Dov Charney

By now you've probably heard that Woody Allen is suing American Apparel for damages in excess of $10 million for using his likeness in a billboard. Reuters quotes the lawsuit as stating, "Allen does not engage in the commercial endorsement of products or services in the United States."

That wasn't always the case.  read more »

At 3:04 p.m. on Wednesday, employees of trendy L.A.-based clothier American Apparel emerged from the brightly illuminated storefront at 142 Fifth Avenue, clapping and cheering to the beat of loud pop music blaring in the background.

One clerk carried a bullhorn. "We're open! Finally!" announced the amplified black-clad lad named Jonny, who further identified himself as company founder and CEO Dov Charney's illegitimate lovechild. (The Observer does not confirm nor deny that claim.)

For days, passersby would stop to glimpse inside the partially unveiled storefront at racks of tees, hoodies and undies, as well as the company's trademark posters of employees in provocative poses. One posterior shot, visible from the location's expansive 19th Street side, demonstrates the snug fit of the company's cotton spandex jersey tank thong.

The Observer spotted former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek sneaking a peek through the window around 1:05 p.m. today.

The approximately 5,000-square-foot store -- which operations manager Max Sugiura described as "a much cleaner version" of the national retailer's usual layout -- is the company's 15th location in Manhattan and Brooklyn in just three years. (See our previous coverage here and here.)

Its increasing ubiquitousness has created some critics, particularly given that this latest store replaced much-beloved Weiss & Mahoney.

Good thing, then, that the sprawling franchise is now looking to slow things down a bit.  read more »

"This will be our last store in New York," said Sugiura, "for a while."

- Chris Shott

Annotated index for And You Thought Abercrombie & Fitch Was Pushing It?, by Jaime Wolf, The New York Times Magazine, April 23, 2006. A Abercrombie & Fitch (clothing manufacturer), 58 Adbusters (magazine), 61 Adult Video News (a/k/a AVN), 61 Allen, Woody (director), 63 (See: Hannah and Her Sisters) Alonzo, Iris, American Apparel creative partner, 62 American commodity manufacturing, Charney fixation on, 62 American Apparel, 58-63 Araki, Nobuyoshi (photographer), 60; 63 Asymmetrical features, 60 (see also: ethnic, mixed-race, imperfect bodies, blemished skin, and visible sweat stains) B Baby Boomers, 62; 63 Bare chest, Dov Charney's, sometimes visible in American Apparel ads, 61 Benetton (retailer), multiculturalism of, 63 Blogosphere, location for advertising, 60 Brady, Marsha (supervisor of décor), 62 Broadband venture, 60 Burlington, VT, 60 C Canada, as birthplace of Marshall McLuhan, 60 Chanaye, 18-year-old self-professed hippie of Afro-Cuban descent, 60 Charney, Dov, 58-63 Chicago (Illinois), location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Concise 48 Laws of Power, The (author, Robert Greene), 60 Consumerism, yoked to political gestures and activism, 61 (see: Political gestures) Cwir, Weronika, law school drop-out, American Apparel theorist, 63 D Dawson's Creek (TV series), 60 Dixon, Willie (blues songwriter), 61 E Echo Park (Los Angeles), location of American Apparel store, 60; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (see: Lower East Side) Email, photographs sent via, 62; input through, 62 Eisenhower, generation of, 62 F Fantastic Man (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Fonda, Jane (actress), enlarged photo of, 63 Florida, location of Charney's childhood vacations, 62 Frankfurt (Germany), location of American Apparel store, 60 Fruit of the Loom (brand), 62 G Gap, model for American Apparal, 60; Gap, rules of, 60; Gap, standards of sandblasted, bland notion of good-looking young Americans, 60 Gawker.com, pop-culture site, 60 Girl Next Door, The, 61 Girls Gone Wild, stupidly raunchy phenomenon, 61 Goldin, Nan (photographer), 63 H Hannah and Her Sisters, 80s film, 63 (See: Woody Allen) Hanes (brand), 62; 63 Hefner, Hugh (publisher), Charney reminiscent of, 61; expanded definition of sexuality of, 61; Sexual relationships with employees of, 61; Subtlety of, 61 Henley shirt, origins of, 62 Hepburn, Audrey, 62 Hilton, Paris, 61 Hollywood, standards of glamour of, 61 I Instant-messaging, input through, 62 J Jacques-Charley, pet project of Charney and Alonzo, 63; French pronunciation of, 63 (See: Zhac-Sharlee) Jane (magazine), revealing profile of Charney in, 63 (see: Claudine Ko) Job definitions, fluidity of in American Apparel, 62 K Knits, clingy, 60 Ko, Claudine (magazine writer), revealing profile of Charney written by, 63 Kuczynski, Alex (reporter), 60 L L.A. Weekly (alternative newspaper), 61 Levi's 501's, iconic, 62 London (England), location of American Apparel store, 60 Los Angeles, location of American Apparel store, 60; location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Lower East Side (New York), location of American Apparel store, 60; 62; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (See: Echo Park) M Makeup, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 McLuhan, Marshall, 60 Mexico City, location of American Apparel store, 60; next cool city, 62 Mexico City Monthly (bilingual publication), available at American Apparel stores, 62 Miami Beach (Florida), location for American Apparel store, 63 Minimum wage, American Apparel workers paid double, 60 Montreal, birthplace of Charney, 62 Monogamy, non-preoccupation with among new adult generation, 63 MySpace (social network), 60 N Na pograniczu kiczu i absolutnego piekna, Polish translation of, 63 Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement), life in Canada before, 62 Naked people, beauty of, 60 National Geographic, style of cheesecake, 60 O O.C., The (TV series), 60 Onion, The (alternative newpaper), 61 Oui (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 P Page, Bettie, 60 Paris (France), location of American Apparel store, 60 Penthouse (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 Pizzaroni, Luca, friend of Charney, 60 Piercings, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Platonic ideals, T-shirts exemplified, 60 Pleasure, heightened state of in American Apparel ads, 60 Political gestures, yoked to certain modes of consumerism, 61 (See: Consumerism) Plucked and trimmed eyebrows, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Polynesia, girls of, 60 Purple Fashion (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Q R Richardson, Terry (photographer), 61 Russell Athletic (T-shirt), 62 S Safde, Moshe (architect), uncle of Charney, 62 Safdie, Sylvia (painter, sculptor), mother of Charney, 62 Santa Cruz, U.C. (American university), 62 Schmatte business, 60 Seoul (Korea), location of American Apparel store, 60 Sharper Image (retailer), vision of hipster version of, 63 (See: 7-11) 7-Elevan (retailer), for hipsters, 63; (See: Sharper Image) Sexual harassment (lawsuit against Charney), 60; 63 Short hair (female), unnaturalness of, 62 Soprano, Tony (TV character), 63 Sperry Top-Sider (shoes), 62 Spunt, Alexandra, American Apparel senior content advisor, 62 Suicide Girls (website), 61 T Tattoos, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62; possibility of Charney falling in love with a girl who has, 62 Tel Aviv (Israel), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tokyo (Japan), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tighty Whitey (underwear), impressive achievement of style resurgence, 63 Tufts University (American university), education of Charney at, 62 U Underwear, Charney's pride in adult film star wearing, 61 V Vanity Fair (magazine), favorably compared to Vice, 61 Vertical Integration, business model, 60 Vice, anti-P.C. lifestyle magazine; 61; "Our Vanity Fair," 61 Village Voice, The (alternative newspaper), 61 Vintage T-shirt, 'rad'-ness of, 62 W Warhol, Andy (artist), early hand-painted works, 60 Whole Foods (grocer), 61 Wolf, Howlin' (blues singer), 61 X Y Yonehara, Yasumasa (photographer), 60 Young Metropolitan Adults, definition of, 61; Aggressively sexualized world of, 61; Z Zhac-Sharlee, French pronunciation of Jacques-Charley, 63 (See: Jacques-Charley)  read more »

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