Hot Topic has been one of my go-to stores since I’ve developed a darker style of clothing and accessories. It has some pretty hot jewelry and nice clothing. They mostly sell stuff from popular bands and fandoms, but still a pretty decent store.

The Hot Topic employees look really cool most of the time too. They have a nice style to go with the theme of the store.

However, I never knew that Hot Topic had a much more intense and interesting theme back then.

Hot Topic first opened up in 1989. The logo and entrance of the store looked like a metal album cover. It was specifically for gothic, punk, emo, and scene clothing and it looked so awesome.

I really wish I could’ve been alive to see it in action because it looked sick. Unfortunately, minimalism stepped in and ruined the fun.

In 2009, Hot Topic was rebranded because there were complaints about Hot Topic looking too dark and too intimidating to the average customer. The store looks more basic now and shifted towards selling music-related merch and merch from popular fandoms. Sure, it still has some cool jewelry and clothing, but it wasn’t as much as it was before.

What is the deal with people hating on maximalism? If the store looked “too intimidating” then it clearly isn’t the store for you. Are people not allowed to have fun? Old Hot Topic looked so cool!

I still like going into Hot Topic, but I would’ve loved to see it when it was in its prime. Maximalism will always be better than minimalism, and I’m super disappointed that the ongoing customers managed to get under their skin.