Beef with Bootlegger...?

[thechix0r]

Alright, I've been working at Bootlegger for a couple months now, and I must admit I do like some of their clothing and I enjoy working there. I get discounts on jeans and clothes (a good thing for a student with no money :)) and I have met lots of new people, as well as acquired some sense of self by helping others make choices with what they wear...

Here's the shit...

We just got a pair of jeans in made by Bootlegger, they are called 71's which are the higher end brand, along with Brody (Bootlegger brand). This is a guy's jean and one of the slogans that we have is "Wear with pleasure," or "Wear with attitude" for guys and "Made with Love" for girls, or something corny like that.

Anyways, back to this pair of jeans... on the inside of the waist it says "Wear with pleasure," which isn't too bad, but then you look on the inside near the right front pocket, what do you find, a little square pocket that says, "Wear protection" on it. This isn't the first time that I have disliked what some of their clothing is implying. We have a t-shirt for girls that says "Free bucking" on it. Hmm I wonder what that's suppose to imply. It's not the fact that it's there that bothers me, it's the fact that Bootlegger neglected to think about the effect that it could afterwards... or the bigger picture.

I want to know what other FNKer's think and whether this appauled you as much as it did me. Keep in mind that Bootlegger's target market is 17 - 25, yet we constantly get in pre-teen and young teenagers who buy our clothing. Do you think it's wrong?

[ja_raul]

interesting thread, ive never seen one of those "free bucking" shirts but they sound pretty original, given that the design looks half decent.

to say whether it is wrong or not is sort of hard since clothing is a choice of one's style, and since youve said that its only a select few pieces of bootlegger's clothing that has these types of messages i cant see it as a big problem. people will choose what they want to wear, they wont go into a store saying "ok i have to buy at least one thing, well damn, i guess i gota buy this "free bucking" shirt, i hope it doesnt send the wrong message"

what will be more interesting to find out is how fast these types of shirts/jeans are sold.

[t-skywalker]

i use to work there as an assitant manager, i hated it..i walked out right in the middle of my shift..hahahahaha!!!!!:) couldnt stand the manager...but the clothes were ok..i mean it was easy to sell!!!

[BongMan]

What is Bootleger???

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by ja_raul

interesting thread, ive never seen one of those "free bucking" shirts but they sound pretty original, given that the design looks half decent.

to say whether it is wrong or not is sort of hard since clothing is a choice of one's style, and since youve said that its only a select few pieces of bootlegger's clothing that has these types of messages i cant see it as a big problem. people will choose what they want to wear, they wont go into a store saying "ok i have to buy at least one thing, well damn, i guess i gota buy this "free bucking" shirt, i hope it doesnt send the wrong message"

what will be more interesting to find out is how fast these types of shirts/jeans are sold.

See that's the thing, it's not just a FEW pieces of clothing, we have like 15 shirts that have suggestive shit on them (more maybe) and I alway see 13 year olds girls buying them... I just don't agree with that sort of thing. It's inevitable that it's gonna happen at some store or another, but why does Bootlegger have to jump on the bandwagon? There are far more classy ways of looking sexy and appealing, rather than spelling it out on your shirt. The jeans were the boiling point for me and for my manager. She told home office that she is sending all calls to them from mothers who like the jean and then get their kid to try it on and buy it, then take it home and discover the "pocket"

[thechix0r]

not to mention like another 20 or so shirts for guys... seriously next time you're in metrotown or something, take a look...

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by BongMan

What is Bootleger???

Clothing store ;)

[ja_raul]

Originally Posted by thechix0r

See that's the thing...

well now, thats a horse of a different colour! i guess the suits up in the bootlegger offices decided to jump on the bandwagon simply to make more money, i havent really known them to be a company to have a wholesome stance, or any stance at all. its just another clothing store that follows current fads, lets just hope that those 20 shirts dont become your whole stock before the new year.

so, get back to us on how often this slutty apparel is being sold, and also, where do these 13 year old girls get money to buy shit for themselves? if the parents are giving them money shouldnt the parents themselves check up on what their kids buy? whats going on?? what the fuck???

requesting pics of said clothing

I think the parents are partly to blame too, why are they allowing their children to buy clothing like these?

My mother wouldn't let me wear a t-shirt that said "eat my shorts" by Bart Simpson when I was younger, she sure as hell wouldn't permit me to wear those. I think that the parents should be stepping in as well, but I agree, Bootlegger is portraying the wrong image to girls.

It seems to be trendy to be a hussy right now.

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by Avana

It seems to be trendy to be a hussy right now.

See, and I can remember the 80s when my sister wanted to dress in Madonna clothing and my mother was griping about the same thing.

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by ja_raul

well now, thats a horse of a different colour! i guess the suits up in the bootlegger offices decided to jump on the bandwagon simply to make more money, i havent really known them to be a company to have a wholesome stance, or any stance at all. its just another clothing store that follows current fads, lets just hope that those 20 shirts dont become your whole stock before the new year.

so, get back to us on how often this slutty apparel is being sold, and also, where do these 13 year old girls get money to buy shit for themselves? if the parents are giving them money shouldnt the parents themselves check up on what their kids buy? whats going on?? what the fuck???

requesting pics of said clothing

I live in north van... I have 13 year olds coming to me with credit cards with their name on them... the parents don't give.. I can't say the same for other Bootlegger stores, and pictures will be here shortly if I can find them.

Shirts sell like hotcakes, so many girls buying them, so many guys buying them... it's rather sad really

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

See, and I can remember the 80s when my sister wanted to dress in Madonna clothing and my mother was griping about the same thing.

True that

Even what girls wear to parties scares the bejesus out of me - and don't tell me it is too hot. A corset and a garter is not because it is toooooooo hot.

[cubed]

personally I could care less.

if you're tacky enough to shop at bootlegger, you deserve what you get.

[mugsy]

gotta agree with Avana - there's no way in hell my mom or my dad would have ever let me outta the house in something like that when i was younger, let alone buy it for me. parents need to step up, but then again how many girls change after they get to school? my little cousin does it apparently and as soon as i can get up to kamloops, we're going to have a talk.

anyways, its going to happen anywhere and anyways. it is a trend, and hopefully it will die fast.

[miss.myra]

Originally Posted by cubed

personally I could care less.

if you're tacky enough to shop at bootlegger, you deserve what you get.

eeeexactly.

[idle]

see i would have to disagree this is not a new thing i have been wearing sexually sudgestive clothes since i was 13. bj subs "its a mouthfull" lol

Myra and Jim - I hate to say this - but there are other stores that sell the same style of suggestive clothing, if not clothing that is too short/low-cut/sheer or otherwise suggestive that we like to shop at.

Including places like Aritzia, Off the Wall, Le Chateau, AE, Hot Topic, Hitz Boutique, Laramy and various other places.

I think this should be more a thread of what is too much in the way of clothing.

[frogprincess]

square pocket in the jeans promoting "protection" is not the worst thing to happen to a pair of jean (worst thing: jeans w/ no pockets!). peoples become sexually active in thier teens, pretending that they do not is going to change anything or keep them safe.

and t-shirts with sexually suggestive slogans are nothing new, i have seen many in vintage shops and i own one that say SIP ON IT across the chest (advertising MILK).

if you want to be able to sell wholesome clothes to kids check out PLEASE MUM or BABY GAP.

[Cdn_Brdr]

If I knew what 'FREE BUCKING' meant I might be more inclined to have an opinion.

BTW..... don't kid yourself that the 12 or 13 y/o coming into your store don't know about sex. There's a good chance, in this day and age at least, that a few of them are sexually active. Having a pocket that says 'wear protection' hardly seems scandalous. As for the 'Wear with Pleasure' slogan, it's only an innuendo if you make it so. I take 'pleasure' in my appearance, when I look good I feel good.

While some t-shirt slogans may be too much I hardly think the particular ones you quoted are. I saw a chick who looked about 14 with a t-shirt that said 'I'm a virgin...' on the front and 'but this is an old t-shirt' on the back. Maybe that's a bit more scandalous....

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by Cdn_Brdr

If I knew what 'FREE BUCKING' meant I might be more inclined to have an opinion.

BTW..... don't kid yourself that the 12 or 13 y/o coming into your store don't know about sex. There's a good chance, in this day and age at least, that a few of them are sexually active. Having a pocket that says 'wear protection' hardly seems scandalous. As for the 'Wear with Pleasure' slogan, it's only an innuendo if you make it so. I take 'pleasure' in my appearance, when I look good I feel good.

While some t-shirt slogans may be too much I hardly think the particular ones you quoted are. I saw a chick who looked about 14 with a t-shirt that said 'I'm a virgin...' on the front and 'but this is an old t-shirt' on the back. Maybe that's a bit more scandalous....

I don't kid myself, I know kids aren't naive when it comes to sex... but that doesn't mean it has to be promoted in that light. As for it being just bootlegger, that's totally not true, take a look at the clothes from Suzy Sheer, Sirens, Guess, or any clothing store. I know it's a trend, I just think that the trend has gotten a little outta hand. By the way Cdn we have that shirt... haha

I don't think it's one slogan or another, it's just the whole of it altogether... "Wear with Pleasure" isn't bad until you couple it with the pocket.

[thechix0r]

Originally Posted by cubed

personally I could care less.

if you're tacky enough to shop at bootlegger, you deserve what you get.

Agreed. some of the clothing at Bootlegger is absolutely horrid, I personally just like the jeans and a few shirts here and there... but that doesn't mean that that kind of stuff should be out there really. Suggestive t-shirts have been around for a while, but they seem to be the new trend these days...

[Cdn_Brdr]

Is it really promotion when inevitably it's something thatll happen with or without that little saying? What it 'promotes' if anything, is safe sex.... it's best to realize that kids are gonna do these things anyways and your best defense is to let them know how to be safe about it.

[thechix0r]

^^ well aware of this, just don't think it needs to be around and there are far better ways to educate kids on being safer than putting a pocket in a pair of jeans. Kind of the same thing as the kind of TV that's on daytime these days... my little cousins when I watch them, flip through channels that are quite sexual... there just doesn't seem to be a sense what is appropriate anymore

[baby-phat]

Originally Posted by cubed

personally I could care less.

if you're tacky enough to shop at bootlegger, you deserve what you get.

Well then, I guess you can call me tacky. Cuz I occassionaly do buy things at Bootlegger- they have some nice sweaters and shirts that aren't suggestive. Then again, I am 26 so I can wear suggestive shit if I please.
But yeah, seeing 12-14 year old girls runnin around with sexually suggestive shirts does turn my stomach a lil. They should be at home with their Barbie's not trying to get guys to notice them in a not so good way.