:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45490078/2008_03_marccollection.0.jpg)
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
We have no idea how we overlooked this Domino Daily Dose post from a few weeks back about the Marc Jacobs collection store (pictured above) on West 4th and Bank, but the backlash it provoked is so spectacular that we can't help but repost it here. In it, Domino contributing editor Rita Konig seeks to highlight the blog of sprightly Marc salesperson Ginny (called, cutely, My Favourite Colour is Shiny), but in the process manges to piss off Domino readers in droves. The piece begins:
On the corner of Bank and West 4th is the new Marc Jacobs store. Some are getting their knickers in a bit of a twist about it because he has so many shops already, and the little hairdressers that was there before.....blah blah blah, yeah yeah yeah. So the bad hairdresser has gone and a troupe of young, charming and hilarious people have arrived all working in Marc's shop selling things one might want rather than a bad Hilary Clinton hairdo. I can hardly pass the store without one of them saying hi from the store. Now isn't that what we are afraid of losing when the neighborhood gets swanky.Hmm. That's an interesting take on the situation, Rita. But how do Domino readers feel about the new Marc boutique, which uprooted local "bad hairdresser" Jason Croy?
From commenter cstellin: "I love reading your blog posts, but this one does seem particularly mean spirited and misguided. I lived on 10th street for eight years and am struck by the contradictions: the people ginny documents in her blog are exactly the people being pushed out by companies like LVMH. Would that man seem as quaint reading in his chair in front of the Intermix store once that vintage bookstore can no longer afford the rent? For me, that feels more than a little bit wrong."
From commenter maisonluxe: "This is the kind of thing that makes me so angry. I own a very small home furnishings store in Seattle, and if I thought anyone would say such a thing about my shop I would be mortified. That business belonged to someone, was someones dream, had clients, and employed people. Clearly they weren't the kind of people you wanted in the neighborhood (why??), however you should be ashamed of yourself for being so mean. I hope that you realize that you also work for a business, one that depends on people supporting your product and your philosophy to sustain your job. As a loyal subscriber to your magazine, I am very sad to see this attitude being flaunted as 'cool'. Who, exactly, do you think you are? And how sad that yet another small business has closed to make way for a chain store. Please explain to all of us how this is a good thing?"
And Rita's reaction: "I have got it wildly wrong, for which i am very sorry. A glib and flippant remark has taken center stage in a post that was not supposed to be about either Marc Jacobs or the small hairdressing salon that was there before. It has been incredibly foolish and short sited of me. My intention was to shine a light on a young girl and her blog that I found to be charming and charismatic. Sadly I managed to cast a rather nasty shadow over it, for which I feel quite devastated. I am not for a minute a champion of small businesses being pushed out by greedy landlords for larger corporations to take their place. I was brought up in a shop where my mother had to fight similar landlords. I am a huge supporter of small businesses, they have been, the almost exclusive, focus of my articles since I have been a writer. I am really incredibly sorry for the offense caused and hope that it is possible for the level of upset i have caused to calm a little."
· Corner of Bank and West 4th [Daily Dose]
Loading comments...