Most people don't realize
that when they put on their clothes in the morning they become a
walking advertisement. It's the easiest way for a company to promote
their brand. People buy their clothes and have the companies
trademark brand symbol on their body. The brand of clothing you wear
allows people to have a prejudice about you. I feel like being a
walking billboard for companies is a bad look. In the end, you are
paying for the right to give their company free advertising.
For instance, say you
wear a Nike shirt; some individuals may know about their child labor
force overseas and think less of you as a person. Others view it as
this person can buy high class athletic apparel. This works with
stores like Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister. A & F and
Hollister are made to give people a preppy look. When people view
these brands, they instantly think of someone with a lot of
disposable income or being trendy. I believe that there are some
types of clothing that change how you are feel once you put it on. I
feel like these different brands try to portray different messages.
It's outrageous to go to one of these higher classed retail stores
and buy a shirt for $80 dollars. I think it is not a good look to
have the store name plastered across your chest. It would be like
buying a mattress from Bed Bath & Beyond and the sheets included
that have the letters “BB&B” right across the middle of them.
I'm not trying to advise people not to shop at these retail stores,
but when you do shop there do it in moderation. I don't know if
people feel pressured to buy clothes at these places or just like the
way it looks. I'd rather have companies work to get their clients,
not let people become influenced by a skin tight shirt with the
embroidered letters A & F.
The reason that most
companies aim towards adolescences for their target market is their
purchasing power and the domino effect that it will cause. The
adolescent is developing from a child to an adult and try to re-brand
themselves. The re-branding begins with this groups decreased buying
at wholesale stores and increased buying habits of provocative
clothing from these higher classed retail stores. It's somewhat
humorous to see all the free advertising that companies get. The
college campus is one of the best places to look because you have
people with their obscure band t-shirts, the athletic apparel, the
preppy apparel, and many other type of apparel that I can't really
describe too accurately.
I kind of disagree with your statement that certain clothing types change how you feel once you put it on. I normally shop cheap - like clearance racks at Kohls and Wet Seal cheap. I do own some clothing from Hollister, which were given to me as gifts. When I wear these clothes I don't feel any more "trendy" or "preppy" than when I wear Walmart brand clothes. I think it is all in how you see yourself and your sense of individuality.
ReplyDeleteI think you've toughed upon a lot of good issues here; however, your argument is not focused because you do not address one in particular and stick with it. First, you addressed branding as a form of walking advertisement, then you went into child labor forces overseas (I'm not sure how you go there), than you went into the expense of brand name clothes, then you talked about pressure to buy brand-name clothes, then attacked the "preppy" style. Some of these issues have little to no relation to one another; for example, stereotypical "preppy" clothes are polos, which don't bear a brand name typically. Also, shirts that say "Nike" on them are often sold in Walmart, which never prices anything at $80. I think you could improve your argument by doing some research on any one of these issues (just ONE at a time) and arguing it without an anti-majority undertone.
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