feminism than American Apparel. Because their ads are creepy and arguably exploitive, but I don't see any other feasible way to market their more-expensive products. And yet the basic principle of buying non-sweatshop made products has a real impact on the lives of many real women working in the garment industry. The typical middle-class, college-educated feminist I know doesn't generally think that she'll ever need to take a job sewing clothes and has an appreciation for the plight of labor that is largely abstract -- out of sight, out of mind. But the ads are right in your face, so they draw a lot of ire.

To me, advertising in general is an offensive concept, designed to manipulate its audience into buying things they neither want nor need, and the best response to it is generally to tune it out. But the labor issue is far more tricky. Previous attempts by companies marketing American-made products based on some kind of ethical or nationalist appeal have failed. American Apparel is trying to create a slightly transgressive, hipster appeal (analogous to some very successful Calvin Klein ad campaigns) and it seems to be working. As a result of this successful marketing scheme, many of the workers, most of them women, who make those clothes receive much better treatment and much fairer compensation than they would otherwise.

Which is a more desirable outcome? An end to thong ads that show somebody actually wearing a thong, or paying the women who make your clothes a living wage?

Now imagine you're working in a garment factory and answer that question again.

Posted by flamingbanjo | July 20, 2007 9:57 AM

Posted on July 20, 2007 09:57

Fritz:

My 17-year-old niece calls girls dressed like this "prosti-tots"

Not too long ago, I went shopping with her in Santa Barbara. She was dressed in a style that reminded me of Audrey Hepburn. The teenage boys were tripping over their own feet as she walked by. Cool and sophisticated works! More young women should realize that.

Posted by Fritz | July 20, 2007 11:22 AM

Posted on July 20, 2007 11:22

Kyso K:

"prosti-tots"

No matter how many times I see that dashing bit of cleverness, it always drives me nuts.

Now imagine you're working in a garment factory and answer that question again.

There was a time when I actually did feel the tug of war between the fair-wage goodness and the sexist crap that is American Apparel. Then I read about AA's sexist cobag owner's tooth-and-nail fight against the union his garment workers wanted, and I was able to loathe American Apparel with a free conscious. Plus, they don't sell anything that my fatass 12-14 corpse would look decent in, so eff them. OK, that last part's sour grapes.

Posted by Kyso K | July 20, 2007 4:47 PM

Posted on July 20, 2007 16:47

Kyso K:

conscience. I am not literate.

Posted by Kyso K | July 20, 2007 4:48 PM

Posted on July 20, 2007 16:48

me:

I used to be pro-American Apparel, but a) their ads are getting super-ridiculous and b) their clothing quality has gone downhill, big time.

Posted by me | July 21, 2007 4:05 PM

Posted on July 21, 2007 16:05

me too:

I used to love American Apparel. Then my husband told me that he met the owner who was a total creep. He, the owner, was using his workers as models and would photograph them in their bra and underwear. I'm calling this sexual harassment. I'm surprised he is not in jail yet.

Posted by me too | August 2, 2007 12:00 AM

Posted on August 2, 2007 00:00

Mickey Valerie:

Looks like the grown up sort of woman to me.

Posted by Mickey Valerie | November 7, 2007 12:44 PM

Posted on November 7, 2007 12:44

fltyq vmjd:

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Posted on December 5, 2007 14:19

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Posted by rjikzeoan awogvcpyh | December 5, 2007 2:20 PM

Posted on December 5, 2007 14:20

Sam:

gee i wonder why women get raped is the funniest comment written on their ads I've ever heard of, and you know what it's right. Women get raped mostly because they put themselves into situations that are to risky and then whine about it later.

Posted by Sam | December 23, 2007 12:00 AM

Posted on December 23, 2007 00:00

valium:

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Posted on December 27, 2007 02:14

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Posted on December 27, 2007 02:26

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Posted on December 27, 2007 04:46

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