Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery

 

Oh man, I remember American Apparel. I never shopped there, though. At my high school, it was what the "slutty hipsters" wore and I did not listen to nearly enough Arcade Fire to be able to shop there. I do remember seeing the ads for the shops, though, and being like, "Huh. Awk." There's actually an opinion piece from some reputable magazine that compared their ads to softcore porn.

In STRIP TEES, Kate Flannery, an ex-spokesmodel for the company, talks about living in LA in her late teens and early twenties, working for the infamous teen clothing brand. She compares it to a cult, and I think she may be on to something, because the complicit silences and closing of ranks that happen in a toxic workplace environment really can appear similar to the mass-brainwashing of a pseudo religion.

I LOVED this book. If you told me one of my favorite memoirs of the year was going to be about a clothing brand from my childhood that I never wore, I would have lol'd. But here I am, spitting facts: this is a snapshot of a bygone era and a #MeToo story, as well as a voyeuristic insight into the rise and fall of a once-powerful company.

So good.

5 out of 5 stars