other perspectives on the h & m
Mark Fefer, channeling Naomi Klein:
what the fuck is the matter with you people? Don’t you realize that damn near everything that’s screwed up right now can be traced to your insufferable appetite for cheap? Everything fucked up about the global economy arises from the massive sucking force exerted by people in the richest country on earth demanding cheap food, cheap clothes, cheap energy, cheap mortgages, cheap everything. [seattleweekly]
Me, seeing his point but not taking it, yet still avoiding the downtown melee because there’s nothing like the sight of a line and a crowded shopping experience to send me running for the hills:
yes, but now let’s just start moaning about how awful it is that Seattle doesn’t have a Uniqlo or TopShop, OK?
Anyone else braving the reportedly blocklong lines for the sake of an early peek at the downtown H & M?
Of course, as most angry rants are, it is a total and utter generalization and overall tossing out a perfectly good white boy along with all that dirty bathwater.
The argument falls down completely, of course, when you understand that America’s appetite for HIGH-end goods is second to none. We buy Seven jeans and Coach handbags and Macs and BMWs like crazy. Hell, the Starbucks phenomenon alone should put that generalization utterly and completely to rest.
But if you can put a $12 top next to a $35 top and that $12 top is of similar quality, hell yeah I want it.
This isn’t on par with the (alleged) shortage of corn due to biodiesel production (bio wasn’t cheaper than gas, last I saw) or global destruction due to our petrophilia. I do commend the Weekly author on his valiant attempt at making it so, however.
I went over to the store since it happens to be in the neighborhood of my office and I was curious about what it would be like.
Whatever people want to spend their money on is up to them, of course, not me, but I don’t see the excitement. It’s basically Generic Chain Store Fashion for prices that really aren’t all THAT low; their products are cheap but it’s more cheaply-made that low-cost. I didn’t see anything in the store that couldn’t be bought at a higher quality and a lower cost elsewhere if one were willing to put in a little effort. I could see myself accessories on sale there or maybe a shirt on 75 percent clearance but I’m just not seeing the thrill of the store or why it’s so exciting to people.
I think I’d have to be fashionable to care too much. As it is, I already buy half my clothing from thrift stores, so the cheap factor doesn’t thrill me… and I’m not a huge fan of crowds either. Or shopping.
where do i sign the petition for a uniqlo? now that’d be worthy of all of this attention.
Dont expect a Uniqlo any time soon. Youll take your H&M and youll like it!
The thing is, the prices are on par with every other store downtown, except that H&M is actually fashionable and well-fitting. Its not that theyre cheap, its that everything else is overpriced. That said, my Uniqlo shirt I have on could kick the crap out of anything from H&M.