To every Cult there is a dark side, and the Fashion Cult is no different. I remember stories in the 90s of kids getting shot on the street for their high-priced sneakers. Are a pair of Jordans really worth your soul? Crazy. Now it’s denim that inspiring folks to a life of crime. The boom of premium denim has sparked an epidemic in the Atlanta area – of thieves ganking blue jeans like they were diamonds and pearls. Sure, we drool over Loewe handbags and Proenza Schouler boots, but followers the bottom line is that style comes from within. So if you think you have to steal or buy stolen merchandise to be fashionable, think again. You can’t shine with that sort of blood on your hands.

From WWD:

Thieves drove a stolen van into a Nordstrom store at Perimeter Mall near Atlanta early Monday and fled with armloads of premium denim valued at $13,000, police said.

It was the second time in recent months that the mall — owned by General Growth Properties Inc. and located in Dunwoody, Ga., about 20 miles north of Atlanta — has been victimized by denim thieves. In October, robbers took an estimated $17,000 in premium denim from Bloomingdale’s.

The Dodge Caravan crashed into one of the store’s exterior entrances about 6 a.m., and three men grabbed 87 pairs of jeans. They left the van behind and escaped on foot.

It was unclear whether the latest robbery could be linked to the Blue Jean Bandits, a gang that has stolen more than $1.5 million in premium denim from some 70 Atlanta-area stores since 2007, said Detective Robert Bentivegna of the Dunwoody Police Department. The heists began as after-hours smash-and-grabs and escalated to brazen armed robberies during the day.

photos: theoffside.com, webblogseize.com

Out of frustration, empire:

Donald G. Fisher, who with his wife Doris founded Gap Inc. and revolutionized global specialty store retailing, died Sunday at his home in San Francisco after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

Fisher stepped down as chairman of the company in 2003, to be succeeded by his son Bob, but continued as chairman emeritus and a director until his death.

Fisher’s demise comes just more than a month after the 40th anniversary of when he and his wife founded the company, named for the “generation gap” between Baby Boomers and their parents. Then 41 — and with no retailing experience — he abandoned a well-established career in real estate development to become the clothier to his sons’ generation just weeks after Woodstock and a month after man landed on the moon. The company recently introduced 1969 brand jeans to great fanfare in commemoration of the anniversary.

The entire enterprise grew out of a frustrating shopping experience. The Fishers made their midlife career move after they had difficulty exchanging an ill-fitting pair of jeans and failed to find an adequate denim size assortment at local department stores. They raised $63,000 to launch the first store in their hometown in 1969, and sales reached $2 million the following year, when a second unit opened in nearby San Jose, Calif.

Read the rest at WWD.com