Over-priced spandex, sexual harassment lawsuits, nasty sales staff... American Apparel means something different to everyone. Plagued by a barrage of negatively branded headlines, we know that the company has had its issues — but then we also know that they sell the best Halloween costumes, so... I mean, which side of history do we want to be on? Here's to you A.A., and all of your company-crushing secrets. [Photo: Shutterstock]
American Apparel Has A “No Ugly” Policy American Apparel’s hiring team favors good-looks over adequate work experience, which makes a LOT of sense to anyone who has stepped inside the store. It's not uncommon to receive a glare in place of the customary employee "hello". Also, have you noticed that 9 out of 10 times you try something on at A.A. it ends up being stained? And not like a cute subtle stain, but a red-lipstick-white-tank-top sort of deal… To sum up, the employees are all crazy-hip models-in-training, but their customer service skills are definitely SUB-PAR.
[Photo:
Instagram]
American Apparel Is A Shoplifter Hot-Spot Shoplifting from American Apparel is such a common pastime that Tao Lin wrote a memoir called—well... “Shoplifting from American Apparel.” To regulate the growing theft rate, A.A. added anti-theft tags to the bulk of their items in 2012.
[Photo:
Barnes & Noble]
American Apparel Makes Clothes For Your Pets On the off chance that your dog doesn’t already have a superiority complex, now he can dress as hip as you do AND be, you know, an adorable furry creature.
[Photo:
American Apparel]
Founder And Former CEO Dov Charney Is Not A Great Guy Never trust a Dov… Just kidding, but actually this guy is the worst. He was
removed as CEO in June 2014 after a twenty-five-year slew of outrageous behavior. What kind of outrageous behavior?? Ummm, well he masturbated in front of a reporter, allegedly forced an employee to serve as his “sex slave,” led meetings in his underwear, and sent employees work-appropriate texts
like these… Are we missing any? YES! There are far too many offenses against Charney to list them all!!
[Photo: Shutterstock]
American Apparel vs. Woody Allen Happened Back in 2009, American Apparel featured an image of Allen on their billboards without permission, causing Allen to file a $10 million suit against the company. A.A. ended up settling, paying Allen a cool $5 million. Sorry, Dov...
[Photo: Splash News]
American Apparel Went Bankrupt This Year On October 5, 2015, American Apparel filed for bankruptcy, claiming the company hasn't made a profit since 2009. Considering what we know about former CEO Dov Charney, the brand's high rate of shoplifting, and the many legal battles attached to its advertising campaign, this doesn't come as much of a surprise. Not to mention A.A.'s crazy prices... This shirt is 95% polyester and costs $48. FORTY-EIGHT DOLLARS!
[Photo:
Instagram]
American Apparel Legitimately Hires Porn Stars For Their Ad Campaigns The American Apparel model to the right? Yeah, that’s Sasha Grey. In addition to her thriving modeling career, she’s best known for her work in films like Seinfeld: A XXX Parody, Masturbation Nation 3 , and Teenage Anal Princess 5.
[Photo: Splash News]