Mollister

One shirt said, “I [HEART] NERDS,” another said, “I [HEART] NY,” and the third one said, “I [HEART] SOCCER MOMS.” There was a love in the air at college that day. It was these shirts that made me question the current trendy fashions that my fellow college students were wearing – and these students must love to share information. Why else would they wear a shirt advertising something that I didn’t know about them? Did they want to attract nerds or New Yorkers? Perhaps they wanted to commit adultery with lucky #7’s soccer mom. I couldn’t say. An interesting fact about the shirt-bearers was their pants, shoe wear, and accessories – almost identical. After doing some fashionable research online, I realized that my fellow college students were paying astronomical amounts of money to wear clothes that you can easily obtain at Wal-Mart, Target, and even the Salvation Army for a fraction of the cost. The difference? Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters, Louie Vuitton, and other designers have there insignias on these clothes. The real difference? About $243.50.

That day, I was wearing a collared shirt, blue jeans, casual Sketchers sneakers, and a black backpack. I felt dirty. Everywhere I looked, I could easily spot highly popular fashions. I wanted to ask someone where this college fashion store was so I could purchase these clothes and be an individual just like them. It was then when I realized that I was in the era of screen tees, bleach washed jeans, vintage apparel, genuine leather flip-flops, aviator sunglasses, cargo shorts, and designer bags. I was in the era of chain-designers.

The demand for the “beachwear” or “prep” styles of clothing has become a fashion phenomenon among college and high school students. I knew, however, that this didn’t happen overnight. What I didn’t know was how long, exactly, these fashion chains had been marketing their clothes. The original Abercrombie & Fitch was established in 1892; however, it wasn’t until the early 1990s when it became the popular clothing store of today. The subsidiary store owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, wasn’t created until 2000. It seems that ever since the early 90s, these types of clothes have had somewhat of an exponential growth in popularity among the age group of 15-25. The only problem I see with this trend is the outrageous prices that these designers were charging for very simple styles.

Screen tees are hugely popular among the target age range. These are the shirts with text imprinted directly onto the shirt. Some types of screen tees include, “Humor Tees,” “Athletic Tees,” “Baseball Tees,” and “Logo Tees.” Logo tees are extremely popular and simply have the name of the store where the shirt was purchased (and possibly the logo) plastered across the front. Humor tees have a statement on the shirt that tries to evoke humor. Want a few new funny screen tees? Three new shirts probably wouldn’t hurt, right? Average cost of a screen tee: $24.79. Total cost for three shirts: $74.37. I’m willing to bet that humor tees aren’t as funny anymore. Price for a screen tee at Target: $16.99.

Levi Strauss, founder of Levi’s jeans, would be stunned at the price of modern jeans. In 1990, a pair of fashionable men’s jeans cost anywhere from $20 and up. Purchasing a pair of fashionable jeans today, for males or females, requires you to cringe every time you take out your checkbook. The cheapest pair of jeans that Abercrombie & Fitch has today is $59.50. I guess it could be worse, right? Well, it is. Abercrombie & Fitch has Ezra Fitch Destroyed Boot Denim, which retails for $125. The average cost of jeans at Abercrombie & Fitch comes to an unsettling $87.31. At Target, they carry almost identical styles in jeans; however, the price on any single pair of jeans in Target does not exceed $30.

No designer-fanatic would be complete without his or her messenger/carrying bag or purse. The most popular brand of designer bag is Louis Vuitton, popularly referred to as Louie Vuitton. These bags can literally be spotted fifty feet away by the repeating “LV” pattern across almost all of their bags. Despite the many imitation Louie Vuitton bags that exist, many insist on purchasing only authentic bags. One of the most popular Louie Vuitton bags is the cylindrical-shaped Papillon 30 – what I like to refer to as “the log.” This bag retails for $750, and can fit only about three or four cans of Spaghettios inside. For this price, you could buy roughly forty-five purses at Target. Another popular Louie Vuitton bag is the Speedy 30, or, as I like to call it, “the mailbox” (again, for its shape). Twice the size of the log, the mailbox retails for $545. I’m not sure why the smaller bag costs more, but I’d like to say that it’s the log-like shape. It probably makes consumers feel safer – in the event they are mugged, they have the chance to attack the perpetrator by using the a “log-to-the-face” technique. Other popular styles are “the toaster,” and “my eyes hurt.”

Some would probably say that I’m not focusing on the fact that Abercrombie & Friends are selling high priced clothing, but I’m actually discussing how the age group of 15-25 has no concept of how to control their money. I’d quite simply agree with you. I understood when I began this paper that the ideals would be vast, but I would somehow have to pull it all together. Not only does this topic address the fact that modern fashionable clothing is priced outside of the realistic range for the target age group, but also the fact that most are willing to spend the money! Another aspect of this topic could be why most in the age group are actually purchasing these fashions. Is it the need to feel accepted, to feel rich, or feel new? I’m not exactly sure. I admit, I’ve bought into the current fashions at college. I stick to more affordable clothing chains such as Old Navy, Target, and Wal-Mart. Since I’ve come to college, “clearance” has become my best friend; however, it’s a word not in the Webstercrombie & Rich dictionary.

Chances are, you’ve heard of college students complaining that money is hard to come by. This fact comes of no surprise when you evaluate where college students’ money is usually routed to – their clothing. The irony is that people who commonly purchase clothes like this will refer to it as their “casual” or “beach” look. These clothes are anything but financially casual for the average student. According to a survey taken at Virginia Commonwealth University, the average college student makes about $6.75 an hour and works around 20 hour weeks. The students’ weekly salary chimes in at around $105, after taxes. Purchasing Ezra Fitch Destroyed Boot Denim, a humor tee with “I Wrote the Karma Sutra” (this is a real shirt) across the front, a pair of boxers, one belt, and a pair of flip-flops comes to an unsettling $243.50. That outfit just set the average college student back $138.50 – and that’s only one outfit. Don’t forget food, gas, tuition, rent, and any other necessities he or she may need – like the “Louie Vuitton log,” which redefines the student’s debt at a negative $888.50. These styles can be replicated at such popular stores as Wal-Mart and Target. However, designer stores make it easy to access the proper combinations to create the archetype college student.

Just for fun, I tried searching online for “Louie Vuitton Sucks,” or “Louis Vuitton is Bad,” but the only results that came back to me were, “it sucks that I can’t get a Louie Vuitton checkbook wallet,” and “Do you want a Louis Vuitton handbag, but your credit is bad? We can help!” I’ve never felt so molested in my life. Now there are credit agencies that will help you reestablish your credit so you can spend your money on Louie Vuitton handbags. It was then when I realized how I was going to become a multimillionaire.

I’m going to open my own line of chain-designing outlets. The name of the store will be “Mollister,” rhyming with Hollister. My first pair of pants will be fashioned from recycled tires and will be named, “MOLLISTER REPAVED ROAD WARRIORS.” My first series of screen tees will say ”I [HEART] ATTACKS,” and my logo tees will dawn the following text: “MOLLISTER: Raping You of Your Money Since 2004.”

This shirt will be the first humor tee produced by Chapman's MOLLISTER. Click for larger view.