Bathing Ape

"I wasn't the only one with hearts in my eyes when considering the hoodies..."

By Ayesha Walker, 19 years old
June 13, 2007

Listen to this Commentary!

Back in the day, it was Jordans. Now it’s a sweatshirt brand called A Bathing Ape – the latest fashion must-have for urban teens. Youth Radio’s Ayesha Walker loves to shop, but she’s not so hot on this particular trend – mostly because of the sweatshirt’s high price, and the fact that kids wearing these hoodies are being targeted for theft. (July 13 on Marketplace)

I know you've seen them. They come in loud colors, with cheesy looking objects like spaceships and diamonds floating all over them. They're called Bathing Ape hoodies.

A little more than a year ago when I first saw a Bathing Ape sweat shirt, all I could do was laugh. It looked like someone had armed a seven-year-old with a fresh pack of markers. It had a white background with pastel puddles of blue, yellow, and pink all over - something like army fatigues but for Easter.

The design seemed too juvenile for someone my age, so when I saw rapper Lil' Wayne wearing the exact same hoodie, I was shocked. Then when I saw one of the Pied Pipers of hip hop, Pharrell Williams, wearing one, I actually started to like them. I don't know if it was because Wayne was one of my favorite rappers at the time, or because the hoodie complimented Pharrell's skateboarder style and his adorable smile. But apparently I wasn't the only one with hearts in my eyes when considering the hoodies. I began to see them everywhere I went - at work, school, even the grocery store, and on everyone from elementary school boys to college students.

And that conformity doesn't come cheap. A Bathing Ape hoodie costs about $400! I'm sorry, but I can't support a brand that makes it okay for young people to have to scrape together that much money to buy one article of clothing.

I'd only pay through the nose for a $400 hoodie, if it could make me fly. No, not fly like "cute"...fly like a bird. But I can't really point too many fingers without pointing my thumb at myself, simply because I love to shop. I love to spend my money on clothes, accessories, and more clothes.

Maybe I'm being hypocritical. But I live in an area where people are living paycheck to paycheck but are still willing to buy these overly expensive items just to keep up with artists like Pharrell and Wayne. Designers put a big fat price tag on their clothes because they know people are willing to pay hundreds to outshine others in the same social class. Some people even steal them off the backs of targeted victims.

We can't afford these things, but we put holes in our pockets to buy them anyway...and there's a sense of insecurity when we don't have them. Brands like LRG and Drifter are expensive, but I've never seen teens go crazy over luxury items as costly as Bape. Young people switch up their style to draw attention by wearing this trendy, off-the-wall clothing...but everyone's different ends up looking the same.

So my advice to all you slaves to fashion - the next time you hear a Bathing Ape hoodie calling your name, ask yourself one
question - will it make me fly...like a bird?