No logo! No sweat!

American Apparel, the popular line of comfortable, casual and logo-free clothing, will make its first mark on Tucson when it opens its door on East University Boulevard, adjacent to the University of Arizona. Shipment delays caused the store to postpone opening today, but it could happen as soon as next week.

Sarah Lipman, a 19-year-old communications major, has been eagerly awaiting the store's arrival. She and a friend even walked into the unlocked store a week before it was set to open, while staffers were setting up and mopping floors.

"The clothes fit well. They're not too expensive and I like them," said Lipman, after being tracked down on the street outside the store. "They had a store at my old school, Penn State, and I shopped there," she said while wearing a light gray pair of the brand's cotton-spandex yoga pants ($35.)

"And my mom wears it, too. It's simple."

Inside the store that mostly caters to the 16-to-26 set, a rainbow of plain, solid-colored T-shirts, tops, sweatshirts, shorts and pants for men and women pack the racks. Above the cash register a black and white ad of a lithe, plain but pretty and partially dressed model boasts the brand's "not-trying-too-hard is cool and sexy" image.

"We sell great basics," said Tacee Webb, a longtime project manager who travels the country setting up new stores.

Pink polos ($32) are hot for men right now, Webb said, and it seems like every hipster in New York City already owns the ever-popular track jacket with white piping ($44.)

The company just came out with a new pair of pants, a lot like denim, called the Slim Slack. They'll be available in Tucson within the next month, and Webb anticipates they'll be a big hit nationwide.

There's a small section of neon yellow, orange and pink T-shirts in the front of the store, and the trend is to tone brights down by wearing them with neutrals, like khaki and gray, she added.

Of course, American Apparel is not just mindless fashion. There's some social consciousness behind it all, even though the company tries not to brag about it.

All the clothes are made in a single factory in downtown Los Angeles by workers paid just under $13 per hour — but that's not the primary reason to buy them, Webb said, eschewing the hippie image of buying something just for a cause.

"First, it's good fashion at an affordable price. Second, it's sweatshop-free and a new paradigm for a business," she said. "But we don't have to toot our own horn about it. It's just a given."

The brand hit big after it opened in 1997 and was dubbed by media as a sweatshop-free alternative to the Gap. The company has opened stores across the United States and Canada, as well as a few in Europe, Asia and one in Mexico. In recent years owner Dov Charney has been in headlines over sexual harassment charges by a couple of female employees and for having eccentric habits and business style.

The bottom line is that the clothes are simple, affordable and wearable. That, and the people making them are paid a fair wage, eat company-subsidized lunches and have access to affordable health care. Nothing is outsourced at American Apparel, not even the advertising, Webb said.

"I think the world is realizing that making smart choices doesn't have to be more expensive," she said. American Apparel has launched a sustainable line of T-shirts, made from organic cotton. The organic T-shirt costs the same as the other T-shirts, just $15.

The bulk of the company's sales is wholesale, Webb said, and everyone from rock bands to amateur fashion designers is deconstructing or silk-screening the clothing to create their own style.

The plain, super-soft cotton and cotton-blend tees lend themselves to the current generation's sense of individualism.

"It's like a blank canvas — not to sound like a total cheeseball," said Webb, 34.

Robert Hall, a 26-year-old silk-screener who studied illustration at Pima Community College, uses American Apparel clothing to print his sassy '80s-style women's designs and bold lettered men's designs.

"A lot of people prefer American Apparel. It's a sweatshop issue," Hall said. "But the bigger issue for me is the feel, the texture. It's nice, soft stuff."

He'll order funky colors, like baby blue, and print on them with fluorescent purple ink. Most of his designs are only available on eBay, but in December they'll be available at Zoe Boutique, 735 N. Fourth Ave.

Zoe Boutique also carries some of the plain American Apparel underwear, T-shirts and tank tops. Owner Lissa Marinaro often pairs them with jeans for a simple look.

"Their little boy briefs are great for under skirts. And they have cute accessories, like tube socks that I would wear with a miniskirt," she said.

"I think they have a really good color selection, and that makes it fun, too."

• What: American Apparel, a sweatshop-free store with clothing for women, men and children.

• Cost: A basic cotton T-shirt is $15. A cotton bandeau dress is $34. A unisex track shirt is $18.

• Where: 988 E. University Blvd.

• Make sure it's open: 622-8300.

• Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays.