So initially this was going to be a Midwest fashion rant. You know, the kind of critique that labels an area due to their unyielding love of specific things---namely things that are painfully boring and out of date. However, a recent dinner outing with a dear friend who has lived in said Midwest in both the large city and semi-rural capacity swayed me otherwise. Apparently another fashionista friend of hers made a blanket reference about the region, pointing fingers at a predisposition to khakis and Polos. Generally, I agree with this statement, however, my rant was going to be more about brand names and the MW's unwavering support of labels like Abercrombie and Fitch as well as American Eagle but upon further review I began to think about labels in general and the regions that eat up their branding like drunkards eat late night cart food.
You see, I despise Abercrombie and Fitch's cookie-cutter "all-American-slut" corduroy butt-crack showing pants with shirts proclaiming "A&F" and American Eagle's mini-skirt and Henley garbage but I am equally appalled by Louis Vouitton print purses and the asses of boot cut velour sweatpants that are bejeweled with a slender kitty and the words "Baby Phat."
What is it about the American culture that lends to a love of paying to be advertising for a clothing company? Why is it not good enough for the name to rest happily upon the satin of a label resting comfortably against our back on the inside of a shirt collar or waistline of a pant? Why must we make ourselves into billboards?
The East Coast has its hipsters with their Cheap Monday jeans and their countless designer glitzed super tight tees, the West Coast has its starlets with their Chanel earrings and aforementioned purses and the Midwest has a lot of kind people with a painful love of A's (A&F, A&E).
So it seems that the midwest isn't alone---everyone is to blame in the billboard beauty pageant!
