Urban Outfitters Kitsch

Urban Outfitters is a trendy store that attracts many young hipsters. When you fist walk in the store, you're surrounded by clothing that you can only imagine an artsy hipster wearing. There are shirts that no one wears with jewelry to match it, and jeans that wouldn't fit a size -2. Once you walk a little further into the store, you come across an even stranger section. This is the section of the kitsch.

The dictionary on the dashboard of my Mac describes kitsch as "art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way." The kitsch you find at Urban Outfitters fits this definition perfectly. There are always several tables full of items that I can't imagine anyone buying, but nevertheless Urban decides that these items fit the aura they want to project. The images above are good examples of the kind of kitsch Urban Outfitters has. The hand in theory can be used to hold things like bracelets and rings, though I doubt anyone actually uses it for that purpose. More likely whoever purchases it just lets it sit on a table in their home and people give it odd looks when they walk in, but other than that it is more or less meaningless. The necklace is similarly useless. I doubt anyone actually wears it, but it looks antique and cool, so some people may wear it to complement a certain type of outfit. Either way, this necklace probably is not worn often. These items of kitsch are perfect examples of the way Urban Outfittes wants to attract a certain kind of person to their store.