American Apparel - WTF is this junk?

[Don Vito Corleone]

I recently got a couple of shirt.woot.coms, and they are printed on American Apparel blank t-shirts. These things really suck - they feel like they're on backwards, and are generally the worst-fitting t-shirts I have ever paid for. Why they use these things instead of Beefy Ts or FOTL Lofteez is beyond me.

My GF and I went into an American Apparel store a few weeks ago, and it's just surreal. It's an entire store selling nothing but bottom-of-the-barrel-quality junk with an '80s aesthetic. I guess if you are dressing up as Pat Benatar or the lead singer from Loverboy for Halloween, it has its place, but I totally fail to understand why anyone else would buy this crap. It's not terribly expensive, but it seems overpriced to me considering the horrible quality - their stuff is the clothing equivalent of those made-in-China football phones they used to give away with a Sports Illustrated subscription. Their clothes make the Gap look like Prada or Hermes.

Whose bright idea was this store, and how the hell do they stay in business?

 

[IronWing]

But it's made in the USA!

 

[torpid]

Threadless uses american apparel and their shirts are sturdy and comfy.

 

[iamwiz82]

I think that their shirts are pretty good quality, especially for $10 shipped. Do you have issue with it being a fitted T?

 

[ultimatebob]

You need to buy one size bigger with American Apparel T-Shirts, or you're going to be sorry!

 

[evident]

you = fail. american apparel shirts are great quality and they fit perfectly for medium size at least

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: evident
you = fail. american apparel shirts are great quality and they fit perfectly for medium size at least

Negative. They are thin, crappy cotton, they are stitched on the sides unlike any decent t-shirt (any good t is woven on a barrel to avoid seams), and they don't seem to be fitted in the shoulders at all, so, as I said, they feel like they're on backwards to me.

I did buy a larger size in the AA shirt - my issue isn't that they're too small, just that they're of awful quality. I defy anyone to compare an AA and a Fruit of the Loom Lofteez or Hanes Beefy-T and favor the AA. You can buy blank Lofteez for $3-4 online, even cheaper than AA, so I don't understand why anyone would wear these pieces of crap. I still have Lofteez I bought when I was in OTS in 1999 - they've been worn and washed hundreds of times and they are still comfortable and look good.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: evident
you = fail. american apparel shirts are great quality and they fit perfectly for medium size at least

Negative. They are thin, crappy cotton, they are stitched on the sides unlike any decent t-shirt (any good t is woven on a barrel to avoid seams), and they don't seem to be fitted in the shoulders at all, so, as I said, they feel like they're on backwards to me.

I did buy a larger size in the AA shirt - my issue isn't that they're too small, just that they're of awful quality. I defy anyone to compare an AA and a Fruit of the Loom Lofteez or Hanes Beefy-T and favor the AA. You can buy blank Lofteez for $3-4 online, even cheaper than AA, so I don't understand why anyone would wear these pieces of crap. I still have Lofteez I bought when I was in OTS in 1999 - they've been worn and washed hundreds of times and they are still comfortable and look good.

Don't know about Lofteez, but Beefy-Ts are the worst. I've had some for less than a year that have just gone to utter shit in the wash.

 

[loup garou]

I'll agree that their stores/brand are needlessly trendy and overpriced, but every printed shirt I have on AA kills a Beefy T in fit, quality and comfort.

 

[Aharami]

i got two shirts from shirt.woot. although they fit ok, they are a bit too long. I gotta tailor them before I can wear em

 

[Queasy]

We sell some American Apparel stuff. I like them alright but they can't beat Gildan and Hanes when it comes to tees IMHO.

 

[Epic22]

Life by Jockey FTW

 

[Ns1]

I have like 7 shirts printed on AA shirts, and they are so much more softer/comfortable than hanes/similar tshirts. definitely a higher quality - I've had these shirts for years w/o any problems

 

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
I recently got a couple of shirt.woot.coms, and they are printed on American Apparel blank t-shirts. These things really suck - they feel like they're on backwards, and are generally the worst-fitting t-shirts I have ever paid for. Why they use these things instead of Beefy Ts or FOTL Lofteez is beyond me.

My GF and I went into an American Apparel store a few weeks ago, and it's just surreal. It's an entire store selling nothing but bottom-of-the-barrel-quality junk with an '80s aesthetic. I guess if you are dressing up as Pat Benatar or the lead singer from Loverboy for Halloween, it has its place, but I totally fail to understand why anyone else would buy this crap. It's not terribly expensive, but it seems overpriced to me considering the horrible quality - their stuff is the clothing equivalent of those made-in-China football phones they used to give away with a Sports Illustrated subscription. Their clothes make the Gap look like Prada or Hermes.

Whose bright idea was this store, and how the hell do they stay in business?

The rest of us here know our faces from our backsides and so actually put the shirts on the right way forward to begin with.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: loup garou
I'll agree that their stores/brand are needlessly trendy and overpriced, but every printed shirt I have on AA kills a Beefy T in fit, quality and comfort.

yep

 

[meltdown75]

bitching about t-shirts eh... life is swell

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

The rest of us here know our faces from our backsides and so actually put the shirts on the right way forward to begin with.

As do I. Too bad the shlubs at American Apparel don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

I am honestly dumbfounded that people are sticking up for the quality of these things. It just seems bizarre to me, when they are SO crappy. To each his own I guess, but it doesn't seem like a subjective thing to me - these are, empirically, cheaply made, flimsy, ill-fitting shirts.

 

[Throckmorton]

I have an American Apparel t-shirt and it's great. 100% cotton, and soft. A lot of brands you see stuff printed on are 50% polyester and crap like that.

The main reason to buy their clothes is not that it's made in America, but that it's sweatshop free.

 

[Platypus]

I have 3 AA shirts, all of them are comfortable and high quality

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

The rest of us here know our faces from our backsides and so actually put the shirts on the right way forward to begin with.

As do I. Too bad the shlubs at American Apparel don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

I am honestly dumbfounded that people are sticking up for the quality of these things. It just seems bizarre to me, when they are SO crappy. To each his own I guess, but it doesn't seem like a subjective thing to me - these are, empirically, cheaply made, flimsy, ill-fitting shirts.

maybe you are too ill fitting for the shirt?

 

[pulse8]

I like my American Apparel shirts a lot more than I do the Hanes kind that Threadless sends out.

 

[alien42]

its all about the marketing

 

[Mrvile]

I love AA shirts...they are fitted so they're going to be a bit tighter (I don't need to swim around in my clothing) and you sort of need the right kind of body for the shirts to fit right. But they are so comfy and just get comfier the more they are worn...hooray for shirt.woot for selling AA shirts for $10 shipped - steal!

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: alien42
its all about the marketing

QFT. I still don't get why it's such a big hit. All it is is a bunch of plain, overpriced, solid-colored clothing. It sounds like they're comfortable, but still.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: alien42
its all about the marketing

QFT. I still don't get why it's such a big hit. All it is is a bunch of plain, overpriced, solid-colored clothing. It sounds like they're comfortable, but still.

I would never buy AA clothing from their store/site; but shit that's printed on AA shirts is awesome