American Apparel For Summer 07
[ 22 August 2007 ]
In celebration of the fact that American Apparel recently opened their Australian outlet (YAY!), here are some of their pieces that I am dying to own this summer…
The baby rib cross-back dress looks to be the perfect summer item. If you can only buy one thing for the warm weather, make it this. I was SO excited when I first saw this on the site, it’s a fabulous length with a beautiful cross-over back & I want to have its babies. Truly! I really advocate wearing dresses when the weather is warm, because they’re just so simple. You can wear them alone or style them mercilessly! This dress — which comes in black, white, cranberry, lemon & navy (soon) — could be worn with sandals, sunglasses & a headscarf or dressed up with a little ballerina-wrap cardigan & stilettos. I intend to wear it both ways, with some surprising twists to boot!
The interlock wrap dress is another perfect dress. Classic & chic, every woman should own a wrap dress. No more “I can’t dress myself” days! I like it in navy, the colour is rich & inky, but it also comes in black, cream, brown, eggplant, purple & asphalt. They’re also about to bring it out in size x-large, which is great news for curvy vixens! Again, this is so simple to wear. Hallelujah! I want to wear it with a turban & platform boots & lots of bangles…
I love the jersey short sleeve t-shirt leotard (phew, try saying that 3 times quickly), though I didn’t at first. It reminds me of bodysuits from the early 90s & there is no way I’d wear it on its own — I’m not that confident! (I bet Cory Kennedy could pull it off, though!) However, an item like this is a TOTAL blessing for us long-torsoed ladies! I have so many cardigans & t-shirts which aren’t long enough in the body for me, & while I like my stomach, sometimes I don’t want to show it off. This is the item for those days. Wear it under a dress, with jeans & a cardigan, a high-waisted skirt or with a maxi-skirt if you’re in the mood for a bit of “ballet teacher chic”!
The jersey double u-neck dress is soooo sexy & comes in a rainbow selection of colours. It has a low back & is quite short, so is brilliant for girls with glorious gams! If you’re not sure about wearing it as a dress (since it does look quite short), use it as a layering piece over a vintage slip or jeans, wear it with a long cardigan or coat & major heels. Try it with legwarmers & a man’s business shirt. You get the picture! To look super-slim, buy it in a darker colour & thank me later!
I love grey, relaxed pieces, & the tri-blend short sleeve women’s track t is no exception. It looks so soft, I just want to curl up with it. It’s the sort of thing that is always going to get a lot of wear, since it’s so basic & will complement practically everything in your wardrobe. Put it with extreme fashion items — it’s like adding a dash of yoghurt to a hot curry. The juxtaposition will temper the flavour of your super-stylish piece & make it look even better. Try it with a pencil skirt, a leopard-print mini or cute shorts. I promise you’ll wear it to death!
Black lamé leggings make the world go round! They are SO Catwoman! I don’t think I need to convince you any further. Buy them NOW!
Ooh la la! Je te presente the figure skater dress. On first look, I didn’t like this much, but the more I consider it, the more it grows on me. The cut at the back is super-flattering & I love the way it moves. I like it in black, shiny violet (!) & magenta, phew! The best thing is reading the comments from all the women who’ve bought it — they all seem THRILLED with their purchase & say that the dress makes them feel sexy & sassy. You’d be hard-pressed to get a better review than that…
I am also rather keen on the jersey racerback tank dress, especially in black, royal blue & teal. It looks like it has quite a loose cut, so if you want to make the most of your waist, chuck a belt around the middle or wear a short cardigan buttoned up to create a super-femme shape! Other than the wide cut, I can’t fault this, it’s lovely & perfect… though it would be nice to see it in white! I could incorporate it into my faux tennis chic!
I’m so excited about shedding some of these cumbersome layers for summer, I can’t even begin to tell you! Glee to the max!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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AAGGHHH!!! i’m so glad to see you’ve posted AA here! i freakin love their style! it’s cut well, the material is really durable, and it’s going to remain in style forever! if i had more money, i’d buy one of everything! yes! even the men’s stuff!
Ooh! I especially love the figure skate dress! The material at the bottom looks so float-y :P
hey gala
we stock american apparel at liquid on brunswick st. atm its just the basics (t, hoodies and lame leggings which are flying out the door). u shld pop down sometime :) our second order will be in stock in just over 2 weeks. im so excited. im an aaa (american apparel addict) myself. recently, bought a uni fleece hoodie in sunshine and the running shorts in red. so love with them!
glad u like them 2!
jessicat
xxx
Love the leotard, being as I am all long-torsoed and a total ballet-teacher-wannabe. Also just lovin’ your styling notes – somehow easier to comprehend than those photo-montages the other day. (Is it because I’m not ‘visual’ enough, or just very very ‘verbal’ . . . ?)
I was just lusting after the lame (and by that, I mean “lah-MAY” not “lame”) leggings this morning. I was trying to decide what colour to buy, but I can’t! Oh, I just want a pair in every colour available, please….
Mental note to go to Liquid on Brunswick St. Thanks for the heads up, Jessicat!
I am slightly frightened of the fact that I’m craving lamé leggings right now :-p
The possibilities with those things must be endless. Rawr.
I like the clothes, but American Apparel’s ads scare me. Not sure if I want to buy from such a company…
(see http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5199955, for example)
I L-O-V-E American Apparel. It tends to be a little expensive for my budget, but I have several pieces and love every single one of them. They have awesome clothes and they make everything in the US & they provide workers with a safe environment. That’s more than most clothing companies can say for themselves.
About the ads… Yes they are a little porn-ish, but that’s what they are trying to go for. & about the lawsuits and such; I don’t know. I think sexual harassment is too overrated in the US. Sometimes people put themselves in certain positions and then regret the outcome. The way I see it, unless you have been sold into slavery, no one can force you to do anything you are not comfortable with.
I don’t know—-every time I go into American Apparel, I think I’m going to be blown away by something. But I’m not. Like that cross-back dress. It just kinda looked…bland…
I mean, I really like their socks! I love their socks! But only their socks.
Bland! But that’s just my opinion.
oh American Apparel :D i love their stuff. it’s label-less, yet funky and good for layering. i was in the store the other day and i saw that cross back dress, and i was iffy as it looked kind of bland on the hanger but it looks fabulous on. my personal favorites of theirs are their terry running shorts and their 50/50 Deep V unisex tees. the deep V adds the perfect “zing” to a the basic t-shirt. unfortunately they only come in grey and a light blue (only recently).
ive been ooogaling the black lame leggins for centuries.
I’ve not really payed much attention to American Ap. but now you’ve brought it up I’ve been on the website and seen tons of stuff I would just adore to own!
It look fabulous to layer, and I’d really like t get some key pieces into my wardrobe and mix with the usually very patterned clothes I own now. They’d make a great contrast.
I really love the Figure Skater Dress and I think all the models look so natural and fun in the shoots. Could be my new obsession!
I have a long torso, too, but the leotards from American Apparel always ride up in my bum—they’re not long enough for me. I’ve had much better luck getting things here: http://www.discountdance.com.
The long black dress, however, is amazing. I must have it, even though summer is coming to an end and I’ll have to layer it under lots of sweaters. :-)
the interlock wrap dress rules! I have it in eggplant and i’ve been getting amazing complaments left right and center…. it’s def one for everyone to own.. it got my thru our summer!
I love the leotard and the wrap dress – count me as a ballet teacher wanna-be, I’ve always loved wrap dresses and cardies and ballet shoes.
I don’t like the figure skater dress though. I think because I first saw it in copper and it was not flattering at all. now I see it in navy and I’m still not sold.
Congrats on the nomination for the Inspiring Blogger Award – you go girl!
Joh — Yeah, I’m really glad I discovered them. I haven’t found another company which does better basics!
jessicat — Oh, awesome! Thanks for letting me know. Are you going to be getting more thrilling stock in two weeks or is it just a top-up of the more basic stuff? I will probably visit anyway, if you see me, say hi!
Nadine — Glad you like the things & that my “style notes” helped! (I think you just triggered my brain by saying that… hmmm…) Hard to say why really — though using words rather than showing with a picture allows your imagination to come into play. I like to be able to visualise things, often I find that is more exciting for me than actually seeing it in front of me. Maybe you’re the same way?
Ajda K — I think that if we try, we can find something we dislike about EVERY company. There is always going to be something that just doesn’t sit 100% well with us. American Apparel is no exception. I have no qualms with their advertising, but then, I tend to think about all advertising in a very business-like way. Borderline offensive? Way to go! Create more controversy, raise your profile, sell more stuff. No such thing as bad publicity, & all that. Anyway, that doesn’t really apply to AA. Like Mari said in the comment below yours, AA are doing a lot of good things (no sweatshops, good to their staff, high quality product for a reasonable price, etc.), & I think they should be commended for that.
jen — If you only ever wore AA stuff, yes, you’d look a bit bland. But the point is to dress it up! The items are basics… meaning you need to add to them. I think they do what they do extremely well.
lise — I love them toooo! I have some of their trackpants & they are the most comfortable things ever. I love their t-shirts too. It makes me so happy that I can find t-shirts anywhere that don’t have a CAP SLEEVE!
tally — Woohoo, glad you’ve found something you like! It’s definitely all about the contrast, & using the simplicity of the AA pieces to offset the brilliance of a sequin skirt or a crazy jacket or whatever. I like that their models look “real”, though I think some of them could use a charisma injection!
amanda lee — I’m not sure what the weight of the crossback dress is, but I’m sure it would be great with stockings, a long-sleeve tee, a sweater, a coat & t-bar heels! (Drool!)
Nicola — Your endorsement further convinced me that I need to own the wrap dress! Yay!
Song — I don’t think the figure skater dress is for everyone, & of course anything which is shiny & stretchy is a bit iffy. If I buy it, I’ll post pictures & we can have a vote ;D
Gala, do you get paid to advertise?
Michelle — The answer is not as simple as “yes” or “no” :> Companies pay me to advertise in the sidebar, but when it comes to articles, everything I write about it is mentioned because I loooove their stuff. So, if you were wondering, AA didn’t pay me to write this! Haha! Sometimes I am sent free things & if I like them I write about them, but I always disclose that kind of thing so that you guys know what the story is. Transparency about those things is important to me. So! Does that answer your question?
I don’t know why, but American Apparel freaks me out. They always have scary ads with boobs and smacky looking people in Vice and American magazines and it scares me. WTF. I’m weird. Their stuff is pretty nice, though.
Thanks for being honest, Gala! Love the posts, keep it up!
Dear Gala, you are so getting me in trouble with Craig!
I’m kidding of course, I just placed an order for the first dress, a pretty sale top and a jersey shirred skirt.
They’re already sold out (in the UK) of the wrap dress!
The skirt and dress will be super useful for work. That’s how I’m spinning it anyways!
lovelove
Oh, thanks for the reminder—I have been DYING to pick up a few tongue-twister short-sleeve leotards to wear with my new wide-leg trouser jeans. Nothing else works quite right and every time I scour my drawer for an acceptable shirt (since I’ve been wearing the jeans nonstop), I think, “I REALLY should skip down to American Apparel”...especially considering how there is one a mile to the east AND west of my house.
Gorgeous dress!!
Great picks as always Gala!
Does you perchance have that wrap dress? I am considering buying it but I am 5’8 and a bit worried it will be scandalously short and would really like to know from someone who owns it!
A — No, I don’t! I wish I did, though… ! You can always buy it & return it if it’s the wrong length :>
I love the tri-blend gray track tee thingy too…HOWEVER, I will let you know that after wearing it about 5 or 6 times, it started to get all billowy. It still looks good though. It’s one of their best fitting women’s tees. It is soft. Also, I have found that the men’s XXS V-neck tees fit me better than the women’s tees. Try one of them.