One day, some higher-up at a prestigious clothing company turns to his buddy and says. “Hey Joe, you see that package of plain cotton undershirts?”

“Yeah, those things we sell for 2 bucks a shirt. Why’s that?” says Joe.

“Well, how much do you want to bet I could get a whole bunch of skinny rich kids to buy those for $40 a shirt!”

Joe laughs. “Ha, you’re on. No one would be dumb enough to pay 40 bucks for 2 cents worth of cotton.”

And so was the birth of American Apparel.