Questionable Taste: Using Apple Founder Steve Jobs to Sell Turtlenecks

In the wake of Apple founder Steve Job’s passing, I came across this promotion via the TMZ website from St. Croix for the turtlenecks that he wore.  In the last 2 to 3 years, Steve Jobs wore the St. Croix mock black turtleneck for press conferences on behalf of Apple and the handful of public appearances that he did. In my opinion,  Steve did more for the black turtleneck as a fashion statement than anyone has since Audrey Hepburn wore it in the 1950s classic film “Funny Face.” But honestly, the poor man was sick with cancer, and in my opinion he wore these to camouflage his drastic weight loss, as much as he did for comfort or photographic impact.

Now the company that made the turtlenecks for Steve, St. Croix, has an online advertisement published on TMZ , offering to give $20.00 US of the purchase price, approx. $175 US, to the American Cancer society, “In Memory of Steve Jobs.” Ok, I love a good fashion statement for a good cause, I really do, but this seems a exploitative to me. I can’t help wonder what Steve Jobs would think of this profiteering in the same week as his death was announced? Moreover, did the Jobs estate approve this advert with his image to sell turtlenecks for St. Croix?  What do you think readers? Would you want to buy the turtleneck Jobs wore for $175.00, knowing that $20.00 of your purchase price would go to the American Cancer Society?

According to MSNBC, “St. Croix Collections has seen sales of the iconic black mock turtleneck, which Jobs frequently wore at Apple product unveilings and other public appearances, double overnight, and some stores have run out of them.”