Hot Topic The Hip Teen Apparel Shop

Hot Topic has a really cool history. It all started by the owners attempting to create a store that was louder than anyone else in the mall. The Hot Topic founders give us a synopsis of their history, “It all started in 1988. A ton of teen retail accessory stores filled the malls, but there wasn’t a cool music-inspired accessory store for both guys and girls. Then came Hot Topic.

As 1990 rolled around, adding apparel seemed like a no-brainer. What better way than to add the ultimate music fan essential – band tees. Imagine how our customers flipped when they were able to purchase Bauhaus, The Cure, TSOL, and Depeche Mode rock t-shirts at Hot Topic. Within a year, we had about 50 different band titles, along with rock-inspired clothing lines such as Lip Service and Serious. Today we have a growing line of apparel and accessories that includes band teens, band merch, teen retail such as shorts, swimwear, capris, pants, shoes and more.

As we expanded, we discovered that customers were equally drawn to the underground cartoon, cult movie, and comic book scenes. It was a unique culture fans could call their own, so we brought the world of South Park, Care Bears, Superman, SpongeBob SquarePants and tons of other pop icons into our Hot Topic stores.”

According to one reviewer, “Hot Topics is a alterna-teen paradise fully stocked. In Short – You won’t find Britney posters or pop mags in this warehouse store; it’s all grunge, punk, goth and whatever’s considered edgy and far left of center this week. Blink-182 T-shirts share shelf space with Sex Pistols hoodies, and Linkin Park beanies hang alongside Weezer ball caps. Although there’s an abundance of licensed band tees, postcards, magnets and books, there’s plenty of alternative wear for any rebellious teen, including goth wear, street wear and anything-but-mainstream accessories.”

While this Quincy Cove journalist hasn’t been convinced yet to throw caution to the wind, quit journalism, buy a nose ring from hot topic, and motorcycle across the coast; at least there exists a store that can make an expression.

 Print This Post