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Why We Love to Hate Anthropologie

Man Shops Globe was widely panned—but Keith Johnson is just a 'whipping boy'

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2009 11:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – Man Shops Globe, the show following Anthropologie buyer Keith Johnson, premiered last night to much scoffing from critics—or, as Erika Kawalek calls it on DoubleX, “Anthropologie Rage.” Heather Havrilesky mocks Johnson’s job of “traveling the globe to buy enormous overpriced pieces of weird, ancient junk so that Anthropologie can put that junk in its stores and sell it for truly ludicrous, mind-blowing prices.” Hank Stuever calls the show “a protracted ad for Anthropologie."

But why all the hate? Havrilesky even contradicts herself, Kawalek says, calling Anthropologie wares both “junk” and “off-kilter treasures.” The explanation? Keith Johnson is simply a scapegoat for the female shopper who “wants authenticity in her life, as in her purchases—but she doesn't trust the marketplace,” Kawalek writes. “Man Shops Globe has become a soapbox upon which to vent our confusion and dismay. And for the record, I like Anthropologie. What difference does it make, really, if the stuff comes from a Corporate Eye or a French bitty in a marche aux puces?”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

"Anthropologie is a world populated by women who want to be Zooey Deschanel--bangs, wide eyes, fresh flowers in their bicycle baskets, their beds spread with bird-motif sheets," writes Hank Stuever. (Flickr)

"Anthropologie, a granddaddy of we-are-the-world shopping emporiums, is a chain store that pretends not to be," writes Ginia Bellafante in the New York Times. (Flickr)

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So are the wares in Anthropologie junk or off-kilter treasures? Keith Johnson becomes a whipping boy for our desire to settle on a definition of an authentic marketplace, a value-laden consumer experience. - Erika Kawalek

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Why We Love to Hate Anthropologie