Recession-Friendly Hot Topic Goes Retro, Bites Designer Steez

For anyone conceived during the Reagan administration and subsequently raised in an American suburb, Hot Topic is synonymous with two things: weekend trips to the mall and cheap clothes. And by cheap, I mean both in manufacture and the visual appeal of the watered-down punk rock garb. Apologies to any Hot Topic-lovers out there; I’ve just never been a fan of lace-up pleather pants and bad graphic tees. But given the recession, perhaps it’s as good a time as any to revisit the exceptionally inexpensive retailer. The 90s are making a comeback after all (from flannel to a No Doubt reunion).

Kudos to Manila-based blogger Bryan Boy for being the first to make note of the econo-chain’s fashion potential—namely the Trash & Vaudeville-esque skinny jeans, which come in a colorful array of prints like leopard, python, and Pollack-like paint splatters. Best of all, their price point is well below the $50 mark. Not bad, considering the Sex Pistols-approved pants channel catwalk favorites from Alexander McQueen SS09 and Jil Sander FW08 to Balmain’s crystal snake-encrusted pair off the FW08 runway (which run upwards of $3,000). Refer back to Bryan Boy for some pretty shocking side-by-side comparisons.