Saturday 19 July 2008

GODDAMIT!


Top & scarf - Carlings, Shoes - H&M
Trousers - Genlemen take Polaroids (coloured by me)



Today I woke up to maybe the best day of summer so far.

Which sucked since I had to work today.

Yes, I'm still on vacation, but I had promised to do a shift at "the-cothing-store-I'm-employed-at-but-never-work-in-but-still-have-my-discount-at"; the first shift since one in February, the time before that being someting like November 2007. (I'm not sure if the discount is worth it, goddamit I don't even shop there that much anymore!)

Well, I'm there and one hour before the other guy who will finish the day is due to come to work he calls me in the shop and tells me he's ill and won't show up. Seriously, fuck. I really wanted to go home and cathc some beauty sleep bvefore hitting the town big tie tonight. Thank god some of the sweet guys from another of these stores (there are three within five minutes from each other) came and stayed for a while so I could have lunch, and another guy other came to close so I didn't have to stay the whole evening. You gotta love those guys.

About the store... I kind of hate it in a way. They have their own designers and own brands. As an employee you can send in suggestions for designs, and if it is put up fpr production you get 1000 euros. Not much if you've actually designed something, but if you're a regular guy behind the counter and have a cool idea for say, a t-shirt, then one grand and your shirt in the store is quite nice. So, two years ago I drew up a whole collection of mine and my friend's (who was also my storemanager's at the time) ideas. Very what-we-know-they-would-sell and some of what we wanted for ourselves. The responce was that it was "really good, but a bit too much for them to dig in to".

Ummmm, what?

Someone gets a grand for saying "you should make a yellow tee with red stripes" and we had tons of ideas but it's too much for them to look at? Ok, fine, if they wouldn't have wanted those designs at all. But during the year after some similar things showed up in the store, like small details resembling, or the same model but different patterns or colours... Hmm, ok, might be a coincidence and I'm a trend oracle in that case, but this shirt really pised me off:

My drawing of a men's shirt in August 2006:


Sneaky pics of shirt in production fall/winter 2007:


Rrrrip-off!
Sure, I had ska-inspired checks and this shirt dogtooth, but they had never had shirt lined with checks before! And I had put the checked lining under the collar (and on it in another version), they had it inside. But the lining of the buttons and the cuffs are just like I drew them, goddamit, it's the same f***ing shirt!

Sure, fashion industry is a lot about copying or riping off, you know, what you see on the catwalks of the big fashion houses you'll see similar versions of in Zara etc. the season after. That's ok, it's the way it goes and it's a bit different when huge corporations do it as part of a system than when a company rips it's employers of.

So, I'm going to keep on being employed and shop cheaper and then maybe honour the shop with my presence behind the counter a couple of times a year.

I'll be there tomorrow too, all hungover and miserable, matching my eyes with the colour of my top, playing rautalanka-music. So don't come there. Well, unless you'll bring me an ice cream or something.
(hear hear, employee of the year speaking! :)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh love this look :). The scarf around your head is a real eyecatcher!

mateo said...

Those shirts really look alike!! You should sue their asses, maybe it would teach them a lesson ;))

Unknown said...

ummm wow totally similar designs on the shirt.



...and I really love that look on you!

Elsa said...

It is your shirt. Definitely.

Anonymous said...

åh. du är så fin! så vill jag se ut när jag blir stor.

Anonymous said...

I know that has to be a bummer. I am an artist myself, and even something as small as someone stealing a basic idea that I mention in a class flares up my nerves. I would be so angry if I had not been compensated for my work!

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

That sucks! Those sneaks! I wish there was a way for you to sue. Seriously, so wrong that they would rip-off your designs like that!

Miss Rascal said...

Very cute outfit.

WJ said...

Wow, sucks about the shirt. But I'd bring you an icecream, definitely. If I was within reasonable travelling distance. Cute top too!

Smaggle said...

Oh I love this it looks like the top part of my swimmers! I hate all that design comp crap. Manufacturers wouldn't know good design if they fell over it.

Anonymous said...

complete ripoff!!!!

---Aurelia

Mrs Munster said...

Sue them! That's just terrible, but hey, that's how money is made...rip off. Your outfit looks fab as always though. Hope you had a good nite out...

ina said...

ok, the sketch and the shirt are really similar..
And that was one hell of a night out we had =)

AlicePleasance said...

Another gorgeous outfit! Next month there will be a 50s rockabilly festival near here (http://www.summerjamboree.com) and I can't wait! You should come too!!!

Annie Spandex said...

I love your pin-up style!!! So glamorous...

Annie Spandex said...

And yeah... they totally ripped you off. That sucks. :(

Miriam Parkman said...

I adore that outfit! Charming, flirty and cool.

But, it really sucks when you discover your designs being copied... You can only try to comfort yourself with the knowledge of you doing it first, and that they actually had to copy something to have anything to sell. You got better brains! ;)