Putting the "Banana" in Banana Republic

October 13, 2005

Get out your wallets and head to the mall! Banana Republic launches its new "East Meets West" line as a tie-in to promote their Memoirs of a Geisha getaway sweepstakes. The clothes themselves aren't that bad (I guess), but come on, East Meets West? I'm so over it.

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[sarcasm]I dream that one day I can marry a white girl and have the theme of my wedding be "East Meets West". Apple pie and samosas in a buffet, what's not to like?[/sarcasm]
oh no, they didn't! "East meets West: uniquely wearable pieces with a subtle Asian influence." what decade are we in? and i thought all clothes are wearable.
so don't go to the store and don't buy the clothes. get over it.what if the white girl is Italian or Jewish, it wouldn't be apple, but I'll bet you'd still eat the pie!maybe they are unique because they are stapled on the body (unique does not preclude dumb).In the big scheme of sins against humanity, how important is Banana Republic? (which is kind of insulting in the first f****** place - but not to Asians per se, so that got by ya'!)
i'm tired of culture being appropriated as a trend. ugh.
so silversky (what prompts that handle?) what is your culture? is it all 'yours' or do you 'appropriate' cultural markers too? you are in America now; the melting pot, the mosaic, the land of Mr. Potato Head - everything is, or can be a part of everything else. there are good points to that...and bad. any tool can be a weapon if you hold it right. (a. di franco)
Too bad Banana Republic's sizes are too huge a$$ to fit any Asian female anyway, so guess who ends up wearing these "Asian Influenced" pieces? White people who think they are "open-minded" and "in touch" with Asian culture... It's the closest these people will come to ever experiencing something outside of their naive country.
I sympathize with you guys although you might think I don't have a right because I am African but anyway... cool down okay the sarcastic comment about the East meets West wedding is racism in itself. you guys are just adding to the dualism here White vs. South Asian. doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of peace? You fix ingnorant stereotypes by patiently explaining to the offender. Believe me I know lol people always say traditional African music and yet there are more than 20 countries in Africa! all with different cultures!
Winnie - you really need some anger management sessions. There are many Americans (I presume you mean 'Americans' when you say 'white - you really shouldn't do that) that have travelled outside of their naive (or native?) countries. There are probably a good number of Asian Americans who have not travelled outside their 'native' country too(that being America) Also, ALL Asian women are not a size '0'. Some of them are much bigger and would fit the clothes fine. You kind of hurl belittling sterotypes all around while railing against similar treatment from Banana Republic. Maybe they are just trying to sell clothes.And Empathy, nice post - you have the inalienable right to sympathize with anyone you want to!
Hmm, I usually used to like the East meets West theme...but I agree a little bit that it's kind of antiquated...shouldn't we be into the next phase right now? Its like doi...stop calling all modern cultures Western...Eastern people live in the US and contribute to the culture too...I wish we'd just use the term "modern". I'm a Cultural Studies major and Hapa so this stuff really gets me down sometimes...all the crap I learn is about colonization...
you guys are upset over something so stupid that you dont deserve to have a clothing line named for you. and their styles are not "huge ass", they carry a 00, please.
Um, my name is not East Meets West.
GAP, BANANA REPUBLIC, and OLD NAVY all three of these stores are awesome and people should spend money there.