As someone who practically lived at American Apparel during its heyday in the mid 1990โs to early 2000โs, shopping mainly for my daughter, I was very interested to hear what a former insider would say about the company. STRIP TEES proved to be both a provocative and very candid memoir about the almost cult-like atmosphere that pervaded the company culture and ultimately, led to its downfall.
Recent college grad Kate Flannery was initially seduced by the supportive atmosphere of the company: โ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ฑ.. ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ฆโ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ That was actually the company mantra, referred to as โthe hustleโ. At the center of the edgy and subversive corporate culture was the charismatic founder Dov Charney, who had inappropriate relationships with many of the young American Apparel employees but who managed to hold them all in his rather manic orbit.
Dov respected no boundaries and ultimately the author, a self-described feminist, ended up staying with the company longer than she probably should have. She was a valued member of the team and made an impact in the companyโs early glory days. Dovโs spectacular fall from grace isnโt dissected in detail here; instead, this is a very real account from a young woman who thankfully survived the toxic atmosphere that was American Apparel.
I view the companyโs once-edgy ads through a different lens now, but at the time they were considered ground-breaking. Highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author herself!
โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ.โ
(Thanks to the publisher for the audiobook listening copy, provided in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.)
About the Book:
Strip Tees is a fever dream of a memoirโHunter S. Thompson meets Gloria Steinemโabout a recent college graduate and what happens when her feminist ideals meet the real world.
At the start of the new millennium, LA is the place to be. Hipster is a new word on the scene. Lauren Conrad is living her Cinderella story on The Hills on millions of television sets across the country. Paris Hilton tells us โThatโs hotโ from behind the biggest sunglasses imaginable, while beautiful teenagers fight and fall in love in The O.C.
Into this most glittering of supposed utopias, Kate Flannery arrives with a Seven Sisters diploma in hand and a new job at an upstart clothing company called American Apparel. Kate throws herself into the work, determined to climb the corporate fashion ladder. Having a job at American Apparel also means being a part of the advertising campaigns themselves, stripping down in the name of feminism.
She slowly begins to lose herself in a landscape of rowdy sex-positivity, racy photo shoots, and a cult-like devotion to the unorthodox CEO and founder of the brand. The line between sexual liberation and exploitation quickly grows hazy, leading Kate to question the companyโs ethics and wrestle with her own.
Strip Tees captures a moment in our recent past thatโs already sepia toned in nostalgia, and also paints a timeless portrait of a young woman who must choose between what business demands and self-respect requires.