As soon as we discovered the wonder that is Shop Jeen, we kicked ourselves for not knowing about it sooner. Set up in 2012 and a huge deal in the US - with a monumental social media following - this e-store wears its ironical obsession with pop culture on its sleeve. And its bum, if you snap up a pair of Franco or Gosling pants, below.
Fortunately for founder Erin Yogasundram - who sold her Celine handbag whilst at Georgetown University in Washington to fund her start-up - there is more than enough demand for celebrikitsch clothing. Or, as Erin pithily puts it, 'clothing for the Buzzfeed generation.' We're *definitely *part of that generation and we're definitely hooked on ShopJeen's edit - who wouldn't want a crop top with Drake's face on it? So we hooked up with Erin, and pulled together our top picks, below.
Gosling Panties, £21, Franco Panties, £21
**The Debrief: You call Shop Jeen 'clothing for the Buzzfeed generation'; what defines a Buzzfeeder? **
Erin Yogasundram: The Buzzfeed generation is a socially active demographic that loves to be a part of spreading content on the web. While Buzzfeed is producing viral content, we are producing viral commerce which provokes such emotion that people want to share it with others. Whether it be nostalgic, relatable or just plain unique, people are enthusiastic about sharing what we sell.
DB: Neat concept. So are you just for YAs, then?
EY: No, we sell something for everyone. Whenever we do pop-up shops or sample sales, I am always surprised at who comes through the door and takes liking to certain pieces. We have customers that are six and we have customers that are sixty! That is a beautiful thing. We connect with such a wide audience - including my parents - and are much more inclusive than other commerce stores. My dad has scored some goodies from us- a Scarface poster and a "Therapist in a Box" kit. My mom always scoops up my iPhone cases and any jewellery with skulls on them.
DB: Social media must have had a huge impact on your business, as you have a massive Instagram (195K) and Twitter (52K) following. Do you think that's what's made you as big as you are?
EY: Absolutely. We essentially built the business on Instagram. We post very aggressively and were one of the first businesses on the Popular page. We started using it early 2012 when most companies hadn't even figured how powerful visual social platforms were. Because of the leg up, we gained our following very quickly and that has pretty much been our sole advertising method.
**DB: That's very impressive. As is your roster of celebrity clothing: Justin Bieber, Ryan Gosling, Tupac (the Tupac backpack has a stellar ring to it) and even Drake... as a baby. What's with our celeb-obsessed generation?
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EY: Ha! I'm not particularly obsessed with Ryan Gosling or Justin Bieber, but I own backpacks featuring both their faces! Celebrity products are amazing and can be assessed from so many different angles. You can buy them because you love the celebrity, you can buy them because you think the concept is funny, you can even buy it because you think it's absurd! I think it's great that our products are that versatile.
Tupac Backpack, £39, Baby Drake Backpack, £39.
**DB: The site definitely tests the boundaries of political correctness - Justin Bieber's mug shot is printed on tube skirts and there's a lot of weed merch. Is that the aim? **
EY: We don't take ourselves too seriously. We like to laugh, and we aren't easily offended. Long-term, we might have to hire a 'Morale Manager' or something because we honestly don't see anything wrong certain products, then we get Instagram commentors having full-on ethical debates on our photos, and we are like, 'Oh, that's a good point, maybe it isn't a good idea to sell this product'!
**DB: Have you sold anything to the celebrities who you feature on your clothes? **
EY: Yes! We have a nice pool of celebrity shoppers - but I don't kiss and tell...
DB: Boo. So how do you find your labels? They're pretty funky.
EY: Through social media. We find most new brands by staying very up to date on social media and catching things very early. We sell products that are sold at Hot Topic, Nasty Gal, Net-a-Porter, Urban Outfitters, Spencer Gifts, Karmaloop Bloomingdales…etc. All very different retail stores, but we curate our site so carefully that it all makes sense when displayed the way we do it. We definitely do make efforts to have a balance of larger and smaller brands on the website.
DB: Any shopping tips for The Debrief girl?
EY: ShopJeen.com has everything you will ever need!
Bieber Crop Tank, £27, Plantlife Glow Socks, £8, Barbie and Marley Tee, £18, Twerk Nail Decals £6.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.