blog post Live on CBC Radio 3: Fashion Fight Club! Are You a Brand Slave?

Brands only seem to be useful as a (sometime) indicator of quality control. Although many branded and non-branded items are often made in the same factory in Taiwan.

Brands do more to scare me off through some of the overseas horror stories regarding human rights abuses.

The only two things I want to see stitched or stamped, whenever possible, are "Made in Canada" and/or "Union Made". Failing that, anything made by a local independent retailer/manufacturer is fine too, but at that point, branding isn't often the issue.

Although there is something artistic about an image like this: http://tinyurl.com/4293y5

If there is one thing to know it is screw brand names... if i was bound by brands i wouldn't have any clothes at alll but since i dont i get the best bang for the buck... music is the same way, who needs an indorsement by a band when the music can speak for itself

I have a unique size. For instance, for formal dress shoes I can only get it by mail-order from the US for Pepe Jimenez shoes sold by Classic Pumps.... It's just that I can't get my shoes size anywhere from/in Canada.

for instruments & kitchen appliances, i've realised i'm a bit stuck in choosing my fave brands. i like to think it's because i know they're quality, but perhaps it's something more deeply rooted. i like my keys to be nord, and i like my cuisinart kitchen tools.

with clothes, i'm almost more embarrassed if they're obviously branded.

I gotta agree with people who've alread said this, I hate having a big brand name on my clothes, can barely even stand having a little logo. I've seen shirts that I would have bought, but the logo ruined it for me.

. . . I do look good in RW & Co. . . but the items I have were bought second hand!

for all the people who choose self-immolation as a form of creative expression, strange that, but for the occasional Playboy bunny or Harley logo tattooed on someone's arm, I've never seen a Nike, Coco Chanel, DKNY or Roots logo permanently branded into someone's skin

Nothing refreshes me more after a day of clubbing baby seals than my icy Coca Cola, that I chug whilst wiping the sweat from my brow with my Fred Perry sweatbands, all while keeping my elephant tusk safe inside my snakeskin Vuitton european carry-all…


That said, I sort of am a label whore. But, not because I want to you to see the label, but because I am happy with the brand.

I am proud that I got a pair of jeans from Joe for $9 that look and fit great - but do I care what it says about me that I buy clothes at the same joint I buy a loaf of bread? Not really. Cause these look every bit as good as a pair of $200 Lucky Brand in my mind.

But there are also many brands that I also buy that I like that may seem a little pretentious. Just cause I like them.

But as true with anything I like, it has more to do with me liking it than me caring whether you think I am cool for doing so.

I do think Vans owes me an endorsement cheque though!

Moleskine (not Mole Skin) are like the vuitton of the tech crowd - in fact they were fast becoming the blackberry of the blog crown there about a year ago.

I like em cause they're small, and fun to draw pictures of people that look funny to you, and cause you can doodle in em like a grade 8 class… And cause I can always find them half price in Chapters for some crazy reason.

But I have to say, go line free! There's nothing like a blank, really blank page. The lines are just the man trying to get you down.

There've been days when I've worn a CBC Radio 3 toque, vest, hoodie, shirt, and bag. Those are proud days.

Most visibly banded clothing is entirely unappealing, though, because they express absolutely no individuality. Nothing of the wearer is expressed through the same shirt that a hundred thousand other people are wearing. At the same time, there's an artistically uninteresting logo splashed across the clothing, making it worse than just wearing an unadorned garment.

And for a plain white shirt, does the brand matter? Only for entirely rational reasons: I buy American Apparel shirts because I know exactly how they fit, and because they're not made in sweatshops. And because pretty much every band t-shirt these days is AA, and band shirts are about the only article of clothing that I ever purchase. (I don't care much for clothing.)

For products in general, I mostly just judge each item independently. I've found stuff at Dollarama that was produced in the same factory as $10 stuff on sale at large department stores, under a different brand name. I've also found stuff at Dollarama that didn't work in ways I never knew it could break.


Finally, on label recognition: I've bought music from Mint Records, Six Shooter, Arts & Crafts, and some other labels purely because I figured it'd be good based on the label.

Play some young & sexy!

My cologne.
I only wear Sex Panther.
60% of the time, it works every time.

sex panther? tb3, are you trying to impress me? ha!

I'd tell you that I am so not into labels - labels are just part of the corporate machine and the almighty dollar trying to gain traction in my life, and stifle all creativity. Comsumerism is the real evil. And if I was trying to impress you, BaLana Republic, you indie music fetch, I would tell you my cologne of choice is b.o.; and that my tee shirt brand is ironic thrift store; and my beard helps hide my deep artist pensive moments… I am so going to write a song about this.

Money is definitely the biggest issue. I don't treat my clothing kindly, so I know if I spend a large sum of money on an item, I'm only going to end up with spaghetti stains and a missing button. That being said, I like to buy what I know.

And I refuse to buy Nike, they just irk me. Don't quote me on this stat but I think the CEO makes something like 400 million dollars in a quarter of a year while one of their sweatshop workers makes barely $400 in a full year.

Label-wise, I will buy anything on Saddle Creek, I like their sound, I like a lot of their bands. Saddle Creek rarely disappoints.

Did you know that someone bought the rights to license and put out the cologne Sex Panther? No jokes! Apparently fake brands featured in movies will be showing up even more in the future...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/magazine/04wwln-consumed-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

You think Peter Gabriel would sell "Sledgehammer" for the commercials?

What a goofy title
Lana told me there are Apple snobs, is that really true? :)
I wouldn't be an Mac snob. I embrace seeing people with Macs. It makes me smile.

I remember stumbling across a flickr group of people with Apple tattoos.
Nothing says classy like a power button logo on your lower back...

and even K-OS, but anyway..

My sister and I joked that after last night, it'll be hard to go back to shopping without a glass of champagne in the hand! Also, I have to admit, I wasn't very impressed with Misshapes..

I'm still terrified at the fact that so many people have no problems with American Apparel and actually keep advertising how great it is. The clothes are not the best quality... oh... and there's also this, of course:
http://www.ericacbarnett.com/2007/07/have_i_ever_mentioned_how_much.htm

http://jezebel.com/342233/if-you-go-to-work-for-american-apparel-can-you-really-expect-dov-charney-to-wear-clothes

Old news, I know.... but I'm still reading about artists who swear it's the best brand of clothes... Saying all your band t-shirts are American Apparel kind of makes me a little ill.