American Apparel Inc.

Just in time for fall semester, n+1, the Brooklyn-based journal of prose combat, has a new line of T-shirts. (Hey, The New York Review of Books sells Illuminated Pocket Magnifiers, okay?)

While we're somewhat surprised they're not referred to as "Cotton Monuments," the shirts do come in two colors: socialist red and existentialist black. The Times A.O. Scott might say these unisex American Apparel shirts, "sometimes display a certain pained 21st-century ambivalence about the culture they inhabit." They're also limited edition and come in five sizes. ("Note: women may want to buy a size down.")

In case you're wondering, the shirts are modeled by writer Wesley Yang and managing editor Kate Perkins.

Last fall, at a Lookbook shoot for Sophomore, her fashion line, designer Chrissie Miller, daughter of astrologist-to-the-stars Susan Miller, deployed a crew of her downtown friends to bop around Manhattan with a bag of her ’70s-inspired clothing. "Wild child" ’90s poster girl Bijou Philips; photographer Terry Richardson’s arm candy Jen Brill; Internet It Girl Cory Kennedy; and rock band the Virgins pulled on Ms. Miller’s high-waisted short shorts, roomy T-shirts boasting a giant peace sign, and drawstring tank dresses.  read more »

Celebrity power lunch at Michael's! Well, sort of. In honor of April Fool's, Page Six is reporting that Michael's will have a table where celebrity impersonators of Amy Winehouse, Eliot Spitzer, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and baby Harlow (don't worry, it's a doll, not a hired baby look-alike) will appear to be having lunch. [P6]

For more festivities, Joey Scaggs will apparently lead his annual April Fool's parade down Fifth Avenue that will be led by a George Bush impersonator, who will get a head start and then get chased by an angry mob. The parade will also feature Michael Vick on a dog-fighting float and a Tourette's syndrome float with Don Imus, Ann Coulter and Dog the Bounty Hunter yelling obscenities at the crowds. Fun! [P6]  read more »

• The boringly-named U.S. General Services Administration gives out annual prizes for public projects, and this year there was only one winner in New York among the 18 prizes. Jacob K. Javits Federal Building Entry Pavilion, rejoice! Also: We need cooler public architecture. [Arch. Record News]
• At long last, Williamsburg finally becomes cool, getting a new "Asian-fusion" restaurant (appropriately named Scene). Tellingly, it's close to American Apparel. [Brooklyn Record]
• Bad-haired Bon Jovi is a good guy. He's helping finish renovations on "an energy-efficient, three-story condo complex on Halsey Street" in Bedford-Stuy, where apartments will be rented to low-income locals. Viva Brooklyn-based 80's hair metal philanthropy. [Page Six]
• Co-ops are so cruel these days, and doormen are so victimized: No more dog food treats; no more food-delivery work; no more watching rich people's babies! [NY Mag, D.I.] - Max Abelson
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Building contractor Tommy Amato and a buddy were hanging out along Smith Street in Brooklyn, joking  read more »

The far East Side is not your father's far East Side. "Ever since Peter Falk lit the opening cigarette in the 1971 Broadway version of The Prisoner of Second Avenue, the eastern reaches of the Upper East Side have been known as a haven--or hell--for modest renters. The real-estate boom has changed all of that, prompting condo conversions as far east as First Avenue and turning a weathered redoubt for curmudgeons into a glossy destination for young, well-heeled families." Go to story by Matthew Schuerman Renting a Manhattan apartment not as tough as you think. "You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Yet it's something that has to be done many times a month in Manhattan: the hunt for an apartment to rent. But the hunt's no worse here than in L.A. or even Boston. Really." Go to The Lab by Tom Acitelli How is American Apparel like 100 candles? "Avoiding the glare of American Apparel isn't easy these days, as the ever-expanding L.A.-based clothing chain continues to flip on more fluorescent lights across New York City. On Nov. 15, the international retailer opened its newest well-lit casual-wear emporium at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 19th Street--its 15th such location in Manhattan and Brooklyn in just three years. The California company that prides itself on providing "proper lighting" for its factory workers seems determined to do the same for gloomy Gotham streetscapes." Go to Counter Espionage by Chris Shott Mrs. De Niro buys Upper East Side limestone. "Though Grace Hightower and her godly husband Robert De Niro just paid $20.9 million for a 15-room Central Park West apartment last month, she has also bought a $3,440,000 limestone townhouse at 516 East 89th Street. 'She's going to gut it and renovate it,' said listing broker Beverly Feingold, a vice president at Halstead. 'It could just be a hobby! I don't know.'" Go to Manhattan Transfers by Max Abelson

Aug. 2, 2006 10:11 a.m. 6 pounds, 11 ounces Brooklyn Hospital    read more »

Aug. 2, 200610:11 a.m.

6 pounds, 11 ounces  read more »

Brooklyn Hospital

Boasting the city's "LONGEST RUNNING HONKY TONK" and "WORLD FAMOUS MARGARITAS" just wasn't enough for ambitious Rodeo Bar owner Mitch Pollak.

The tex-mex tavern honcho is now expanding his bison-burger-and-live-country-music venue into adjacent retail space, formerly occupied by Lex Vacuum, and opening a new boutique.

"COMING SOON: BOOT LIQUOR," according to a sign posted on the presently empty storefront. "Rock 'N' Roll and Western Wares/New and vintage western clothing/Biker Gear/Boots/Belt Buckles/Leather Goods...and more."

Bar manager Lillie Haws says the store at 379 3rd Avenue will also host book signings, cowboy fashion shows, and other events.

Look for the boot shop to open around mid-December--"maybe sooner," Haws says--and stay open late, American Apparel-style, on Thursday through Saturday nights.

But don't be fooled by the store's boozy title. Nightshoppers browsing for actual liquor, not leather, will still have to visit the bar.  read more »

- Chris Shott

After noticing that the long-sock-loving American Apparel is moving into The Observer's Flatiron neighborhood--142 Fifth Avenue, to be precise--we decided to give the lascivious company a call.

"If you stand on the street at Fifth Avenue, there are lot of people who look like American Apparel customers," said Miguel McKelvey, a location scout and store designer for American Apparel (he works at Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture.*)

Take note: the new 2000-square-foot store, opening in mid-to-late October, is landing at Fifth and 19th.

Why the Flatiron District? "Every space that was previously something else seems to be turning into high profile retail," Mr. McKelvey said. "There's Espirit down the street, J. Crew and Anthropologie. Any of those stores attract a lot of women. My girlfriend goes to Club Monaco all the time."

But while the rapidly expanding store is looking to attract mainstream women customers, it also has a hipster chic to live up to. "Like over in Park Slope on Flatbush Avenue we're in an old movie theater, or in Williamsburg we went into an old auto garage on North 6th... And we balance that with Beverly Hills and Newbury Street in Boston."

And, starting next month, Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

- Max Abelson (*Dov Trivia: Touchy-feely American Apparel founder Dov Charney and Jordan Parnass have been "friends since birth," according to Mr. McKelvey)  read more »

Annotated index for And You Thought Abercrombie & Fitch Was Pushing It?, by Jaime Wolf, The New York Times Magazine, April 23, 2006. A Abercrombie & Fitch (clothing manufacturer), 58 Adbusters (magazine), 61 Adult Video News (a/k/a AVN), 61 Allen, Woody (director), 63 (See: Hannah and Her Sisters) Alonzo, Iris, American Apparel creative partner, 62 American commodity manufacturing, Charney fixation on, 62 American Apparel, 58-63 Araki, Nobuyoshi (photographer), 60; 63 Asymmetrical features, 60 (see also: ethnic, mixed-race, imperfect bodies, blemished skin, and visible sweat stains) B Baby Boomers, 62; 63 Bare chest, Dov Charney's, sometimes visible in American Apparel ads, 61 Benetton (retailer), multiculturalism of, 63 Blogosphere, location for advertising, 60 Brady, Marsha (supervisor of décor), 62 Broadband venture, 60 Burlington, VT, 60 C Canada, as birthplace of Marshall McLuhan, 60 Chanaye, 18-year-old self-professed hippie of Afro-Cuban descent, 60 Charney, Dov, 58-63 Chicago (Illinois), location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Concise 48 Laws of Power, The (author, Robert Greene), 60 Consumerism, yoked to political gestures and activism, 61 (see: Political gestures) Cwir, Weronika, law school drop-out, American Apparel theorist, 63 D Dawson's Creek (TV series), 60 Dixon, Willie (blues songwriter), 61 E Echo Park (Los Angeles), location of American Apparel store, 60; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (see: Lower East Side) Email, photographs sent via, 62; input through, 62 Eisenhower, generation of, 62 F Fantastic Man (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Fonda, Jane (actress), enlarged photo of, 63 Florida, location of Charney's childhood vacations, 62 Frankfurt (Germany), location of American Apparel store, 60 Fruit of the Loom (brand), 62 G Gap, model for American Apparal, 60; Gap, rules of, 60; Gap, standards of sandblasted, bland notion of good-looking young Americans, 60 Gawker.com, pop-culture site, 60 Girl Next Door, The, 61 Girls Gone Wild, stupidly raunchy phenomenon, 61 Goldin, Nan (photographer), 63 H Hannah and Her Sisters, 80s film, 63 (See: Woody Allen) Hanes (brand), 62; 63 Hefner, Hugh (publisher), Charney reminiscent of, 61; expanded definition of sexuality of, 61; Sexual relationships with employees of, 61; Subtlety of, 61 Henley shirt, origins of, 62 Hepburn, Audrey, 62 Hilton, Paris, 61 Hollywood, standards of glamour of, 61 I Instant-messaging, input through, 62 J Jacques-Charley, pet project of Charney and Alonzo, 63; French pronunciation of, 63 (See: Zhac-Sharlee) Jane (magazine), revealing profile of Charney in, 63 (see: Claudine Ko) Job definitions, fluidity of in American Apparel, 62 K Knits, clingy, 60 Ko, Claudine (magazine writer), revealing profile of Charney written by, 63 Kuczynski, Alex (reporter), 60 L L.A. Weekly (alternative newspaper), 61 Levi's 501's, iconic, 62 London (England), location of American Apparel store, 60 Los Angeles, location of American Apparel store, 60; location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Lower East Side (New York), location of American Apparel store, 60; 62; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (See: Echo Park) M Makeup, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 McLuhan, Marshall, 60 Mexico City, location of American Apparel store, 60; next cool city, 62 Mexico City Monthly (bilingual publication), available at American Apparel stores, 62 Miami Beach (Florida), location for American Apparel store, 63 Minimum wage, American Apparel workers paid double, 60 Montreal, birthplace of Charney, 62 Monogamy, non-preoccupation with among new adult generation, 63 MySpace (social network), 60 N Na pograniczu kiczu i absolutnego piekna, Polish translation of, 63 Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement), life in Canada before, 62 Naked people, beauty of, 60 National Geographic, style of cheesecake, 60 O O.C., The (TV series), 60 Onion, The (alternative newpaper), 61 Oui (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 P Page, Bettie, 60 Paris (France), location of American Apparel store, 60 Penthouse (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 Pizzaroni, Luca, friend of Charney, 60 Piercings, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Platonic ideals, T-shirts exemplified, 60 Pleasure, heightened state of in American Apparel ads, 60 Political gestures, yoked to certain modes of consumerism, 61 (See: Consumerism) Plucked and trimmed eyebrows, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Polynesia, girls of, 60 Purple Fashion (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Q R Richardson, Terry (photographer), 61 Russell Athletic (T-shirt), 62 S Safde, Moshe (architect), uncle of Charney, 62 Safdie, Sylvia (painter, sculptor), mother of Charney, 62 Santa Cruz, U.C. (American university), 62 Schmatte business, 60 Seoul (Korea), location of American Apparel store, 60 Sharper Image (retailer), vision of hipster version of, 63 (See: 7-11) 7-Elevan (retailer), for hipsters, 63; (See: Sharper Image) Sexual harassment (lawsuit against Charney), 60; 63 Short hair (female), unnaturalness of, 62 Soprano, Tony (TV character), 63 Sperry Top-Sider (shoes), 62 Spunt, Alexandra, American Apparel senior content advisor, 62 Suicide Girls (website), 61 T Tattoos, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62; possibility of Charney falling in love with a girl who has, 62 Tel Aviv (Israel), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tokyo (Japan), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tighty Whitey (underwear), impressive achievement of style resurgence, 63 Tufts University (American university), education of Charney at, 62 U Underwear, Charney's pride in adult film star wearing, 61 V Vanity Fair (magazine), favorably compared to Vice, 61 Vertical Integration, business model, 60 Vice, anti-P.C. lifestyle magazine; 61; "Our Vanity Fair," 61 Village Voice, The (alternative newspaper), 61 Vintage T-shirt, 'rad'-ness of, 62 W Warhol, Andy (artist), early hand-painted works, 60 Whole Foods (grocer), 61 Wolf, Howlin' (blues singer), 61 X Y Yonehara, Yasumasa (photographer), 60 Young Metropolitan Adults, definition of, 61; Aggressively sexualized world of, 61; Z Zhac-Sharlee, French pronunciation of Jacques-Charley, 63 (See: Jacques-Charley)  read more »

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The Transom has actually come full-circle to love the recent work of Alex Kuczynski; she writes a weekly column called The Critical Shopper in the Thursday Style section of the New York Times. In her eight months on the job, she's trashed Sofia Coppola's films, made fun of women who lunch without eating, questioned vast income disparities in Manhattan, and generally been a total loose cannon.

And since the birth of the column in April, 2005, the blonde bombshell, who is the daugher of Peru's Prime Minister and the spouse of mega-investor Charles Stevenson, has spent in the course of her duties aproximately $25,000 dollars in self-reported sales.  read more »

Chelsea boys with a penchant for slouchy, nerve.com-style workout-wear now have an outlet.

After conquering hipster strongholds such as the Lower East Side, Soho, and Williamsburg, American Apparel recently signed a 10-year lease for a 3,700-square-foot space at 181 Eighth Avenue, their first Chelsea location.

The L.A.-based clothing retailer is notorious both for its socially progressive mantra ("sweatshop free"), and sexually provocative (and porn-friendly) advertising campaigns. Last month, the New York Times Alex Kuczynski got a bit creeped out by the company’s flamboyant founder, Dov Charney.

In November 2003, during less controversial days, the city’s first American Apparel store opened up at 712 Broadway. Six more are now scattered around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Although stores appear to be popping up at a frantic pace, the company took their time—about two years—in choosing the Chelsea location.

"We’ve been working with them for a couple years, trying to get the right spot," said Ariel Schuster, Managing Director of Robert K. Futterman and Associates, a leading real estate firm. "They are very smart about the way they get their real estate."

"The owner himself spends a lot of time in New York, looking into locations," said Alexandra Spunt, Content Advisor for American Apparel.

"It’s so intuitive [because] it’s about the placement, the space itself, the feel, and the people who live in that area," said Ms. Spunt about store selection. "All these different factors come together for us."

In the last year-and-a-half, American Apparel opened up over new 60 stores, with 40 more planned in the next six months, according to Ms. Spunt.

Locally, the company has future designs on Columbus Circle, and Mr. Schuster is helping them search in the Upper West Side.

"There’s endless potential in New York to do slightly more marginal locations and commercial locations," said Ms. Spunt.

However, in the world of retail hotspots, Chelsea is perfect for attracting their young, target demographic.

"It is really the 50-yard line of Chelsea," said Mr. Schuster. "There’s a good mix of bars and restaurants which tend to lead the consumer to shop a little later."  read more »

And late hours have been an American Apparel trademark. The Lower East Side store, a block away from twenty-something haunts Max Fish and the Dark Room, remains open until 2:00 A.M. on Saturday nights. It’s accommodating hours are perfect for trapping impetuous (and tipsy) shoppers heading down Houston Street in the wee morning hours, looking for a quick, cheap recovery from a walk of shame.

- Michael Calderone