I like military surplus clothing. I like it because its drab... not flashy. I like it because its got a lot of pockets. I like it because its made for a purpose rather then a market. I like it because it doesn't have a brand. Military surplus clothing is the closest you can come to wearing something that isn't an advertisement for itself. Something that exists outside of the ever shifting moods of fashion.

Of course, I don't really own any military surplus clothing. The reason is that actually buying it is a pain in the ass. You have to order it out of specialty catalogs that cater to gun fetishists and shell shocked Vietnam veterans or travel out during banking hours to run down little outlets in the worst parts of town. Putting a huge amount of effort into avoiding fashion is exactly the same as putting a huge amount of effort into following it. I don't care and I don't want to care.

So I shop at Abercrombie and Fitch. A&F sells knock off military surplus clothing. It looks right. Its comfortable. Its available in any shopping mall in America. Its conveinient. I shop there for exactly the same reason that all geeks hate radio shack and yet slip in there on a regular basis. Because even though it sucks, its the easiest way to get what you need.

A&F is an extremely strange establishment. They sell clothing that is supposed to look like it came from a thrift shop and is 5-10 years old. But they put their logo on all of it. Promimently. So that everyone knows you bought it at an upscale store. You want to look like you shop at the thrift store but you want everyone to know that you shop at an expensive place. Quite an absurd paradox.

Fortunately, the logos on the pants aren't prominent. Thats what I usually buy there. Pants. The logos still annoy the hell out of me. I've considered cutting them off, but they are well attached, and they are subtle enough. Again, putting a huge amount of effort into avoiding fashion is the same thing as following it.

So I was there two months ago. I was with my sister. I needed a coat. I was out of luck. So I went across the hall into another store, which was literally an A&F knock off. Tommie Hillfiger to my Ralph Lauren. My sister warned me not to go in, but I insisted. It was so bad in there that it literally made my skin crawl.

Thats what this book is about.

The fads that rise out of the ether that you identify with because they mean something real, and the fads that are handed down by the Gap which you shudder at because they are inhuman. The way you can usually FEEL the difference, on sight.

This website is a grand experiment at figuring out if we can find those real fads at their source and make them move faster. And at the same time an attempt to escape those Gap fads that Americans want free of so desperately that the emotions manifest as protest movements against international finance bodies. And this website even has its own fake fad now, four strange looking boxes in the corner of your screen. And really the only way this site will be able to support itself is through advertising. Quite an absurd paradox.

I've only just started reading this book, but I think its likely to be required reading for MemeStreamers. I'm finding it full of rich observations on the subjects at hand.