Aside from their lewd, attention-grabbing ads, everything at American Apparel pretty much conforms to a muted aesthetic. They do the basics well, but at some stage a wardrobe complete with basics in every color of the rainbow can get a bit humdrum. I’ll give them credit though in that some recent offerings from American Apparel have shown a bit of creative prints, tailoring and fabric options.

Buoyed by the times, I decided to check out what American Apparel has up next on the chopping block. I wasn’t too pleased with the mere two pieces of menswear that is to be added to the American Apparel collection. However, the Unisex Stripe Nylon Taffeta Parka made amends for the scarcity. The parka builds on the rudiments of American Apparel but shows progress. In the use of blue and white, minimalism is still felt in the primary-toned color scheme. Moreover, the parka’s design is very uncluttered and to the point–hooded covering, knee-length form, and. button-up front opening with no superfluous nonsense. The progressive touch comes in the form of the pockets that are reminiscent of Richard Chai and Giorgio Armani’s SS09 collection. Most parka’s sport the customary slit pockets on the side, but the use of frontal pouch pockets is an ingenious touch that has me contemplating my first ever purchase from American Apparel. On the strength of this parka, let’s just say “Coming Soon” couldn’t come any sooner!