A Roman buongiorno to American Apparel store

Susan Spano’s Postcards From Rome

Watch out Gucci, Versace, Fendi, Gabbana, Zegna and all the rest. There’s a new game in Rome: American Apparel.

The first outlet of the L.A.-based clothing company opened here last week, part of its ongoing drive to conquer the world. American Apparel now has more than 200 stores in 20 countries, including Brazil, China, France, Ireland and Israel.

Addicted to colorful, slinky, mix-and-matchable American Apparel threads, I went all the way back to L.A. last month to get some of their leggings, then found a brand-new store in my very own Roman neighborhood.

It’s on Via dei Serpenti, a much hipper address than the upscale designer boutique enclave of Via Condotti near the Spanish Steps.

The store is small and jam-packed, with a staff of cool, skinny Roman kids in baggy jeans and hoodies. Like all other American Apparel outlets, it features clothing made in the good old U.S.A. by people who earn at least the federally mandated minimum wage.

— Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photos: (top) from americanapparel.net. (below) American Apparel store in Rome, by Susan Spano.]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 2:50 pm by Susan Spano and is filed under Europe, Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.