Blog #3 - Bryan

Bryan Bui
Blog #3

This week hasn't really been much different than the past two. My schedule has been the same with school, work, and club work leaving me with no time to physically go shopping. I was tempted to get new work shoes because the ones I wear now hurt my when I wear them for too long. I could go to a thrift shop and purchase a new pair but shoes are something I want to buy new because it is for my feet. Clothes I can just wash so I don't mind if they are from thrifting but my shoes have to be new and comfortable. Since the challenge is still going I am left only to deal with these shoes for one more week. In reality though I could just keep using the same shoes, they aren't too bad, just some days they hurt more than others.

This week we read "Abercrombie & Glitch: Asian Americans Rip Retailer for Stereotypes on T-shirts." which was about a shirt line that Abercrombie and Fitch made to cater to Asian buyers. The shirts ended up being really offensive and after much protest they were taken down. My favorite part of the reading was when they apologized saying "The shirts were designed to appeal to young Asian shoppers with a sense of humor." Basically not saying what they made was racist or offensive but that people, specifically Asian people need to lighten up. It was really annoying to read this and I did not know they did this. I knew about other issues they faced like firing a girl for wearing a head dress, which to me was hard to pick a side, but even before that I never liked Abercrombie and Fitch.

Fashion is supposed to be controversial to turn heads and get attention but sometimes, like the case with Abercrombie and Fitch, it can be too much. Another example that I thought of while reading this article was a pair of high tops Jeremy Scott made for Adidas. He based them off a toy from his childhood but African Americans saw it as commodifying slavery. The shoe was quickly taken down and Adidas promptly apologized. Perhaps it is because I am Asian and not African American that I do not see the huge issue with the shoes. They chain and shackles are orange and made of plastic. I thought of it more as a way to keep your shoes from being stolen (figuratively, they wouldn't actually stop anything) but it just shows how different people and communities act when they see something that offends them.



Inside source : Jenny Strasburg. “Abercrombie & Glitch: Asian Americans Rip Retailer for Stereotypes on T-shirts.” Reader.

Outside source: Considine, Austin  "When Sneakers and Race Collide" <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/adidas-cancels-release-of-shackle-sneakers.html?_r=0>