Banana Republic should be FORCED to change its name, op-ed contends

Ok, Bananer Republic.

Hasn't Gen Z already canceled Banana Republic? Do any of them shop there?

rename bananas instead.

They should rebrand themselves to

BEIGE

Because that's what Banana Republic has always been about. Beigeness — safari vests, chinos, sensible suits for work.

And then someone will come along and contend that beige is problematic because it inherently positions itself as superior to blackness, and they will have to rebrand again.

Perhaps this time to a non-written click or vocal tic. And then someone will complain that's problematic because it's disrespectful to the indigenous nonvocal tribes of Africa.

Do men shop there? I’ve never set foot in one.

I would assume, like all mall brands, their schmattas are made from recycled plastic park benches.

Millennials are an irony-challenged lot.

Super Gap Plus.

Problem solved.

Damn, r7! That is CURRENT!

How about calling it Banana Republicans and selling tube tops and MAGA hats?

The moment I now see the word "problematic," I dismiss the author's opinion. That word has been ruined for me.

R9 Thank you for the laugh. I think they could go for the quirky old ladies too

But Nancy Cunard adored Big Black Cock

Makes me want to shop there now even more than ever to piss off the SJWs.

W&W, r12.

Good thing the world doesn't have anything more important to contemplate.

Gap needs to be renamed, too.

GAPE

Wouldn't it have made more sense to attack them for their name 20 years ago, when they were a force in retail to be dealt with, and not when their parent company is on its financial death bed like it is now?

Hell, if they wait long enough, the problem will resolve itself.

It's been doing poorly for years. It probably will get a new name/concept or close.

I still have one of their original catalogs, all illustrations and a lot of British army tropical surplus. It was a unique identity back then.

It’s my go to shopping for a new pith helmet.

R20, I remember the store at the South Street Seaport (back in the 1980s) used to have a huge fake tree and a real jeep in the center of it.

Sometimes I see vintage Banana Republic clothing in thrift shops. It’s pretty good quality, nothing like the synthetic crap they have in their stores now. LL Bean is the same.

I know I sound like a shill, but I like the type of models their website uses these days. That diversity in color and in age is very becoming. All their models look great. It's obvious they're opening their customer base to the above 50 (or rather: they're more candid about it). Works for me.

Meh - given it's current financial situation, I think the problem is going to solve itself in the near future.

Funny because Trump has been throwing around the phrase "banana republic" to refer to how he feels the US is treating him

And no one seems to care

My gut says the author doesn't really believe that the name should be changed but rather, figured the argument would get a lot of clicks and then went with it--seems their instinct was correct

OTOH, the author is a PhD who lives in Cambridge, MA, so there is actually a good chance this eats at her every waking moment

The us has become a banana republic

White liberals are far more obsessed with race than most POC.

Those British Colonial getups were so hawt.

Tall Englishmen with blond mustaches, yes GAWD hunny!

"Colonialism" apparently is only a "white" or more accurately a European thing.

When "indigenous" peoples attack and kill each other be it in the Americas, or King Kamehaha "unifying" i.e. taking control of all the other Hawaiian Islands....... that's ok...... because the oppressors "look like" the oppressed.

Not to mention the Muslim Imperialism that took over most of the middle east, north africa and ports of europe (spain and portugal).

The Colonial look is a vibe.

I also love campaign furniture.

Woo!

awwwwwwww more butthurt ninnies.

FLOTUS wore the Edward Said collection to visit Egypt.

This is what you need, great book.

We hate dictatorships that tell other people what to do on a whim and make irrational decisions affecting the lives of people they don’t know! We demand that this inconsequential store rename itself or we’re going to go fucking ballistic!

Suggested new names

White Privilege Inc.

Sweatshop World

Corporate Colonialism Ltd.

Big Lots of Slave Labor

Fuck Your Feelings

ELIZABETH SEGRAN, PH.D., IS A SENIOR STAFF WRITER AT FAST COMPANY. SHE LIVES IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS. HER WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE ATLANTIC, THE NEW REPUBLIC, FOREIGN POLICY, FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND THE NATION.

The Nation you say ... 🤔

Oh stop or I will have to start shopping there again!