Thursday, July 29, 2010

Craig Embraces His Preppy Roots on 34th Street

Intern Craig visits American Eagle Outfitters and WHO.A.U (left) on 34th Street and embraces his inner prep.

In high school, your popularity didn't depend on the number of Facebook friends (or real life friends for that matter), but instead was measured by the number of Abercrombie polos you owned. As a boy built with child-bearing hips, Abercrombie's sizing system never quite agreed with my voluptuous figure. I had to resort to more inclusive brands like American Eagle Outfitters. However, the joke is on Abercrombie because I never grew out of American Eagle and I don't know anyone that shopped at Abercrombie after 12th grade.

I could write volumes on the reasons I love American Eagle. Some highlights include:

  • Fantastic sizing options
  • Nice mix of clothes with heavy branding or no branding at all
  • Durability (I still have an AE cardigan from 2007 that I will never part with)
  • Amazing price points
I stopped by the 34th Street location last week and found a nice button-down/cargo short combo that immediately caught my eye. I loved the shirt because it fit great and wasn't branded with the eagle. I don't have anything against American Eagle but I don't feel the urge to act as a walking billboard for my clothing stores. The shirt is great by itself or to layer in the fall. This is a great transition piece for any guy's wardrobe.

My thoughts on cargo shorts differ from day to day. On some people, they look great. On other people, they can look sloppy. Try to pair your cargos with a nice button-down or polo and a sleek plimsoll sneaker or driving loafer. The whole t-shirt/cargo/flip-flops combo doesn't quite work off campus, bro.

I also used this opportunity to investigate Who.A.U, one of our newest tenants on 34th Street. I like to describe the store as the Korean version of Hollister, which is certainly interesting. More important, Who.A.U's aesthetic definitely allows the brand to be more susceptible to trendier items like military style jackets, leggings, etc. From what I remember, Hollister's product doesn't change much.

I had to enlist the help of a much thinner friend because Who.A.U's sizing gives me a complex. We picked this interesting gradient polo and jeans. My friend usually wears a small/extra-small in other stores but had to switch to a medium here and it was still somewhat uncomfortable. The jeans were also uncomfortably snug on him. If you remember my tweets from the opening, my female friend tried on a pair of jeans and said they were the closest things to jeggings she tried.

So who's your favorite, go-to preppy store? Abercrombie, AEO, or newly converted to WHO.A.U?



More WHO.A.U pictures from the 34th Street store:



















American Eagle Outfitters, 40 W. 34th between 5th & 6th Avenues
WHO.A.U, 22 W. 34th Street between 5th & 6th Avenues

2 comments :

La Belette Rouge said...

Like that blue and white check shirt. Very cute. And the good thing about AEO is that it doesn't smell like Abercombie. I cannot stand the smell of that place!

The Preppy Princess said...

Love this post (there's no surprise in that!) and also like the blue & white shirt, this was a fun read! :)
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