The Name Game

The first time I did it, I was nervous. It was something I wasn’t used to and I didn’t know how to go about it. I was afraid people would think of me differently. Would they judge me if they found out? Get your head out of the gutter—I’m talking about sewing. I love clothes—I dare you to ask me how many pairs of pants I have. As a university student, however, it’s not in the budget for me to shop as much as I do; continuing to fill my retail-void and also afford groceries is becoming an arduous task. It’s hard to keep up with which brand is in and which is on its way out, while still maintaining your own style. The solution wasn’t even mine— my mom came up with the idea while we were shopping for jeans at Value Village. I was frustrated that the pairs with designer labels weren’t cute, whereas those I liked were made by brands no one cares about.

My mom suggested I buy the ones I liked and simply strip the logos from others to make it seem like I had purchased designer jeans. In the end, it would cost me less than $20 for a pair of pants that was listed for $120 at Urban Outfitters. At first, I let the idea slide because I was sure people would notice I was faking. However, when I tested it out, the opposite happened. The first day I wore my fake Tommy Hilfiger mom-jeans, I received numerous compliments, even from people I didn’t know. No one knew they were gawking at second-hand men’s pants originally from Walmart with a designer logo sewn on the waist. The reaction wasn’t because the pants look any different than the other mom-jeans I own; it’s because they were labelled with a big name. It soon became a social experiment. The more pants, shorts, and skirts I made, the more praise I received. I’d wear a particular pair of pants sans-logo, and then again, with the new label sewn on. The exact same garment, styled the exact same way, elicited 10 times more compliments with a logo stuck on the back. My experiment illustrated that we often see the brand before the item. It was like wearing a counterfeit Chanel bag, except this time, everyone believed me. As time went on, I started to feel naked without the logo on my clothing. It became impossible to ignore the power logos have over our opinions on fashion. Consumer-culture is a dangerous game—we need to be careful about what determines our values and opinions. I can’t say I’ll stop wearing my jeans, real or fake, but I will be more conscious of my spending habits It’s unrealistic for students to spend $100 on a piece of clothing just for the name attached to it. Brands come and go, but with my needle and thread on hand, I’ll be ready for the next in thing.

by Sam Turnbull