ShamWow!

Low budget, As Seen on TV commercials can be very entertaining, especially when you have a pitchman such as this guy:

Vince "you know the Germans always make good stuff" Offer

Shlomi, 44, was arrested last month on a felony battery charge following a violent confrontation with a prostitute in his South Beach hotel room. According to an arrest affidavit, Shlomi met Sasha Harris, 26, at a Miami Beach nightclub on February 7 and subsequently retired with her to his $750 room at the lavish Setai hotel. Shlomi told cops he paid Harris about $1000 in cash after she "propositioned him for straight sex." Shlomi said that when he kissed Harris, she suddenly "bit his tongue and would not let go." Shlomi then punched Harris several times until she released his tongue.

News is a few weeks old, but you can read the rest here.



Source: Smoking Gun

Branded: GAP

I don't think I've bought anything from the GAP in years because I usually shop, um, elsewhere. But I was there recently with a few friends. Nothing really caught my eye, with the exception of the bold, black store fonts they've used which bluntly resembled a competitor's. The fabric of their basic tees felt like paper, and the designs looked very tired. Nothing new, nothing different.

I can see myself shopping at the GAP for nostalgic reasons. I couldn't afford it growing up. I felt that people who made a decent living bought their basics and office clothes there. And when I could finally afford decent clothes, shopping at the GAP gave me a sense of accomplishment--I could finally afford it! Yay! Fast forward several years later, and newer companies selling the same items at competitive prices or offering a different twist on things, I still wonder about the GAP sometimes. The whole store environment looks almost uninspired...much like their stock prices.

It's hard though. If you're a designer for a very very large company, there are many factors to consider: cost, an unpredictable market, competition, red tape, etc...And many times, the designs get whittled down after taking these things into consideration and it can be frustrating, especially if the product doesn't sell well.

But then again, you see some of their competitors faring well if not better, offering similar things.

One thing I liked a couple or so years ago, around early '07, was this bold blue polka dot dress. I LOVED it. It was a bit Boden-ish. I rushed to the store in downtown to try to get one even though everyone and their mother owned one, but they were sold out. No biggie.



What I like about GAP is that they support some good causes, and every once in a while, they design things that are actually quite nice and new. What I don't like about it is that despite the fact that most of their clothing is imported and doesn't always feel "quality", they're still priced rather high. I say "high" considering that a brand such as American Apparel is able to sell their clothes at almost similar prices, yet their goods are made in the USA. So I take these things into consideration when I buy brand new stuff: should I purchase a 20 dollar imported shirt or a 20 dollar made in the USA shirt of the same design?

Brands under GAP Inc: Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, Athleta

Recent News:
3 Gap Insiders Sell 2.25M Co Shrs >GPS
Gap Adds Athleta to Site
Gap employees celebrate Earth Week

Some competitors:
American Apparel
American Eagle
Abercrombie & Fitch
Aeropostale
Target
J. Crew
H&M
Zara

Whine and Neuroses Wednesdays: Introductions and Whatnot

As a designer, there are times when I think, "I'm such a lucky girl! I get to design pretty things and see people enjoy them! And I get paid well to do it!" And there are times when I think, "Holy Crap! My job sucks! The products I design end up in land fills and are probably made by people who make less 60 cents an hour! I want to jump off a cliff now!"

I've been in this industry for the past 10 years. I still think about these things 'til this day and they do keep me awake at night. There are times when I feel a lot of pride with what I do. And there are times when I want to crawl under a rock. I am constantly torn. I hate the excuse that I am but a person who needs to eat and pay for her mortgage and it's easy to bury the grime in the dark recesses of my head. I find it disturbing that I'm able to do so, and oftentimes I think, at what cost?

I'm not out on a vendetta on the design, retail and manufacturing industry. In fact, many of the most creative, innovative, kindest and most generous people I've met have been at work: from the cleaning lady who comes late at night to take my trash and praise my drawings to my bosses who have vouched for me or fought for me to get a decent wage. But for the purpose of what? So I can continue to design mass produced things that people don't really need? I guess so. It sounds self-serving. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't, and I've just been looking at the same picture way too long. But at the end of the day, I want to feel great about what I do, and I want others to feel the same way.

I've been told that the things I design helps "mold a culture". And my first reaction to that was, well, that's a cheap, plastic, lead laced, white-washed culture if I ever saw one--our culture is shaped by the likes of Walmart and Kohls? Nice. Then I thought about it again. There's a lot of truth to it. So what if if our culture is embellished with cheap, plastic, lead laced goods manufactured in places far far away? Made in America handcrafted footwear? Toys? Electronics? Not in a mass level, no. You'd probably have better luck finding unicorns and leprechauns. We've got Target and Pottery Barn, Disney, K-Mart and Toys R' Us in this here parts. This is a BIG chunk of our culture, of who we are, and I'M a part of it. Cheap, plastic, lead-laced and imported from far far away, made by 60-cent an hour hands.

The purpose of this blog is to illustrate how I feel. 10 years holds a lot of baggage and memories. I don't want to pretend that I always love what I do, nor do I want to paint a pretty picture of something I feel is homely at best if you remove all the pomp and frill. I won't deny this though: the design, retail/manufacturing industry is a very interesting, dizzying, oftentimes amusing and emotional study. And I'll just leave it at that.