Browsing Tag

American Apparel

20-Something, Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

Urban Outfitters vs. American Apparel: Which Hipster Brand Is Most Ethical?

I’ve had this blog for years and every month I get an itch to make it more streamlined. Thoughts of starting an editorial calendar dance in my head, but who am I kidding? My brain is about as organized as the basement of some sad sack on A&E’s Hoarders.

If I was more organized, I would make Friday my designated fashion and design day. In an attempt to accomplish that goal, I’m going to write about the most ridiculously hipster fashion topic I can think of:

Urban Outfitters

and

American Apparel.

Two clothing companies that the hip teen-through-thirty-somethings who think they are still teens love to shop at.

Full disclosure: I used to shop at both AND off and on worked at the latter (judge away!)

I no longer shop at Urban Outfitters for ethical reasons, however, I continue to support American Apparel, not because of some Kool-Aid allegiance I formed while working there (believe me, it’s NOT a perfect company), but because side-by-side, American Apparel is a more (more…)

April 12, 2013 by hipstercrite

Fashion/Design

Best Nail Polish in the World is by American Apparel

I’ve never been a girly girl.

I don’t wear pink, I’ve never gotten a manicure or pedicure, I’ve never envisioned what my wedding dress will look like and I haven’t brushed my hair regularly in three years (note- this doesn’t mean my hair is dirty, I do indeed wash my hair).

However, I love the living crap out of Sephora, I could watch every Ryan Gosling movie ever made and I do enjoy some red lipstick and smokey eyes once in awhile.

But, most of the time I like sitting in yoga pants, tank top and watching my butt grow larger and larger the longer I work from home.

If I ever need a quick reminder that there is a woman somewhere beneath the unsexiness, I whip out my American Apparel nail polish.

American Apparel’s nail polish is quite possibly the best out there. It’s non-toxic, comes in a slew of unique colors and lasts for weeks. Weeks, I tell you!

Slap a clear top coat on your nails and you’re set for the long haul. Screw OPI or all the expensive salon junk.

I (more…)

June 21, 2012 by hipstercrite

Austin, Pop Culture

Are You a Bobo?

In this week’s CultureMap article, “More than Trader Joe’s in store: Seaholm development targets ‘urban bohemians,'” managing partner of Seaholm LLC, John Rosato, used the titular term when describing the sort of clientele they want their future tenants to cater to. A lot of you thought the phrase “urban bohemian” sounded like the verbal equivalent of dragging your nails across a chalkboard, but I have news for you, it ain’t nothing new.

Try on this word for size: Bobo. Bourgeois bohemian. Does that make you want to throw up a little in your mouth, too?

“Bobo” was coined by David Brooks in his 2000 social commentary, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. The book describes the rise of upper middle class and their penchant for spending big bucks on organic food, brand new electric cars and all-American clothing.

They are a hybrid of the “liberal idealism of the 1960s and the self-interest of the 1980s” a.k.a. hipsters with money. Bobos are essentially (more…)

May 5, 2012 by hipstercrite

Austin, Pop Culture

Tucker Max is a Douchey Douche

Did you hear about this bologna yesterday? According to Gothamist, author, douche bag extraordinaire and fellow Austinite (blech!), Tucker Max, had a hissy fit because Planned Parenthood wouldn’t take $500,000 from him. In fact, he had such a fit that he got his friend/media spinner, 25 year-old (!) Ryan Holiday, to slam Planned Parenthood on Forbes. In short, Holiday told Tucker that in order to ease his high tax burden, it would look good if he donated to Planned Parenthood (an organization that Tucker has made fun of on Twitter before). He even suggested that PP would maybe even “name a clinic after him”. Can you imagine stepping foot into a clinic named after a dude who uses women and generally doesn’t give a shit about anyone other than himself?

I posted the Austinist version of this article on my social media profiles and got a wide range of responses from friends and strangers. Everyone agreed that Tucker is the reigning king of douchism, but some said, “money is money” and (more…)

April 5, 2012 by hipstercrite

20-Something, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture

Hipster Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

This will be the first Valentine’s Day I will have someone to share with in over eight years. Because I used to date douchebags, our courtship was typically as long as a cat’s pregnancy and Valentine’s Day never fell within that time. I’ve never gotten too keyed up about Valentine’s Day, so it’s not like I’m going to expect f’ing roses and shit. The idea that we have to be any more appreciative on one day over all others is silly to me. What if you’re appreciative of your significant other every day? Do you have a greeting card for that shit? Regardless it’s a holiday and it’s not going anywhere and I’m writing about it because I like excuses to make hipster gift guides.

So if you still wondering what to get your hipster sweetie for V-Day, check out these gift ideas below:

When you don’t know how to say it, say the word “fucking”. Always a good way to let your significant other know that you care. Urban Outfitters $39

And when you still don’t know how to say it, but at least have (more…)

February 10, 2012 by hipstercrite

Fashion/Design

Winter Fashion Staples: How To Look Stylish and Not Like Ralphie From A Christmas Story

It’s that time of year. That time where we Texans contemplate if we miss summer or not. 108 degrees or 40 degrees- which would you take?

Yes, Winter is finally here and I am completely not prepared.

I grew up in a town that has 8 month Winters and because of that and moved far, far away, as quickly as I could. Because of this, I pretend that Winter no longer exists.

Every Winter I think I can get away without a heavy jacket and gloves and every Winter I suffer. Greatly. Or rather the people around me do. They have to listen to my teeth chattering and my exaggerated pleas for survival.

But, this year I’m going to be smart. This week is the first butt-ass cold week of the year and I’m already getting my Winter checklist ready. A checklist that doesn’t involve sweatpants. You know, the one where you can still look stylish and not like a bundled up Ralphie from A Christmas Story.

Check it below.

What are your winter staples?

Sheer Circle Scarf– This is quite possibly the (more…)

December 7, 2011 by hipstercrite

20-Something, Pop Culture

The Hipsterfication of NPR

source

NPR’s “The Hipsterfication of America“.

Dear God.

What happened?

I wanted to write about this last week when the article first came out but my mind was so blown, I had to spend the weekend recuperating.

NPR! I love you, but did you write this back in 2008 and forget to post it until now? Was it a slow news day? Did an 88 year-old man who has been living on a remote island out in the Galapagos write this? Or do you think that your viewership is strictly 88 year-olds, because I have news for you NPR, hipsters listen to you and we’re severely confused by this article.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading this article yet (it’s a short one), NPR decided it was time for America to know about hipsters.

“In case you haven’t noticed, hipsters — and those who cater to them — are everywhere. And that really galls some hipsters,” the author Linton Weeks (sounds like a James Thurber character!) stated. The article goes on to state that hipsterdom is an omnipresent culture- (more…)

November 22, 2011 by hipstercrite

Fashion/Design

How To Stay Stylish in Clothing Melting Heat

While cataclysm of Waterworld-esque proportions keeps happening in other parts of the country, here in Austin, Texas we’ve been as bone dry as two teenagers humping after marching band practice. It’s also been a cool 104 degrees with a steady 90% humidity AT ALL TIMES. These two facts combined together make day-to-day living extremely difficult. Being from New York, my body can’t handle such zenith. Our bodies are predestined to be weak, capable of only handling such weather-related hardship as translucent skin and Eddie Bauer fashion. When my native New Yorker father visited me in Austin this weekend and ran across the molten blacktop barefooted, I saw his feet explode into an awesome ray of light while native Texans idly strolled by. I’m convinced that Texans are part of their own tribe, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and skinning squirrels with their eyesight.

I am three years into living in Texas and I’m still sufficiently stunned when the summer approaches. I cry (more…)

June 23, 2011 by hipstercrite

Fashion/Design

The Rise and Fall of American Apparel

I have a secret to tell you.
I worked off and on at American Apparel for three years.

It’s true.
I was one of them.

I often felt this fact was a tiny mar on my resume and should be excluded from the story of my life. For a long time I simply didn’t tell anyone that I worked for the company. I was kind of embarrassed. I knew what many people thought of the company, but more importantly I knew what people thought that we, the employees, thought about ourselves. Which is that we are all stuck-up, pretentious hipsters who would rather stare at the ceiling and flash side-boob instead of smile at a customer. I mean, I think of ourselves that way sometimes. Having visited a number of American Apparels I can tell you that in some cases that statement is accurate. The company is not known for their customer service training. In fact, there is zero customer training other than looking “hip”. However, if the company is lucky enough to hire employees that already understand that greeting (more…)

May 16, 2011 by hipstercrite