Wearing Irish cool

Time was, things Irish weren’t so cool.
Irish ethnic pride in the U.S. grew slowly facing prejudices along the way, a story told most recently by the movie “The Gangs of New York.”
In the 1980s and ’90s, however, Irishness became not just acceptable, but desirable — witness the explosion of “Irish” bar building around the world, the coining of the term “new Irish” in the U.S. and the rise to stardom of U2 and actors such as Liam Neeson and Colm Farrell.
Urban Outfitters remains tight-lipped about the concept behind its products: a dark green T-shirt with the words “Made in Ireland” on the front and a shamrock motif; an Ireland track jacket, a long-sleeved top with green shamrock motifs.
“Our buyers purchased the ‘Made In Ireland’ tee on a hunch that it would do well with our target demographic,” said Urban Outfitters spokesperson Mike Isabella.
“[We] specialize in lifestyle merchandise that reflect the current attitudes and ever changing desires of young, free-spirited adults aged 18-30.”
He continued, “it is the Urban customer which inspires,” and explained that the company’s typical customer is who its looks to for inspiration when conceiving new styles.
A quick visit to two Urban Outfitters stores in New York last week showed that the Irish products did not seem to be selling as fast as other T-shirts in the same line, such as one that said “Bonjour Paris” or another with “Getting lucky in Kentucky.”
But Seth Sneyder, 17, who was visiting from Atlanta, bought one of the “Made in Ireland” T-shirts.
“I’m not Irish,” he said, “but I’ve been to Ireland and I really like random T-shirts like this.”
He also checked out another Irish-themed T-shirt that bears the words “Cheers, Dublin!” but picked the olive green “Made in Ireland.”
Shop assistants said the T-shirts were selling well and that they believed Irish people were buying them.
“An American girl came in and said she was going to a St Patrick’s parade in Queens and that she needed a T-shirt,” reported one assistant.
Thai Pham, a Vietnamese American who shops at Urban Outfitters, said, “I think Urban Outfitters is just trying to capitalize on St. Patrick’s Day and thought the shirt would sell, kind of like, ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish.’ “
Said Sneyder, who was shopping with his mother, “I don’t think I’d buy a T-shirt with ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ as fast as this one.”
Two young Asian American customers were not as impressed: “Why would I wear that if I’m not Irish?” one responded when asked. His friend, though, pointed out that “it might be funny, like a joke, if I were to wear that because I’m Asian.”
The T-shirts retail at about $20 and the track suit tops at $48. The products are all made in the U.S.
Urban Outfitters may indeed be having its eye on a St Patrick’s Day-motivated customer, but its spokespersons did not answer this question. Spokesperson Mike Isabella said that his company’s buyers “picked the Made in Ireland tee due to the success of similar items in the past,” so the conflation of Irishness and coolness is likely to have been noticed some time ago.
A further search of Urban Outfitters’ web site found more Irish-related products: two T-shirts bearing Guinness advertisements.