A seagull flying aloft amid the rays of a Pacific Ocean sunrise ‘ freeze-framed and slapped on a polo shirt, pants, shorts, whatever. I am quite convinced that one in three students owns an item designed by Hollister. That means at least one-third of the Binghamton University campus is on a surf team or from California, or both.

Let’s start with this ‘ Hollister Co., the supposed ‘California Surfer’ apparel firm, is under the parent company of Abercrombie and Fitch. Hollister Co. was not even founded in California, but in Ohio (where it is still based). I’m sure they were inspired by the huge wave sets coming in from the Ohio River.

Second, Hollister has been sued more than once in the past for the plagiarism of designs by artists from Southern California who, unsurprisingly, create surf art (that’s what you get for trying to open a surf shop in Ohio).

The company has been sued on the basis of racial claims as well, the argument being that only white, lean, good-looking youths acquire positions in their shops and in their marketing campaigns ‘ a visit to a Hollister location proves how true indeed this claim is.

Just so you know, Caucasians are not the only ones who surf ‘ just visit Hawaii’s North Shore or Japan’s Niijima Island besides checking up on Mark Foo and Eddie Aikau, two prominent legends in the surfing community.

Aside from being offered the supposed lifestyle of Laird Hamilton and Kelly Slater, Hollister’s consumers are drawn in more so for its brand name. Rather than minding an item’s decency, they are unnecessarily and immaturely concerned about ‘Hollister Co.’ being visibly stamped somewhere. Initially, Hollister indeed did intend to target the actual surfer crowd with their apparel; however, those who began proudly wearing their garments were the adolescents who simply dreamed and desired to be those lithe, dark-skinned mavericks and daredevils (which is practically every kid, and so their stuff sold), so it’s common knowledge that anyone who bears Hollister gear really does not have anything to do with surfing or California at all, and only wishes they could.

I am quite aware of the fact that the same argument can be applied to sports jerseys (I own a few Manchester United ‘Beckham’ ones myself), however, if you actually play the sport it might serve as an inspiration for whenever you hit that soccer field (I will, however, allow the noble excuse of a friend and teammate: ‘I wear Hollister because it is the only brand that fits my torso,’ as acceptable).

As with most popular clothing brands ‘ Ecko, Abercrombie and Fitch, Armani Exchange ‘ Hollister is bought essentially for the brand name, which has undoubtedly greatly reduced the complexities of its marketing scheme; these big-name clothing companies may simply take any shirt, slap their name on it, and suddenly it’s worth $35 because people are head-over-heels to own it.

Perhaps instead we should all take a moment and think about what is actually worth our money.