I freaking love aa but I hate ordering online since there will always be something backordered!  Also ORDER UP and read all the comments before ordering.  The ls organic cotton shirt's sleeves are too short, but the ss shirts are perfect.  What else...they ship pretty fast.  Quality is good.  Man, I love that store!!

I really like American apparel, I have a couple shirts and my friend's boyfriend just ordered a jacket...he's been going around telling everyone to touch the inside of his jacket because it's so soft.  Or maybe he's just got a weird fetish.

Yeah, I'd say get a size bigger too.  I've never had any problems ordering from them  :)

While I think the concept behind American Apparel is quite awesome - unionized, ecofriendly, etc. Some of their business ethics get a little seedy in practice....in the Alicia Silverstone/PETA ad thread I talked about how sure, sex sells, but at least I want women to be using their bodies for a compassionate cause. Depends on each person, I guess as to whether or not you think the AA ads counter women's rights or not, but here's some more info:

www.absnews.go.com/Business/story?id=37780738&page=1

and an article on the owner's, um, moral compass:

www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_26/b3939108_mz017htm

Yeah, definitely order a size up. I have no clue who would actually fit an XS there!!

my old housemate used to work at the santa cruz store (probably one of the hotties you were talking to hespedal), and he was so happy to get out of there.  while the business ethics of the company are pretty cool when it comes to sweat shop stuff, they are extremely sexist.  from what my housemate has told me, the owner (or pres, not sure if they are public) basically sleeps with all the models openly, and often gives them jobs as regional execs, even if they have no retail experience.  of course this is onyl from what he told me, so don't take it as proven fact or anything. 
and then of course there's teh part where he masturbated during an interview with someone from bust magazine.  although i think she actually asked him to, assuming he wouldn't.  i dunno, their shirts are good quality though

I have a slightly different opinion on this.  While the CEO of aa may have done some things that I don't agree with, the CEO of JcPenny's or Macy's or the Gap or basically any other store allowed children to make their clothing, paid their factory workers less than a living wage, allow enviornmental and labor policies in their factories that would be forbidden in the western world, and reaped profits far larger than aa will ever earn. What kind of rape and abuse goes on in a sweatshop?  We have no idea the kind of atrocities going on in those factories-on a much, much larger scale than one downtown factory in LA.
But, YMMV.  Know the alternatives and the pros/cons and make your own informed choice.

I have a slightly different opinion on this.  While the CEO of aa may have done some things that I don't agree with, the CEO of JcPenny's or Macy's or the Gap or basically any other store allowed children to make their clothing, paid their factory workers less than a living wage, allow enviornmental and labor policies in their factories that would be forbidden in the western world, and reaped profits far larger than aa will ever earn. What kind of rape and abuse goes on in a sweatshop?  We have no idea the kind of atrocities going on in those factories-on a much, much larger scale than one downtown factory in LA.
But, YMMV.  Know the alternatives and the pros/cons and make your own informed choice.

althought I appreciate everyone's take on this company I think I'm going to have to agree with  STARS here. I feel like although this company may not be the MOST virtuous, it is a lot better than some of the other places I could be shopping at. And really, I'd like to know where all of you shop, because if I can find a company that 100% meets what i want it to, then I would be absolutely thrilled. And I mean that, where DO you all shop at?

yeah, i do agree (i forgot to add on to my post as i was tirrrrred!)...
i do think it is the lesser of two, or many evils in the world...
and if nothing else, the company does get attention, so while i dont like the dude personally, there are alot of companies that i dont agree w/ personally or corporately.

ill never forget when i was putting together some cheap-o shelving and i flip the board over, and there, in stain, was tiny handprints... ew. what? they dont even get paintbrushes? really disturbing.  >:(

althought I appreciate everyone's take on this company I think I'm going to have to agree with  STARS here. I feel like although this company may not be the MOST virtuous, it is a lot better than some of the other places I could be shopping at. And really, I'd like to know where all of you shop, because if I can find a company that 100% meets what i want it to, then I would be absolutely thrilled. And I mean that, where DO you all shop at?

About 75% of my clothing comes from Goodwill and another 15% from other thrift stores. (The rest is mostly stuff I would never buy second-hand, like underpants!) Not only is Goodwill not an evil company, it's actually a GOOD one. They do a public service by providing jobs to people that can't get hired elsewhere. And judging from the experience of several friends who have worked there, they treat their employees well.

Buying secondhand clothes is also good for the environment. Perfectly good garments wind up landfills every day - thrift stores throw out many of the donations they receive simply because they don't have room for them. (Don't ask me why they don't donate them elsewhere - this is my one criticism of Goodwill.) Buying new clothes only creates more waste.

All that and it's good for your pocketbook, too!

(...gosh, I hope that didn't sound too preachy! Having said that I'd love to hear about ethical clothing companies, especially ones with good prices. I tend to buy the cheap five-dollar packs of underwear at the supermarket but I'd be willing to fork over a little more dough for something more ethical/sustainable...)