I was recently shopping for some miscellaneous items at my local Target store, and I walked through the ‘clothes’ section to see if there were any ’sweet buys’ that I could find that ‘didn’t look like they were from Target.’ It’s always rewarding to ‘get compliments’ about elements of my wardrobe, since I am a rlly trendy person, and then ’surprise’ people by telling them that I ‘got it for cheap at a relatively mainstream outlet.’ Then I made ‘the ultimate discovery’ that might turn the entire alternative world upside down.
Photo via flickruser
It seems like the display rack in Target looks ‘a whole lot like’ the display racks in American Apparel. Like the products are ‘complete rip offs’ or something. At first I was excited, since I thought I would get a ton of Am-Appy-ish materials ‘on the cheap’ but then I started to wonder if these knock-offs would enable me to achieve the same brand goals. Not sure if I would be able to ‘lie’ to myself, kinda like women who use fake purses. Not sure if the $5-$10 prices would be worth paying if they weren’t officially amAppy.
Can’t believe Target ‘totally ripped off’ Am Appy. Wonder what they are trying 2 do.
I feel like Am Appy owns the ‘design rights’ to this aesthetic, and probs deserve to sue any1 who rips them off. They are responsible for branding this aesthetic as ‘kewl.’
Maybe Target decided to ‘rip off’ the Am Appy clothing aesthetic in order to ‘get back at them for ’stealing their logo aesthetic.’
I did some internet research and found out that Target was founded in 1902. American Apparel was founded in 1989. I feel ‘very surprised’ by that fact, since I have only known about Am Appy for a few years (I first found out about them when they moved into my suburban market mall.) It is interesting that they both have similar logos that rely on ‘the power of Helvetica’ to get across their store’s aesthetic. It seems like Am Appy might have ‘ripped off’ the Target logo by using Helvetty/Arial as their font.
Yall can probably notice the similarities in the store logos.
Seems like most ‘everything’ stores are trying to appeal to alts. Or maybe alternative aesthetics have ‘taken over’, and they are trying to enable the poors to wear solid coloured shirts. Maybe poor people will no longer think that they need ‘branded logos’ + scribbly shit [via Ed Hardy] on their t-shirts to make them look like they are rich/fit-in.
Just don’t know what belongs to who, and what type of ‘intellectual design property’ can really be owned. I feel like the Font Industry and the Music Industry are really similar. I think I expect to utilize fonts for free, much like I expect to listen to music for free. The person who creates a font is looking to ‘go mainstream’ by ‘getting included’ on tons of personal computing machines. This is the same thing that buzzbands need to try to accomplish. Fonts + Music can’t really ‘change the world’ but they can definitely be an under-appreciated element of ur every day life.
Bands need to create files that make it on to as many computers as possible. MP3s, JPGs, MOVs, FLVs, PDFs, EXEs, DMGs, and any other type of file known to man. Buzzbands need to ‘make it’ on to pplz computers.
Having a huge crisis.
Do u think that Target will get sued by Am Appy?
Do u think Am Appy will get sued by Target?
Do u still think Am Appy is a ‘relevant brand’?
Is there a new Alt brand?
Should I be a font designer, or should I start a buzzband?
How does the law decide ‘who owns a font’/font-based logo?
Previous Target Coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/09/is-target-the-most-authentic-everything-store.html
Loading ...
IAmCarles.com
46 Comments
Fonts are first-come first-seve
Reply
//////////Reply by anon
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 4:01 am
carles is falling off again
losing focus on a pie in the sky music career like the dude in that one mexican movie where he did a ranchero version of cheap trick
just play soccer wtf
Reply
Icees at Target with my mom.
Reply
Just a alt-bro scrounging for cash, target is there for me when this happens.
Reply
Am Appy should stick up for their aesthetic ’sue Target’s ass.’
Reply
//////////Reply by nate
//////////Posted October 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 am
@Andrew., Maybe the 1970’s and the 1980’s should sue American Apparel.
Reply
//////////Reply by Andrew.
//////////Posted October 22nd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
@nate, Totally. Especially for Helvetica.
Reply
If American Apparel was going to sue, they should also sue Ikea, Walmart, Freshjive, and Gap. Every mainstream company/business is going for that “minimal” approach now. I would’ve never thought Dov Charney, a simple jew, would’ve changed design aesthetic in America. Im glad he did.
Still love Target even though their biting hard.
Reply
//////////Reply by cobones
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
@Frank, i bet you say ‘targÉt’ huh
Reply
//////////Reply by b4hc
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
@cobones, the famous french store
Reply
//////////Reply by Chris
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
@b4hc,
Like their competition, Jacques Penais
target totes needs to go find their aesthetic of being relevant to poor people who don’t go to walmart cuz it’s trashy
my part time coke dealer works at target, he might be out of a job if am appy sues
Reply
//////////Reply by boards
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
@cantoxiv, does he sell coke part-time? or does he work at target part-time?
Reply
//////////Reply by cantoxiv
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
@boards, both, it’s a tough economy still
Reply
no doubt, cuz, no doubt…
Reply
next thing u know theyll be ripping off “I am Carles” shirts
Reply
//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
@bro,
I already submitted the design to Snorgtees
Reply
//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 9:46 am
@yessum, omg <3 snorg!!!!1
Reply
dis blog is almost as good as tuggin off to suicide girls. however this post is kinda ctrl-alt-del vs. ctrl-mstrm-del
Reply
//////////Reply by paulpaul
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
@prty,
tuggin 2 chicks on LNP is s0 much better tho
more ‘authentic’ 2 have an altbabe strip out of her boyshorts at a partie than it is to have sum chick show me her pierced nips and tramp stamp
Reply
the law appears to be ‘milky’ on this one..
not sure if target can really sue any1, since the EITC(east indian trading company) trademarked various Trail Mix recpes which i see at target all the time now
Reply
//////////Reply by Jessie
//////////Posted October 21st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
@cobones, isn’t the point of abbreviation is to shorten?
Reply
//////////Reply by cobones
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
@Jessie, not sure that i GYP (get yr{your} point)
Reply
target makes it easy for entry-lvlrs to get started. i remember back in the day when i first looked in am appy i felt intimidated cuz my brand wasn’t good enough 2 b in there yet. maybe if target did this when i was a tween i would b a lot more confident about my brand now :-(
Reply
went to target last night cause i got a gift card for being in a wedding, saw all these alt/emo tweens kickin it in the front of store, they gave me a dirty look cause i’m mid twentyish
Reply
also saw some fake AmAppy Hoodies at old navy.
how ironic: dov’s ’sweatshop-free’ designs end up in sweatshops anyways.
Reply
lol that is my hometown target
Reply
//////////Reply by sie
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 2:44 am
@lollerskater, lol dont they all look the same
Reply
any frugal alt knows that you can get real amappy for target prices by using ebay
Reply
1. Walmart has been ripping off AmApp branding for a couple years now. I found it exciting at first. I go there to buy paint.
2. You should support AmApp cuz they put their money where their mouth is, not for their late style. (RIP.) (Yes, a.a. was around before yall’s whole alt vs. mnstrm 80s do-over rlly took off.)
3. a.a. kinda ripped off the muji thing. which was very 90s and you prolly wouldnt get it.
4. Target started targeting hip in the 90s, not alt in the 00s.
and finally, 5.
Isn’t C’s big gripe that things aren’t “real” enough? So celebrate companies that do “real” stuff like a.a. and Wholefoods.
Reply
//////////Reply by dingdong
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
oops..for walmart i should say packaging not branding. with displays exactly like the Target one pic’d here, only even more direct with B/W pictures of girls.
Reply
//////////Reply by chong
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
@dingdong,
nice list
Reply
//////////Reply by gentleman
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 8:14 am
@dingdong, tl;dr
Reply
Sue them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and GAP too!
Reply
//////////Reply by kim jong kill
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 12:54 am
@melissa, sue my rapist father too!
Reply
We should break into a targeee’t, put on all the am appyish clothes, walk outside, start a fire, get naked [via evry1 taking off their fake aa target clothes], toss it into the fire, and watch it burn.
Can some1 bring some booze plz, and can someone tell broaoki so he could deejay the event???? thnx.
Reply
like someone said before, always funny when sweatshop run corporations copy something that was meant (at least initially) to be less crazily profit motivated, and more sweatshop-free.
really, does it make any sense to try to have a personal brand anymore? everything you want to “stand for” that you think you can buy in an ethical store is also now going to be sold to you by corporate people who have caught onto the image.
there’s no escaping the hypocrisy, but what about if you want to escape the branding? is it even possible to do that?
lately i feel like I just want to be branded “human”, not sure if that makes any sense. feeling a bit like i’m having my own crisis. feeling like i should just probably get over myself/my thoughts/whatever
Reply
//////////Reply by chukkie
//////////Posted October 20th, 2009 at 4:48 am
amappy invented ‘nonbrand’ ‘impoorbutnotreally’ deluxe walmart/thrift clothes. the point was they didnt say ‘airpostal’ or ‘ammyeagel’ and were an alternative way to buy clothes + look at titys + dress vaguely retro/innocuous in the mall
maybe buy identical $3 fruit of the loom pocket tees out of a bag so tao lins relations can have some sticky rice balls. asian workers more authentic than mexican workers…?
Reply
ppl should watch the australian “Target” ad’s, very Am appy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVgo9WEUEc amazing
Reply
comment turned into blog post, do i get free merch?
Reply
//////////Reply by louis
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 9:53 am
@ryan, 1 coupon for a free tug from bebe with purchase of sparks/pbr and an iamcarles tee
Reply
did i used to read this blog
Reply
has hipster runoff become one big ad for american ‘appy’ ???
Reply
//////////Reply by HOMOSAPIEN_FUCK
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
@plz, Is this comment a plug for adbustrz?
Reply
//////////Reply by anon
//////////Posted October 18th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
@plz,
2k7.75 called, they want their ‘x’ back
Reply
The fact that Target has to steal ideas to formulate their personal brand, or lack thereof, signifies its non-alt status. Chicks who wear AmAppy are infinitely keuter than chicks wearing rags procured at Targhetto (via the alt aesthetic and Sasha Grey posing for AmAppy ads). Feel like Target, while once branded authentic, is now an inauthentic experience (via plagiarism).
Reply
get off dov’s dick, crls. am appy aint alt.
Reply
your clothes are starting to wear you
Reply
carles,
did you used to write for pitchfork?
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9703-the-sweet-escape/
the evidence is right there in the first paragraph
Reply
all i does is shop at llbean because i like fox tshirts. make me feel smrt & aggrssve like a fox. if i wanted to look like boring i would wear am apprl. it boring. example: no one likes ‘make your own meaning movies’ der ghey.
Reply
am appy was dead when scenesters started wearing it.
Reply
//////////Reply by louis
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 9:57 am
@generk witty cmmnt, scenesters?
r u a mid twentysomething-thirtysomething or something? [via "dated lingo"]
h8 when old ppl try 2 b relevant because they have to try hrdr
Reply
I’ve been wearing solid coloured shirts from Targets since before i knew about am appy. Juss’ sayin’.
Reply
//////////Reply by anony
//////////Posted October 19th, 2009 at 12:04 am
via jer-z’s
Reply
Those socks can’t be American Apparel! They only have two stripes!
Reply
when is that fucking gossip ad gonna gtfo
Reply
its called CAPITALISM bitch
Reply
wow lame duck post, I don’t know what to say to put it out of it’s misery. just wish i never read it. PS the creepy Gossip album ad invades my personal space. make it stop.
Reply
feel like ‘ugly people’ at target are ugly in a ‘different kind of way’ than ugo ppls at walmart. like b ing ‘just unattractive’ as opposed 2 being ‘a fucking mutant’.
Reply
Your post has so many unnecessary quotation marks that it’s nearly impossible to read. You’re making an interesting point but I “can’t stand” reading stuff like that.
Also, y’all has an apostrophe since it’s a shortened version of “you all.”
Reply
//////////Reply by Lunar Sea
//////////Posted October 20th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
@Susan, gtfo
Reply
American Apparel is gonna get sued by the 70’s for ripping of its style.
Reply
this post sucks
Reply
i owned those socks for a year before am app started selling them. i bought them at victorias secret. am app, get off your high horse.
Reply
Too bad you can’t “OWN” the rights to design aesthetics on basics, and that is all American Apparel makes. T-shirts, leggings, and recently some more far fetched “designs”. There is no true design behind american apparel’s clothing, and they charge WAY too much for tube socks ($14.00 for 1 pair) and Underwear (also $14.00 for one pair) that are made out of the SAME jersey that Target uses. I think this was genius of Target, considering we are in a recession. There is nothing on American Apparel’s clothing that would make someone go, “wow, he is one of those cool hipster guys that shops at AA”. So save your money, and buy that same tshirt or underwear at Target for 1/3 of the price.
Reply
i dont think that american apparel can really “own” the right to baseball socks, solid briefs, sweatbands, and things of that nature… the fashion industry, pushed mainly by the cfda (council of fashion designers of america), has been trying to get a law passed in congress that would grant copyright laws to clothing designers for quite some time now to prevent rip offs of another person’s creativity (forever21 has been taken to court many times for copyright but has never been convicted); i’m not sure solid basics would really qualify… american apparel made that design aesthetic hip, but they cannot copyright their items because they did not come up with them or design them, they just took basics to the next level.
Reply
unfortunately (or not), there is no way to protect fonts from stealing or copying right now. so it’s like ‘depending on your conscience’. and helvetica is being used everywhere. should you sue ‘New York City’ for using helvetica for their public transportations?
and what you are concerning in this post is called ‘trend’. so am appy became officially not-alt.
Reply
Walmart has done the same thing . See their seed SUPPLY CO. packaging:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lespaceplie/3408682073/
Reply
took them long enough
Reply
Am Appy sue Target??? That’s just crazee! The 1970s should sue AmAppy for the tube socks and other 70s style gym wear. Then the 1980s could sue AmAppy for most of their women’s wear line. Get real Carles!
Reply
Rip Off -Schmip Off
I want some cheap thigh high socks.
Reply