From Paris To LA And Miami Beach...American Favorites

This week-end my baby left and I used the time to stroll around in Paris with a friend.
After a quick stop at the Hedi Slimane "Perfect Stranger" exhibition at Galerie Almine Rech our way took us to American Apparel. I like American Apparel but I have to admit that I am always very judgemental on their collections. For me it is fun-wear and sportswear, nothing I would wear from an aesthetic point of view and nothing I would wear around Paris. I tried a simple violett dress which perfectly suits me (quality is not the best - but for 39 EUR it should make a good dress to wear for a messy nightclub night). I asked my friend for and advice and decided buy and wear it for our evening soirée. On Sunday I made a dress demonstration for my boyfriend and he said "You look american, there is nothing else to say. But for all that doesn't look bad!" I was quite disappointed by his reaction because I thaught he will love it. Nevertheless, I appreciate honesty and this is especially a quality I love him for. Well, I had to get along with this statement.

This made me think why we (me included) are always that judgemental. Like him, I was either ignoring or smiling at american street brands thinking I should not look american when living in Paris. This is wrong and fashion is not about giving precasted judgements. If something suits you and you like it why not buy it and enlarge your wardrobe with something in "new fashion". There is no need to concentrate only on parisian labels and following the local street trends. Apart from that, diversity in fashion is really something I miss in Paris. I thaught I was open, but I am not. I definitelly need to change my attidude.

Browsing around in the internet I discovered another similar american brand called SOPHOMORE. A lower east side brand from NYC which designs are inspired by the style of the 70th's downtown NYC streets. The company was originally found by Chrissie Miller in the 2003 and is continuously growing since then.
Since Madeleine von Froomer, further designer at Proenza Schouler joined, they enlarged the women's and men's collections from T-Shirts to full contemporary sportswear (similar to American Apparel). Quite american, quite nice. Their lookbook, photographed by Cass Bird, makes a great inspiration and should help me to attack my prejudices.