American Girl

American Girl's newest doll is half-Irish, half-Japanese. Her name is Jess, and the story takes place in Belize where her parents work as archaeologists. First, thumbs up for an Asian doll, finally!! Thumbs down, why couldn't they have made a full-blooded Asian and talked about her heritage?

I used to be a big fan of American Girl when it was just Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. I thought the stories were enchanting, and the whole company really captured certain periods of American history. Then the company just exploded and began introducing doll after doll. Felicity. Addie. Kit. Josefina. Kaya. The stories were not as tightly woven together, and it seemed that the company was trying to fill some kind of void. Fill some kind of void it did...it became a national symbol for girls all over the country and an instant fad. American Girl began opening stores to accommodate its mail order business, and revenues started pouring in. Girls would drag their parents and dolls to have tea in the store with up to three hour waiting periods for a table. They would pick out new matching outfits and send their dolls to the doll salon conveniently available on location. And in their eyes, it was pure magic.

It is still magic, but as I am older and hopefully somewhat wiser, I am somewhat jaded by the entire process. It started when they introduced Addy, an attempt to delve into the life of African-Americans. It continued with Josefina with a story about Latinos and their life in the United States. They introduced more dolls, but not one of them were Asian. Even their Just like You doll collection specifically geared towards buying dolls that looked like the customer herself only had two Asian choices. Neither of the choices were particularly spectacular; they indeed were truly stereotypical in what an Asian looks like.

Then in 2005, they introduced their girl of the year, Marisol, who suspiciously looked like JLo as Jenny from the block. A lot of controversy ensued over the story as it detailed flight from the city into the suburbs. Still, it was a hit. Now, in 2006, they are introducing Jess, who is detailed as having almond-shaped eyes and loose braids. Please. Almond-shaped eyes are the most stereotypical Asian comment ever. Not only that, but the story is about her living in Belize! Basically, it is a story about your everyday American girl living abroad! I wish they had a full-blooded Asian doll on the role of Asians in United States history instead of this seemingly cop-out to attract Asian kids.

Oops, they did it again!

I used to love Abercrombie & Fitch sweaters. I still wear them because they keep me amazingly warm. Their $10 clearance sale every year? Nice. Their itty-bitty camisoles and tees? Would love to fit in them. But seriously, they need to stop with the attitude tees, the racist slogans, and the gray lines they continously flirt with in all aspects of their merchandising.

Katie Couric on Today hosted several teenagers from the Women and Girls Foundation from southwest Pennsylvania today. They are organizing a girlcott of Abercrombie due to this year's controversial attitude tees demeaning blondes, brunettes, and women in general. It's not the first time someone's organized a boycott of Abercrombie. Before this, Abercrombie had their Asian fiasco (how much more stereotypical can you get?!). And before that, they endured uproar over their bare-skin-obsessed magazine, which is now defunct.

I talk a lot about empowerment and women power. And I think that Abercrombie, in putting this winter line out, does a great disservice to all the women in the world. Yes, I agree that it will only be dumb people who will buy these shirts. I agree that most teenagers wouldn't think of wearing them. However, Abercrombie needs to realize that they should not have put those tees out for sale in the first place. It is wholy inappropriate. Plus, some of the shirts just don't make sense! Like you really have to be missing a few screws in order to even wear something like that. Take a look.

Hm. Adored? I don't think so. Where does the phrase "blonde bimbo" come from? How about "blondes have more fun"? That's right, from guys who want to bag girls. Lust and adoration are way two different things. Oh, and in a recent Cosmo magazine, a poll concluded that guys actually preferred brunettes. In my mind, why should it even make a difference?



How about this one? Let's see, should we applaud them because a Phi looks like an I? Or maybe the Omega looks like an O? How about the Sigmas as E's? Please. Interesting concept, but it totally falls flat. Unless of course, Abercrombie wants to change the spelling of Greek to Grssk.

Of course! Every girl's dream is to be a double D! Who cares if we are simpering idiots who are not able to use our brains?! We'll just all find sugar daddies, shake our chests at them, and be pampered the rest of our lives, even when our chests start to sag, huge back problems overtake our lives, and our sugar daddy dumps our ass for a girl 20 years younger!

OH. Here is my personal favorite. Abercrombie, I guess Sesame Street was too G-rated and non-controversial for you. I count 16 names, not 15. However, I, being the brainy sort of girl that I am, can see that you may mean R-rated encounters. Then I gotta say, don't you have any self-respect?? Don't fill your poor pretty brain with so many names! You might confuse yourself! Because after all, good thing you're still relying on your chest!! (On a side note: It must be pretty great to be a George in today's world!)


This one...I gotta admit, I've used this line before. Or actually, have had this line asked of me before given my background. But unless you're willing to demonstrate the spatial positions of the nerve, artery, vein...you're apparently going to be relying a lot on that chest!

Are these tees demeaning? Depends on the beholder. Should these tees even be out in stores causing controversy? No. The unsaid rule that we were all taught in polite society is that if you can't say something nice, don't say it at all. And friends, we shouldn't even have to say it at all. So...join in the girlcott of Abercrombie and Fitch and hurt them where it hurts this holiday season.

Can I borrow some snobbiness?

So I realize I talk about Express WAY too much, but considering that it is one of my staples in my closet, it stands to reason. However, I am seriously considering boycotting Express for awhile. Their level of customer service has just gone way down, and I'm sorry I don't walk in in Prada (actually, ironically, I walked in today with a pair of Express pants and a Limited top!) but I feel like the representatives are just poorly trained. Today I went in to return a pink shirt that washed me out, and I wanted to pick up some of the $29.50 button-downs, which for some reason are not online so I can't even find a picture to post. Anyway. The first guy was really nice, but then he had to call over the manager for the return, and she was...ok. Not rude, not condescending, just aloof. There was a moment where I thought she wasn't about to let me return the shirt due to the fact that I forgot the receipt in the car because she pursed her lips and looked down her nose at me and kept flipping the price tag. HELLO...I patronize your store...some courtesy wouldn't kill you. So I traded it in for a lavender button-down, and I paid an extra $16 to make up the difference. (I also get a little upset here at the Return Exchange thing they have going on, but regardless). I understand.

Actually I was also kind of upset because I wasn't at my usual store and this store didn't have anything in my size so I had to settle for lavender. And no one bothered asking me if everything was ok or even volunteered to call another store, which is what all the stores used to do. So I settled for lavender because I just didn't want to deal with a conversation with the salesgirl about changing my mind about returning.

So I got into my car and headed to another Express because to tell you the truth, that lavender shirt is kind of a letdown. Another mall, another Express, the salesgirl at the desk was pretty nice, and bam! they had a blue button-down in MY SIZE! (Oh. Side note here: There were many more colors at this Express so I took a bunch into the dressing room with me, and the girl who was working the dressing room was SO nice and SO sweet...that if I had gotten her name, I would have submitted it into Express Corporate to make sure she got some recognition. She gave me a ton of advice on color and told me which size fit better...it was just as how ALL retail employees should be.) So anyway, I'm at the desk, and I get this snotty stick-up-his-ass pompous guy.

He scans in the lavender shirt, squints at the screen, and then looks at my license. He does this a couple more times, and so I'm like, "Is something wrong?" He ignores this, writes down some stuff, and goes to that Return Exchange machine thing and stands there as if waiting for the machine to tell him that I am the source of all problems that Express has been having lately. Of course, it okays me, so he comes back and asks me how much I paid for the shirt. So I tell him the entire story. He then tells me he'll just give me a merchandise credit for the difference. By now, I'm really confused so I tell him that it is an even exchange, to which he's like, "Well, I know that but the computer says it is worth $68." And he's frowning so hard that I feel like he thinks that I'm "frauding" the company somehow. So I say, "Well, I got it today, so if you don't believe the receipt, you can call the other Express store and confirm. Besides, the PRICE TAG says $48." So he's like, "I know. But the computer says I owe you money." So I'm like, "Well, I didn't pay that amount, but if you want to give me money, I'm not going to complain." Instead he calls his manager over, who saw me rolling my eyes, and was like, "Just override it and do the even exchange." With the manager assessing me as a non-potential fraud case, Mr. Snot immediately warms up and GUSHES, "I LOVE this french blue!" I roll my eyes yet again and go, "Can you just please wrap it up?" Seriously. Don't kiss my butt because I tried to be honest and you thought otherwise. Or that you were too dumb to figure out anything.

I think for all future returns, I just might sell everything on Ebay. I would probably get more money for it in the first place, and I wouldn't have to deal with psychotic salesclerks who don't even want my business. If they only knew how much I end up spending on clothes each year. Plus I think the entire Return Exchange is a violation of my privacy.