Do Shops Need to Watch What They Sell?

Slogan tees used too be all the rage for men and women alike. Who remembers Henry Holland and Agnes Deyn starting the craze off a couple of years ago with his collection One Trick Pony?! I bet everyone does as we are still seeing the effects, albeit maybe in a little more distaste…

 

graziadaily.co.uk

This week saw high street giant Topshop receive 1,600 complaints over two men’s t-shirts that had come into production. Topshop apologised after removing hundreds of them from stores but reported that they “…were meant to be light hearted and carried no serious meaning.”

   

bitterwallet.com                                fashionforlunch.com

Topshop wasn’t the only store misbehaving over tee slogans too. JC Penney has been slammed for his t-shirt for children with the message “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother does it for me.” So with all the ruckus over this matter is it time for labels / stores to think more responsibly about what they are selling.

There are two sides of the argument here…no because fashion is meant to be fun and is seen as a way of expressing yourself. If you don’t like it then why buy it?! However, fashion is also such a big part of our lives now that it has to have some affect on how we live our lives and carry out everyday tasks. This is not implying that the Topshop tees will make an individual do the things the right t-shirt suggests, but it certainly does seem to make it more acceptable if a big brand like Topshop is seen glamorising it. Sandra Horley, chief executive of the domestic violence charity Refuge, said: “These t-shirts perpetuate ignorance…shame on Topman!” If Topshop do want to carry on with the slogan trend, maybe they should stick with the LOVE theme? At least it sends out an acceptable message.

 

jadoreparisboutique.blogspot.com

As for the clothes that are aimed towards children, isn’t it up to the parents to buy what is suitable? Quite a lot of high streets stores have come under fire in recent years for selling padded bras to pre-teens (Asda and Tesco), school stationary infused with the playboy bunny logo (WH Smiths) and toys that are marketed in sexually explicit ways (Tesco again), but children generally don’t have choice over what they wear. With the row over children growing up to quickly and being thrust into an adult world before they are ready, Mumsnet has set up the campaign ‘Let Girls Be Girls.’ Will this change what is available to children in stores?

So it seems that some of the slogans should be taken with a pinch of salt, consumers definitely have mixed opinions about slogans out in the fashion world; but maybe others should be road tested before put into mainstream production…the public wear it so why not source the public’s opinion first? The other option is to maybe employ designers with a little bit of common sense in the first place…

By Adriana Panas-Webb