The reason I spat out my coffee? I was *wearing* this exact same ring. I'd bought it from Forever21 two days ago on a random shopping spree after work.
Despite looking back and forth between the ring on my hand and the one pictured on the website for a solid minute or two, I still wasn't completely convinced. I mean, how could my beloved UO betray me like this? Wasn't it in a different league than Forever21? It couldn't possibly stoop to the level of the enemy! I scoured Forever21.com in existential turmoil until I found what I was looking for:
At this point, I burst into tears*. My worst fears had been confirmed. I guess this is how people feel when they find out their SOs are cheating on them.
The silliest part is that UO describes the ring as exclusive to them. Wtffff. Lies lies lies! At least Forever21's prices reflect the quality of their merchandise - I like to know when I'm paying for crap, thank you very much.
The sad thing is, this sort of thing happens all the time outside of clothing retail. Cars, vodka, organic produce, and everything you see that has a drugstore imitation next to it are just a few examples of products that undergo severe price markups solely because of the way they are branded and marketed. I'm throwing an indignant mini tantrum here because of this one example of trickery that I've unearthed, but in reality I shouldn't be complaining. At the end of the day, brands and packaging promote an unattainable lifestyle that lure me in with promises of a better, cooler, hipper Rose Fan - and who wouldn't want that?! It's like a bad Will Smith alien movie. Brands have infiltrated our society. Resistance is futile. Only the monks are immune - seize them!
Will this sweatshop labor-free American Apparel shirt make me a better human who doesn't care about brand names? No, because some little Vietnamese boy probably lost a leg in the factory that made the bag I'm carrying it in (which, by the way, still has the trademark Aa logo emblazoned all over it, d'oh). Do I really think that graduating from the University of Chicago will make me a "life of the mind" scholar who devotes my being to the glories of conservative economic theory? Fuck no, I just want the school's name on my resume so I can find a job that'll let me purchase Grey Goose instead of Absolut. Because you know, that would put me in the same league as T.I. and Jamie Foxx.
The price we pay to impress those around us is so transparent. Pathetic and desperate as it may be, I'll probably still stop by Urban Outfitters after work today for some retail therapy (it's been a long week). Looking at the price tag on their jewelry might annoy me for a moment but then I'll just see something cute and convince myself I have to own it, if only to feel smug when I walk out and see girls with Forever21 shopping bags. They, in turn, will probably be thinking I'm an idiot.
The lesson here is, if Forever21 is the poor man's Urban Outfitters, then the poor man always wins.
*Dramatization
The silliest part is that UO describes the ring as exclusive to them. Wtffff. Lies lies lies! At least Forever21's prices reflect the quality of their merchandise - I like to know when I'm paying for crap, thank you very much.
The sad thing is, this sort of thing happens all the time outside of clothing retail. Cars, vodka, organic produce, and everything you see that has a drugstore imitation next to it are just a few examples of products that undergo severe price markups solely because of the way they are branded and marketed. I'm throwing an indignant mini tantrum here because of this one example of trickery that I've unearthed, but in reality I shouldn't be complaining. At the end of the day, brands and packaging promote an unattainable lifestyle that lure me in with promises of a better, cooler, hipper Rose Fan - and who wouldn't want that?! It's like a bad Will Smith alien movie. Brands have infiltrated our society. Resistance is futile. Only the monks are immune - seize them!
Will this sweatshop labor-free American Apparel shirt make me a better human who doesn't care about brand names? No, because some little Vietnamese boy probably lost a leg in the factory that made the bag I'm carrying it in (which, by the way, still has the trademark Aa logo emblazoned all over it, d'oh). Do I really think that graduating from the University of Chicago will make me a "life of the mind" scholar who devotes my being to the glories of conservative economic theory? Fuck no, I just want the school's name on my resume so I can find a job that'll let me purchase Grey Goose instead of Absolut. Because you know, that would put me in the same league as T.I. and Jamie Foxx.
The price we pay to impress those around us is so transparent. Pathetic and desperate as it may be, I'll probably still stop by Urban Outfitters after work today for some retail therapy (it's been a long week). Looking at the price tag on their jewelry might annoy me for a moment but then I'll just see something cute and convince myself I have to own it, if only to feel smug when I walk out and see girls with Forever21 shopping bags. They, in turn, will probably be thinking I'm an idiot.
The lesson here is, if Forever21 is the poor man's Urban Outfitters, then the poor man always wins.
*Dramatization
I know this is late but this reminds me of the tagline of stuff white people like:
ReplyDelete"The unique taste of millions"