Hollister has always confused me.
There’s a couple reasons for this. Hollister stores are always dimly lit, to the point where it’s hard to see the clothes they’re trying to sell. They blast music, making it hard to hear anything. The employees are required to greet people with an awkward “Hey, what’s up,” regardless of the customer’s age. Still, Hollister is wildly popular among the tween population despite its ridiculously high prices. I’ve heard of middle schoolers getting bullied because they don’t wear Hollister clothes.
But what baffles me about Hollister the most is their shopping bags.
A typical Hollister shopping bag looks like this:
Which always makes me think this:
Recently, though, I did make a purchase at Hollister. (I admit it. They were having an awesome after-Christmas sale.) I got a pretty nice sweater. Pretty standard. Except they gave it to me in this bag:
I mean, there’s naked men… and then there’s naked men full-on making out. Yeesh. Call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I think it’s a bit much. I wasn’t the only one who thought so, either.
Or my dad:
Best of all was my dear ol’ grandmother, a tiny Vietnamese lady who’s nearly reached 90.
Oh my. Hollister is indeed a bit baffling like that. Interestingly enough, Hollister is really popular in Germany, despite touting even higher prices than America. There’s only 11 locations in Germany, though. My host sister noted that a typical German Hollister store has a huge line of people waiting to get in– testament to its popularity.
I worked at Hollister for a year. You get plenty of parents asking for different bags without half naked men but they do not have them. Also, they make you spray the cologne every 20 min around the store which is always fun for a 6 hour shift.
That sounds awful. I’ve met people who work at Hollister, and I heard there’s some really strict rules to keep the place “cool.” There really aren’t any bags without half-naked men? :O
BAHA! I have the exact same problem with Abercrombie & Fitch, which owns Hollister. I’m sorry, I have trouble buying from a store when I have to carry that bag around. And as a general rule, except for their holiday sales, it’s so expensive it makes me cringe! I think I own one thing from Hollister, and it was a gift and I really don’t wear it much. Call me hipster, but wearing labels from Hollister, Aeropostale, and Abercrombie projects the ‘tween population’ as you call it…and I’m trying to look older, not younger. XDDD
LOL at your Vietnamese grandmother!
Hahaha I know! I carried that bag around the mall in great shame. I was shocked at how popular Hollister was in Germany… here, many people look down on it as a teeny-bopper trendy overpriced brand. And I personally don’t think the clothes is particularly unusual to warrant such prices.
Haha I feel like your grandmother. This whole post gave me a heart attack. What has the world come to!? Middle Schoolers are turning into little hoes, you can’t even buy clothes at a reasonable price anymore…
Slap a sticker on my forehead and call me a hipster, but I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drummer, and I’ve never dressed like everyone else. I never wanted to be like anyone else (unless Frida Kahlo counts hehe) I guess because I’m an only child and I’m used to being by myself. I can’t believe kids are getting beaten up for not wearing it! Boy if I was in middle school now…
But like my dad says, if you follow the herd, all you see is asses and you become an ass… (he’s got more obscure sayings where that came from…)
It’s true… kids start using makeup and dressing “older” at younger and younger ages. When you’re young, you want to look old, and when you’re old, you want to look young! Irony at its best.
Yay, go Morgan! I’ve pretty much worn whatever I want as well… but that’s more out of laziness and lack of fashion sense. I’ve been scolded many a time for wearing scrubby clothes.
You dad sounds awesome. That is all.
What are the prices like in Germany for hollister? Ie how much would a hoodie cost or a skirt? Thank you 🙂 and I totally agree with your comment on the bags 🙂
You know, I’m not exactly sure. I never went to a Hollister store in Germany, but my host sister mentioned that it was up there with Bench and other trendy brands, and that it is significantly more expensive in Germany than in America. And it’s already pretty expensive in America. I’m sorry I couldn’t provide a more definitive answer!
I wear a lot of Hollister/ Abercrombie & Fitch shirts, and the best part: they are all hand-me-downs from my cousin. (yeah, free clothes) 🙂 But, like you, I don’t care what I wear either. Often, I will look down on my shirt and think, “Woah, how did this get on me? I don’t remember putting this on at all!” I just put on the first shirt I see. Yeah, no fashion sense. 🙂
Free clothes! I understand– most of my clothes comes from my older sister. If you can be fashionable for free, why not?