T-Shirts, As Far As the Eye Can See

-New York Post
-Maxine Shen
-March 24, 2004

Take five steps into American Apparel's flagship store on Broadway and you're greeted by a rainbow of colorful, combed-cotton T-shirts, arranged against minimalistic white walls appropriate for an art gallery.

There are more than 72 styles in 20 colors ranging from fuchsia and lime to standard white and black, so you're bound to find the perfect shirt here, whether you're a guy, a girl or even a dog (the Dog T is $14).

Prices for human clothes range from $15 to $22 for T-shirts to $40 for a sheer jersey dress with capped sleeves and $50 for a cotton bathrobe.

The largest T-shirt manufacturer in the U.S., American Apparel made its reputation producing "sweatshop free" clothes in a factory located in downtown Los Angeles, where its average garment worker makes $12 an hour.

The company now has three locations in New York. One is just a few blocks away from the flagship at Sixth Avenue and Washington Place; the other is in the Lower East Side, at the comer of Houston and Eldridge streets.

There are plans to open more stores in the city this year.