What's up with Hardy Boy?

You would have to be blind to not notice or worse; maybe you have been blinded by the latest fashion trend to infiltrate Edmonton over the last year. The Ed Hardy clothing line by Christian Audigier dominates the streets and schools of Edmonton with its overpowering colours and eye-poisoning graphics. It is easily the most common clothing worn by clueless men between the ages of 16 to 30 years old and is rapidly growing among women.

Does anybody notice how ridiculous this clothing is?? Its radiant colours with random animals sprawled across its outrageously priced t-shirts and jeans are the equivalent to wearing too much jewelry or having too many tattoos (yes, it is possible). All clothing has an image that immediately pops into the mind of a shopper when they are debating purchasing a clothing product or trying something on. American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister will always be connected with the preppy boys and girls, Gucci, Prada with your high class, giant black sunglasses crowd etc. The Ed Hardy clothing line is quickly becoming synonymous with violence and steroids. Seriously, you don’t think people can tell if you’re jacked up on steroids? Dude, your face is as red as a stop sign and your temperament rivals that of a spoiled 5-year-old. Edmonton is a big city but small enough for the general public to be aware of the connection between Ed Hardy and drug abusers.

This trend will be gone within a year, taking a similar path to the Von Dutch hats that reigned supreme on the heads of douch-bags all across Edmonton a few years ago.

Ed Hardy clothing seems to be most popular among men watching the monthly UFC pay-per view fights televised at local bars all across the city. Now there are exceptions to the men about to be mentioned, however there tends to be a great number of men who are in the habit of become extremely intoxicated and then behave as if they have transformed into one of their UFC idols.

So to the designers of Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier, I thank you for creating a clothing line that makes it even easier for men and women to distinguish between well dressed men and trend chasing tools. Ed Hardy clothing is a combination of colours and symbols that appear to have no connection with each other but sell for ridiculous amounts of money due to terrific marketing and the embarrassing amount of followers in the city of Edmonton. The lack of uniquely dressed men in Edmonton is depressing and horribly in need of a shake up. Wake up guys!

Just because your hero from UFC or the guy who you secretly have a man-crush on rocks Ed Hardy, does not mean its mandatory for you to follow suit! Women appreciate a man with originality and a keen taste for timeless clothing. Edmonton lacks many attributes that the other big cities in North America have, but we still happen to have one of the biggest shopping malls in the world! Feel free to expand your clothing selection by checking out the unbelievable variety of clothing available in this monster of a mall known simply as WEM. Downtown City Centre, Kingsway Garden Mall and Londonderry Mall aren’t too shabby either.

Edmonton Music Junkie

SmythS6@mymail.macewan.ca