Friday, August 15, 2008

re: Uniforms

A few months ago I bought this white and gray striped shirt from American Apparel without realizing that it was part of an unoffical hipster uniform that I apparently was the last person to purchase. It must be a little like buying a new Honda in Golden Brown and only after driving it off the lot do you realize that everyone has the exact same car, and somehow you never noticed until you owned one. Anyway, as soon as I bought it, I started seeing The Shirt everywhere. At an outdoor concert I saw It at least 15 times in Its many different forms: the v-neck version, the tank top version, the paired-with-neon-80s-sunglasses-and-a-cute-neckercheif version, etc. It is sort of ironic, because everything American Apparel makes is so plain and simple that it shouldn't be such a fashion statement, yet I can pick an AA shirt out of a crowd now, no problem. I have taken to only wearing The Shirt when I go to visit my grandmother in her retirement home because it is the only place I can be 95% sure that someone else won't be wearing the same thing.

On the Longest Yard Sale trip, I packed one of my other favorite AA shirts - my soft gray v-neck - only to find that both Stephen and Kristin had both packed the exact same item.

I guess that is okay, because sometimes when people dress alike, that is how you know that they are good friends. And when paired with some cutoff denim shorts? Official Road Trip Uniform!

I wore the Uniform the first day:

Then on Day 2, Stephen rocked the look (along with hat-with-built-in-radio, not officially part of the Uniform).

And on Day 3, Kristin donned the outfit and made us all proud.

On the fourth day there wasn't much to do other than all put on the uniform together and take photos of ourselves with our cutest pieces of luggage.

We never actually made it out in public all wearing the uniform simultaneously, but maybe we can take a cue from this couple next year as we wander the sale. I think it would do a lot for group morale.

10 comments:

Stephen said...

i just want to be clear that mine was not american apparel...

Ems said...

oh man! the problem is that that 25%/25%/50% blend is they key to my heart this hot summer since I'm wearing an extra layer all the time anyway. I wish all of my clothes were as magical as those t-shirts.

bex said...

i know, ems. the teeshirts are too perfect to pass up. this is why i still wear one every day, even though i am twins with everyone on the street.

stephen. even though your teeshirt might not have been AA, i hope you still purchased your version from a company with a perv-o-matic CEO

robin marie said...

how do you all have super cute luggage!?

k tron said...

stephen, if I"m not mistaken, I'm pretty sure your day 4 t shirt WAS in fact the 25/25/50 blend gray AA tee.. it just wasn't a v neck?? maybe?

bex said...

we all bought super cute luggage on the yard sale trip! there is a lot of it in the midwest.

stephen - called out. kristin was looking at your shirt labels while you were sleeping.

m-l-e said...

I salute your adoption of a team uniform to indicate your dedication to, and solidarity with, a common cause.

paul said...

i want that.

Cindy Bean said...

I am always the last to know about hip fashion trends.

Stephen said...

ktron dot com: you nailed me. but to be fair, i bought that AA tee at a thrift store in cambridge, ma. as far as i can tell, Dov has never seen any of my $$$.