I hate Hollister. And Aeropostale. And Abercrombie & Fitch. And all the other brands that jack up prices on ordinary items just because their name is on them. Hollister is the current fad from what I can tell (did know know their stores play music louder than OSHA allows?), and kids all over my school are wearing Hollister this and Hollister that.

I’m not talking about brands that are famous, mind you. Levi’s are famous because they are quality jeans. Converse is famous because Chuck Taylors have a distinct look. Pacific Sun has wild prints that they are known for. Even semi-existential brands like No Fear still stand for something - if you wear a No Fear shirt, you are conveying a message about yourself about being a daredevil, shirking authority, etc. Life is Good encourages being carefree, having an active lifestyle, etc. But Hollister and friends have none of these distinctions.

If you interrupted the assembly line at an Aeropostale factory before the name went on the clothes, you’d still have perfect normal, wearable clothes that would cost a lot less. The only association they can make is “we’re cool.” And therefore, if you wear Aeropostale, you’ll be cool too! That’s enough reason to jack up the price 40%, right? No! I don’t care if you think “oh but wearing Hollister shows that I like surfing and stuff,” it doesn’t. Wearing Hollister shows that you like Hollister, because there is absolutely nothing unique about the clothes they make. Like I said, I’m not talking about Puma shoes here, those are distinctive. But Seven jeans are just jeans.

And just in case anybody thinks I’m being a hypocrite, I want to mention that Hello Kitty does not fall under this category. The company’s name is Sanrio, and little girls don’t go ga-ga for Sanrio - they do it for Hello Kitty.

Wearing A&F says only one thing about you. It says that you are willing to pay extra for a regular t-shirt that happens to have their name on it. As always, I am open to discussion on this rant, but you will never get me to like Hollister.