I don’t want a red leather jacket (a miracle!) but when I saw pictures of the Zac Posen for Target stuff, I thought the jacket might be worth looking at.
The only reason I became interested is the name Zac Posen, which connotes luxury. I know for certain that if this same jacket was by Guess or Free People I wouldn’t give it a moment of consideration.
Not only am I a brand whore, evidently, but I also have irrational biases against certain brands. If I saw the cutest shoes in the entire world but they were by Jessica Simpson, there’s no fucking way I’d buy them. Same for shoes by Coach. Coach shoes just kill me. Their logo just seems tragic somehow.
It’s not because the brands are cheap, either. I couldn’t buy anything by Haute Hippie, and that shit is really expensive. I wouldn’t buy jeans by Current-Elliot or True Religiion, and I don’t even know why! I just resent those brands.
Shopping is full of weird subliminal triggers. For me, it can be the sound of the name or the look of an ad that puts me off a whole brand, permanently.
Do you have an irrational brand bias? Or are you above this kind of shit?
Ed Hardy. I’d rather go naked than wear anything by that brand, unless it was inside out and dipped in a bucket of black dye to obiliterate the vile ‘tattoo-inspired’ drawings on their t-shirts. I have plenty of vitriol to waste on this brand, people in my country seem to have swallowed it wholesale just because the idiots who pass for “movie stars” seem to like wearing this rubbish.
My other (bigger) brand bias is something you may not be familiar with because it retails mainly in India- it’s a line called fabindia. Lots of homespun/”ethnic”-looking, badly fitting stuff that is allowed not to be colour-fast because it’s made that way. I have friends who love that shit, but to me it’s clothing that, if ever seen on me, will tell me nothing but that I have given up and decided to be a fat slob for life. I don’t care how ‘ethically’ it’s made, it’s overpriced and ugly and (this is a bit of a factor in my dislike) beloved of Indian armchair liberals.
Dru – UGH, how could I forget Ed Hardy! Ed Hardy= desperate.
Dearest Lady Joanne,
Would you please write a future article on the ‘pigeon-toed stance’ adopted by our model above, demure Japanese schoolgirls, and any young woman feigning vulnerability. This a powerful and ubiquitous trope that I see constantly on the streets of America. It seems to have a direct relationship with high-heeled shoes, as well. One rarely sees a young lady posturing in this way while wearing ‘flats’. Is this an intentionally direct trigger to subliminally coerce men into a ‘I must protect this poor little thing from harm’ reaction ? I am sincerely curious about this, and my request is in earnest.
Sardonique: you might be right about it having something to do with high heels- for people like me, who aren’t heel ninjas, standing with one or both feet curved inwards while wearing heels sort of reinforces, well, something and makes me feel less likely to topple over with a nudge. Or I could just be doing it because it makes my legs look slightly thinner.
Sardonique – I think it’s subliminal on the part of the women – she wants to make it clear that while she’s wearing shoes associated with an aggressive hooker, she’s in fact a shy, delightfully awkward girlie girl.
I thought this brand bias you speak of was an absolute given!
Post-2000s brands choosing phrases that seek to slouch toward a pseudo-philosophical Bethlehem appeal only to the tragically daft; True Religion, Society for Rational Dress, Opening Ceremony, and Daughters by Obedient Sons. The t-shirt brand Sophomore is the worst (but Gnarlitude Jen wants to give its rad stick a coerced handjob).
More peculiarly the connotative quality of certain established designer names engenders visceral, vulgar word associations in my mind, usually a play on the sound of the name combined with characteristics of its followers or main creator:
Lanvin= “lazy vagina,” Elbaz’s corpusculence, trite francophile kitsch like macaroons
Chanel= sounds like “diarrhea” but this works in its favor, like an aristocrat with a propensity for scatological humor
Margiela= intellectualized margarine
Tibi, Milly, Marni= spoiled dairy products and even more spoilt children
Rodarte= an as-of-yet undiscovered mental illness that involves binge eating, mild autism, and having to repeat the last word of what anybody says to you like in the tale of Echo and Narcissus.
Dru – Are you Indian/living in India? I ask only because I haven’t met ANYONE who doesn’t like FabIndia. I don’t get it. Overrated, insipid, and overpriced (for something so colour fast and badly fitted). And it is not even ethical.
True Religion & Ed Hardy. And that girl’s pose makes me want to kick her ass. Badly. I’m not even a violent person in general, but she looks like a twat.
Coach, Jessica Simpson puke on my shoes and anything else that might sport their name/logo. I wouldn’t wear either of them if THEY paid me to wear them. As far as others well lets see….. there’s Tommy Hilfiger, Lucky, Dooney Bourke, and any other line that thinks they can charge out landish prices for something that bears their name. Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray, Fuck you too!
I am totally the same way as you on this, re: brands. I wouldn’t even wear Zac Posen, even if his higher end brand was given to me for free! That’s because he treated someone I know terribly, which showed me that he is not a nice person. I totally feel that way also about Jessica Simpson’s stuff- would never even look at her shoe line because she just personifies cheap ditziness. And wearing Ed Hardy- eeewww. I just don’t get why anyone would look at that crap, let alone buy it. On the other hand- if I hear Comme des Garcons or Ann Demeulemeester- I automatically think it has to be good. Now I ask myself when I’m out or online shopping- would I buy this or want this if it didn’t have the _________ label on it? or do I want it because it’s by __________?
Oh, and the pigeon toed stance- you must analyze that! I think it’s supposed to give the poser (or poseur, in many cases) a kind of shy, innocent, not trying too hard look. Started with actresses, moved on to models and now everyone who is photographed by every street photographer is adopting it. Maybe I should do my sociological doctoral thesis on it. Hmmm…
Dooney & Bourke how dare I misspell such a prestigious brand.
i hate f’ing ESPRIT, this shit is only worn by people who suck (but they think they are wearing “designer”. muhahaha).
ed hardy and jessica simpson shoes are obviously disgusting. and i don’t get hipster label obesity and speed.
i hate seven for all mankind jeans, and stupid mink pink (only for its name).
So true, seriously its so true!! Ed Hardy, Juicy couture, guess, coach all have the fabulous quality of making me rant at inanimate objects. Kate: Margiela= intellectualized margarine is possibly the funniest thing I have ever heard!
Kate’s word association-hilarious!
St. John reminds me of old people, sorry Angelina.
Anything Tod’s- ugh.
I am especially too snobby for cheap shoes. I wouldn’t step foot in a Payless.
Everybody should wear only one brand – dusturbance.
Juicy and Pink…
I refused to stand up in a wedding because the bride had chosen Jessica Simpson shoes, clutches & fake expensions for our hair. It was almost as dreadful as my friend who surprised us with ocean print dresses the day before the wedding. And 3/4 of the bridesmaids weighed over 250. (insert or a joke here.). Welcome to the Midwest.
I will not wear nor allow my frends to wear Ed Hardy or anything with a logo on it unless it’s their own company. Also- any label that is popular with the gangster life – around here it’s Chanel, Prada & Louis Viutton.
That was – (insert orca joke here) but my iPhone had other ideas. Sorry!
Count me in on the anti-Jessica Simpson bias. I almost feel dirty when I pick up a shoe I like and then see her name bagon the inside.
Ed Hardy too. And Juicy Couture. I shudder when I find myself liking one of their pieces.
Coach bags are so ridiculous and they continue to slide down the Tacky Trail. I saw some at Macy’s yesterday with a sad little c logo that looked like a $10 bag you’d find at KMart. (Nothing wrong with $10 Kmart bags, but why spend $300 for one??)
Juicy Couture (hardly couture), Ugg, Crocs, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, any jeans over $100 (I’m a Levi’s woman)…I almost put girl, but that’s hardly true…Guess, Paul Mitchell products because of his sleazy incestuous looking ads. I used to think that if I ever won the lottery, all I would wear is Chado Ralph Rucci, but after seeing him on Kell on Earth, he appears to be a total self absorbed dick.
I have too many brand issues to list. But Lanvin=lazy vagina is my favorite word association ever!
Coach…. my problem is this. Their current hideous tacky logotastic purses are about my least favorite hand bag ever made. They are ghastly. . . . their shoes too..
BUT I curate their older purses. The gloved leather ones with no lining, no designs just thick amazing leather that gets better the more you abuse it and throw it around. And coach will fix it for ever. You just send it off and they send it back fixed. Those are the best purses you can buy. The modern logo ones are ass.
First, model’s legs in the “cute ” red socks with these shoes and the pigeon-toed stance – sorry, have to go and puke. Second – Juicy Couture, Tommy H., Coach, Louis Vuitton, Talbot, a Canadian brand called Pink Tartan, anything with a visible logo or with some celebrity name on it, “artistically” damaged clothing (i.e. ripped jeans), the list goes on. Brands with ridiculously “sophisticated/cool” names. Just watched “September Edition” – couldn’t stop laughing at Andre Talley playing (?) tennis with a ginormous Louis Vuitton towel around his neck; his excited little girl’s squeals over antique jewelry would make a nice ring tone.
True Religion: STOP IT! They are such fucking disgusting jeans, with their gaudy stitching and outdated fits. Fuck them and whomever the fuck wears them–at this point, it’s mostly urban teenagers and suburban moms, but they still fucking annoy the shit out of me. I could imagine someone like Harrison Ford wearing a pair with an Ed Hardy T-shirt. Or Jay Leno. I’m making myself sick here! When I see gangstas with a pairs of True Religions down to their knees, I just want to puke. Seriously. And those sickening suburban moms getting out of their Range Rovers in True Religion jeans? They’re lucky I haven’t killed them. True Religion jeans are offensive on so many fucking levels. I refuse to shop anywhere they are sold. I’m going to have to wait ten or twenty years before I step foot in a mall again. Oh, and I failed to mention how disgusting the buttons on True Religion jeans are. They’re fucking disgusting.
I am so embarrassed that I own and am currently wearing a pair of True Religions. Okay, have mercy on me, I’ll explain. I bought them in 2003 (before every poptard and surburban mother was rocking them). I had just returned from London and none of the other popular-with-stupid-people jeans fit my butt (nor did I want to run with that crowd). So I’m at Neiman’s and here’s this unknown brand that fits my derriere and won’t cause me to be the tragic victim of muffin top. So, I bought them (I was quickly running out of options). And yes they’re still comfortable, still cozy, like sweatpants, useful for babysitting but not at all for public use. My sisters and I do refer to them as the Original Gangster Muffin Top Jeans. Because while I don’t really prefer them, I thank the owners for making the waist band big enough so you don’t have to look at gratuitous flesh spilling over top.
Brands I hate just because of the masses: Juicy Couture, Pink, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, True Religion, Uggs (though they’re so painfully unhip now, the part of me that knows they’re comfortable keeps trying to convince the rational side of me to buy a pair), Seven, Citizens of Humanity, Coach (even my mother says ‘what happened to that brand?’) I’m sure I can think of many more if you get me going. I guess once I see someone who’s really stupid rocking a certain brand, it just ruins it for me (be it a celebrity or just an idiot on the street). I bet Hermes pooped themselves when Heidi Montag came stepping out with a Birkin. “That’s one thing I’ll never need to buy, now”, I thought.
So yeah, I guess I’m a brand snob too. But having said that, I counter balance it by doing lots of Salvation Army shopping and making some nicely selected Target and Payless purchases. Some of the things I get complimented on the most come from those places.
Actually, Zac Posen sends me in the opposite direction because I find that his work is so over-designed. But I also cannot abide, like so many other commenters, Juicy, Kate, Tory, Burberry quilted jackets, Steve Madden, and the maker of those dreadful quilted bags, Vera Bradley.
I am a total snob, and I have no right to be.
I agree with you on the Jessica Simpson thing, and others mentioned here.
The way I see it is, I don’t have the the extra money to spare when it comes to clothes an shoes, so I have to make what I buy count. I would rather be patient and wait for %75 off, and take my chances when the things I really want go on sale. sometimes I miss out, but I usually get good stuff, at a relatively reasonable price.
Chain lines and obvious knockoffs are of no interest to me, as are wannabe designers.
Hilarious! I have a problem with Uniqlo. Because I remember them when their main source of revenue came from ill-fitting fleeces. Suddenly they decided go all fashiony, using downtown hipsters in their campaigns, styled by people from Dazed & Confused and selling things like skinny jeans and then *horror* collaborating with Jil Sander. I just can’t accept they’ve moved on!
Stuti- dunno if you’ll check back here, but yes, I am from India. Fabindia does nothing for me on any level since I’m ideologically opposed to shiteous clothes no matter how much involvement village artisans have in their making (they supposedly do, which was what made me conflate it with “ethical”clothing).
Other brands I’m ideologically opposed to: Abercrombie and Fitch (WTF, logos on crap clothes. And great God their CEO is creepier/more deluded than Dov Charney) and Guess (literally everything they sell by way of clothing is trashy to the max).
Oh yes, Ed Hardy totally. So nasty. And Skechers also. Just ugly.
Fuck, I’m too poor to even fucking care about labels. Is it as inexpensive as possible, does it fit, does it look half decent, and is it cotton, (if I had any money I would want my clothing to be organic, no child/slave labor, blah, blah, ad nauseem). AND NO FUCKING LABELS! I should be paid to advertise for someone else, and not pay to wear their fucking name. I have my own identities. Thank you very much!
Most of my brand biases–and not just in clothing–come from experiences or bad ad campaigns. I’d never buy Dolce and Gabbana–even if I could afford it–because so many of their ads look like scenes from a gang rape. I’d never buy Diesel because of their horrifying “Be Stupid” ad campaigns. I don’t like buying things that say “Made in China” on them because I don’t like that the U.S. supports some communist governments while putting trade embargoes on others for spurious reasons.
But then, good luck finding things in my starving artist’s price range that don’t say “Made in China.”
re: Current/Eliot. I had some money and was dying to spend and it was late at night and I couldn’t sleep. I bought a pair of jeans on Shopbop– overnight delivery, free returns, and I only wanted to SEE them…. Anyway, they arrived and they’re my favorite fucking jeans ever. I swear to god, the denim is almost silk-like. The faded bits, whiskering etc, are perfect. I’m telling you– PERFECT. They do not look like any of those bullshit brands. Their heavily distressed jeans with the holes in them are, of course, disgusting, but I highly recommend all of the others. (I bought the “skinny” in “worn”– FYI).
Now, enough of that. The brands I loathe:
Juicy Couture (simply disgusting, but Bristol Palin was nail in the coffin)
camilla skovgaard (Yo Raisin Girl! $600 shoes that are Made in China!)
Acne (used to love, but have grown to loathe their anemic anti-glamor schtick, also think recent collections are extremely poorly constructed. over-priced and made in china)
APC (…same reasons as Acne– see above)
Alexander Wang (I fucking hate his aesthetic. HATE IT. How can you become so successful with a fucking athletic tank top? It’s the collapse of taste, reason and glamor. ONLY IN AMERICA).
Marc Jacobs (I have never, ever understood…)
Kate Spade (twee, cheap, inspires images of valium and key parties)
BRANDS I LOVE:
Henrik Vibskov (only the knitwear tho’)
Limi Feu (so feminine but not)
Agnes B (brand loyalty– reason too boring to explain)
Paul Smith (brand loyalty, again)
Joseph (irrational brand loyalty)
Paul Smith (irrational brand loyalty)
Golden Goose (I know it’s gross that they sell really expensive shit that’s deliberately made to look worn and dirty, but have you ever tried on one of their cotton shirts? Sublime! Really high quality shit. I’m a believer)
Prada and Lanvin, duh.
Rollergirl I have the same beef with Uniqlo. When I lived in London the store was one big giant yuck. I still walk in there in disbelief that this was the store that once sold ugly looking scratchy cheap sweaters. It was like the Japanese version of Old Navy for some time. And then like Old Navy, it upped the ante (Old Navy has great seasons and awful seasons).
I would die before I carried a Dooney & Bourke bag. Someone actually gave me a coin purse last Christmas. I use it to hold jewelry when I’m traveling. Only the mirror in the hotel bathroom sees it. No matter how awesome Louis Vuitton bags are, I refuse to own one now because of the levels of complete tackiness the designers have achieved. YUCK.
Anything Juicy Couture…after I saw THOSE clothes, I never wanted to buy any label with “Couture” again, since I concluded that they meant just the opposite. Fancy pants with “Juicy” on the ass? Pass.
Even though I sometimes am in the mood to dress like a “preppy” girl, I have violent reactions to anything pink and green, Lily Pulitzer, and Vineyard Vines. I was on the DC Metro a month or two ago, and the guy across from me was wearing a VV woven shirt with FREAKING LOBSTERS embroidered all over it. He was also wearing sandals in February. I had the most irrational urge to beat him up, but I firmly kept my face aimed toward the window and bit my tongue so hard that it bled. LOBSTERS.
I agree with Jill re: expensive jeans. I just don’t get it. Anything over $50, honestly, makes my blood boil. I would never spend that much money on jeans.
And although I like Victoria’s Secret panties, bras (of course from the semi-annual sale), and perfume, I will never wear the clothes. For some reason it’s just embarrassing to admit that my clothes are from VS. And of course nothing from that hideously Juicy-influenced Pink line.
Anything Sea or Rumi fawn over automatically becomes hideous to me. Sometimes a few items of Sea’s escape this, though.
I am broke, so I don’t know why I am such a snob. But if someone gave me gifts from the designers/stores I mentioned above, I’d always find a use for it. I have VS bags for my electronics, pants with a star on the ass for pajamas (worn with a looong t-shirt)
Ahahaha… lobsters.
Totally above that shit…. Psych!!!
I buy shoes that are overpriced because of the stupid overrated red sole sometimes. Often really.
I guess at least I realize that I’m a fashion victim.
…or does that make it worse??
xox
I really want to see Rosewolf’s Prada gangsters fight The Raisin Girl’s D&G Gang Rape advert gangsters. Everyone knows Prada-wearers would win, cause we’re snobby like that.
Brands are like wine. You know what is a good wine? One you like. ‘Nuf said.
I’d never be able to afford anything by Juicy Couture, but even if I could, I’d wouldn’t spend my money there. I mean, look at the name- Juicy Couture! It triggers my gag reflex. Their ads are lovely though, because Tim Walker shoots them (and I love his work).
I second annemarie on the Henrik Vibskov love, partly because I know he used to charge two packets of cigarettes as the entry price for his shows (you could either pay 20 Euros or give them cigarettes) and I love that.
Also, Limi Feu. I love her dad’s clothes and have since hitting puberty, but I love hers more. It’s what I’d want to wear if I had money to burn and was cool.
The ultimate case of irrational love though, is what I feel for Tokyo Bopper shoes. Colourful hiking boots, for heaven’s sake, but I love them to bits and admit that it is partly because of the fact that the shop staff have a blog on which they model the merch. It’s obvious product promotion, but they do seem to really love it all.
Oh, and a “brand” (not in the traditional sense, but he considers himself one) that I’ve come to really detest? The Sartorialist. Not because he’s rumoured to be a pompous ass- lots of great artists etc were shitty people- but because his photographs, over the last few months, mostly suck and they shouldn’t if he is the fashion world’s pet paparazzo.
I tend to avoid anything with an emblazoned logo or highly identifiable stitch patterns. Yup.
How did I forget Juicy, Kate Spade and Victoria’s Secret?!?!?!?! Am I insane?!? Also, Rumi and Sea ruin brands for me, too. Sea and Gnarlitude have managed to completely destroy Ann D – the very idea of Ann D now sickens me, thanks to those two.
I’m stuck at the in-laws and have no taste based on losing the will to live. I am a brand snob/whore and run various hate lists which I revise on a daily basis – Burberry are always top of the list even when I like their clothes based on their UK factory closures. Hated Chanel when Lily Allen was muse/bag whore. Hate Mulberry and the new Alexa bag. Can’t stand Tamara Mellon so usually include Jimmy Choo but am wavering on this currently as I like a pair of shoes. I like most/all Italian brands as the range from elegance to euro trash amuses me. Can someone please stop the abomination that is Erin Wasson.
Reluctant to say this as she is a well kept secret where I live but I pounce on and snatch anything bearing the label By Malene Birger.
No one else I know covets or wears her clobber which is weird ’cause it is so nice.
Say what you will about the Danish, they know how to make nice clothes.
I hate and am revulsed by so many labels, too many to list here.
Make Do Style be grateful the in laws accept you into the house- some in laws will not allow this as they Want You Dead.
I despise so many brands – I must be extremely bitter and twisted.
Ones that I particularly hate at the moment are Ed Hardy, True Religion, Juicy Couture, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Balmain (how much do I hate those vile ripped jeans) …. I could go on and on and on.
I’m such a hypocrite, though, as there are plenty of brands that I buy just because they don’t have a negative association for me (yet)
FF, I love By Malene Birger too, although I’m a bit too short for those Scandinavian clothes.
Second the questioning of everyones bloody love of Uniqlo…I lived in Japan in 2006 where it was seen as uncool and daggy to shop there but by the end of the year they opened up in the UK and USA and bam they were cool with designer collabs and Nicola Formichetti styling…the clothes are still boring but now they are cool. I do not get it.
Anyway closer to home (as in Australia) I just can’t ever imagine buying anything from Sass and Bide, they to me are our Juicy Couture (although actually more aesthetically pleasing designs) everyone, and I mean everyone wore their extreme hipster cut jeans back in 2001 and since then I just find the whole brand repulsive and even if I love a dress of theirs I just can’t buy it because I hate the brand.
D Squared clothing is vile, as are those creepy gay twins who ‘design’ it.
I love Junya Watanabe so hard.
I love Thom Browne so hard, even though he’s reviled left and right. Also, I want to have sex with him.
Oh, God, American Apparel. I know, they’re sweatshop free, which is important, but their soft porn advertising disgusts me (do I need to see a girl’s bum being flossed by a buttless bodysuit? Who the fuck needs one of those?). The fact that they have kids’ clothing on their website a click away from images of women sprawled out on the floor is just sick.
The pretentious 80’s throwback also is very off-putting. Why would anyone pay for hugely overpriced lurid purple spandex that shows off every bulge and just doesn’t look good? What can you really wear a shiny, stretchy 5-cm long skater skirt with? Leg warmers? Don’t tell me to pair it with a bow tie and nothing else. At one point I hypocritically considered applying for a job there, until I read about Dov Charney and how he treats his employees…. my mind was changed pretty quickly.
Generally any designer/brand that has a factory outlet is toast. I find better Classic clothes/shoes at Goodwill for pennies on the dollar.
Yep, hate American Apparel – overpriced bad quality, arse in my face advertising; Urban Outfitters – just annoying, conservative, bad colours; G-Star Raw (although I like Liv Tyler’s ads for them); Juicy; Morrisons – it’s a UK supermarket, they don’t even make clothes but I hate their brand, they’re kind of cheap & nasty but cheesy with dreadful colours – maroon with bottle green, white and yellow..euch! Gap are not appealing. I agree about Dolce & Gabana’s very dodgy ad campaigns. Diesel are such bad quality for a high price, I can’t believe they get away with it. I can’t afford any of these brands except for Morrisons and they’re shit! The irony.
American Apparel, Uniqlo, Payless, Kohl’s, Victoria’s Secret, Juicy, North Face, Seven, Ed Hardy, Jimmy Choo- all stores/brands I can’t stand. On the other hand I have irrational love for Rick Owens, Isabel Marant and Alber Elbaz.