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American Eagle–Why is it Still a Thing?

Welcome to Woodland. Here, our uniform is made up of anything not too short or revealing; however, the pseudo-uniform is American Eagle jeans, basic cotton v-necks and all-white Converse, Birkenstocks, or checkered Vans.

Don’t get me wrong, American Eagle jeans rock. They last a long time, they’re cute, but as with the rest of the American Eagle stock, there is no variety. All of their jeans are ripped in the same spots and are one of three different shades of blue. Boring.

Shown Above: Alyssa Gillies modeling the lightest shade of American Eagle’s signature blue–light. Photo Credit: Jess Vardon

Bella Cybulski, fashion aficionado, tired of seeing the same shirt thirty times a day on thirty different people, has a bone to pick with American Eagle.

Shown Above: Gillies and Kayleigh Budnick modeling the most commonly sold American Eagle shirt–the basic cotton v-neck. Photo Credit: Jess Vardon

“Some of it does look nice,” states Cybulski. “It’s just becoming more common to see.”

Shown Above: Gillies and Budnick modeling one of the newer American eagle trends: boho chic. This trend is accomplished with floral prints, exposed braletts, and off-the-shoulder tops. Photo Credit: Jess Vardon

Clothing used to be just for necessity, but as time goes on, it becomes more and more as a way for people to express themselves. American Eagle monopolizes on this by spreading their brand as a must have, something that everyone needs to have; however, most people find it hard to represent your personality with your clothes when there are numerous people wearing the same exact thing you are.

Shown Above: Gillies and Budnick modeling a very common color for American Eagle apparrel–dusty rose. Photo Credit: Jess Vardon

Fashion fanatic, Sofia DiPiro, has continuously been looking for stores with a wide variety in order to showcase her own unique identity. 

“I like Forever 21, H&M, and I shop a lot on Fashion Nova online,” DiPiro stated. “Half of my closet is from Fashion Nova.”

The lack of individuality is not the only issue with American Eagle. For most high school students, $60-80 for one pair of jeans is a little out of their price range, especially taking into account quality. I have personally bought many shirts and dresses from American Eagle, which have shrunk after the first wash–even when I am very careful to wash them in cold water and not put them in the dryer.

“I’ve had clothes from American Eagle that have gotten holes in them and strings coming out,” stated DiPiro. 

There are some stores that you’d expect the clothes you buy from there to fall apart; however, when you are spending around $40 for one shirt, it is questionable why the price is so steep. 

“I would say that their price is fair for most of their clothes,” Cybulski stated. “But when you’re buying a jumpsuit that’s $80; that’s not fair.” 

DiPiro has a similar belief on this subject. 

“I got a sweatshirt and a pair of pants there once,” she stated. “I was like, ‘I’m never shopping here again’.”

No matter your belief on price point, style, and substance from certain brands and stores, wear whatever you want. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of what you’re wearing as long as you’re happy with what you’re wearing. 

Unless you’re wearing suspenders with mustaches on them with a lime green t-shirt. Then there’s no excuse for that.

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Jess Vardon

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