Left 4 Dead

I really need to find more time in the day. This is one of those “perfect storm” times of the year when tons of quality games come out and there’s simply not enough time to play them all. I saw a video for Left 4 Dead the other day and was convinced that [...]

A Bathing Ape Is Giving Me A Shrinking Wallet

Posted on November 15th, 2006 by Ed Lau

Now I’ve made crazy purchases before. Recently, I’ve bought a new laptop, a new cell phone, and a freakin’ gun…so why does this feel like one of the craziest?

Let me explain. Recently, a wrote a sociology paper on the concept of streetwear, specifically that which comes from Japan and even more specifically, a brand called A Bathing Ape (or BAPE). While relatively unknown here to the masses, A Bathing Ape is a very successful high-end Japanese streetwear brand which counts Jay-Z, Kanye West and the Beastie Boys among their clients. People in North America might recognize Billionaire Boys Club, Pharrel William’s brand, better. BBC is a collaboration between A Bathing Ape and Williams. While writing on it, I became really interested in the designs, which are amazing in either simplicity or chaos. Quite often, they’ll (t-shirts, hoodies, jeans or even shoes) will either be covered with a ridiculous pattern or so extremely minimalist, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and American Apparel. BAPE is the brainchild of Nigo, a Japanese DJ who has diamonds and gold in his teeth, wears a big clock necklace like Flava Flav and is also behind those annoying Teryaki Boys (the group that did that annoying but strangely catchy song from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) Depending on your point of view, he is either a genius or…well, either way, he convinces people that rarity is a good reason to drop $100 on a t-shirt.

While some of the designs are rather ugly, quite often they are really good. However, that is not why A Bathing Ape is quite unusual. While something from Old Navy might cost 30-40 bucks, BAPE hoodies range from 300 to…upward of $1500 for some of the rare and exclusive items. Heck, everything that comes from this company is quite rare in comparison.

(Source: 3peat)

Anyways, it’s hard to explain but from the moment I saw this particular hoodie, I knew I wanted it. It’s still hard to explain why but I just knew I did. I really could care less about the whole scene and I seriously actually hope that this doesn’t begin another ridiculously expensive hobby for me but I actually like the way this looks…so I went and got one off eBay today. It should be in Point Roberts in a few days. Again, I really hope this isn’t the beginning of another addiction…

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