With crippling financial problems, alleged CEO improprieties and leaks about its outrageous hiring policy, it seemed that American Apparel was headed into the ground, and fast (we’d already picked out a V-neck T and skinny jeans for the funeral). The latest numbers suggest, however, that the beleaguered company could live to see another day. American Apparel reported an impressive 15 per cent increase in sales in December over the same month last year, mostly due to a hugely successful Groupon deal that has already translated into the purchase of 150,000 garments. (We’re sure that’s welcome news for the group of Canadian investors, headed by Delavaco Capital and Michael Serruya, that gave the company a boatload of cash last spring.) CEO Dov Charney’s hipster Jesus status hasn’t been reclaimed just yet, but he’s certainly made us take notice. Woody Allen was not available for comment.
Image: Dov Charney, dovcharney
• Dov Charney Remarks on American Apparel’s Sales Gains [WWD]
Beleaguered clothing retailer American Apparel is in hot water yet again, this time after part of its hiring policy, which states that job applicants must be approved via a “full-body head-to-toe” photo, made its way to Gawker. AA brass says the body shots aren’t to determine attractiveness, but rather, to determine if a potential employee has the sartorial know-how to pull off, say, a 
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