Skeevy American Apparel owner Dov Charney's been making the tabloid scene ever since he masturbated in front of an interviewer from Jane magazine in 2004. It's 2009 now, and Jane is no longer around, but American Apparel is better than ever at selling gold lamé leggings to girls from Newark who still think Last Night's Party is a relevant blog. Here, we track the success of one L.A. entrepreneur who makes Larry Flynt look like Rick Warren.

1987-1989

Dov Charney, born a Montreal Jew, begins to market his brand of American Apparel t-shirts wholesale to the U.S. and Canada. His main competitor? Hanes. The kid has got aspirations of solid white and simple tees—ironic now, considering his colorful and sordid career.

1995-1997

Dov has to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He moves to California from South Carolina, meets Korean and Persian wholesalers who are making wholesale tees for twice what it cost him to produce. He starts again. By 1996, AA is officially a brand, thanks to the takeoff of Charney's Classic Girl designed shirts, which are superfine and tight knit. Think your boyfriend's cheap white tee, but sexy. Charney partners with Sam Lim.

2000-2003

American Apparel sets up its current factory location in Los Angeles. Dov begins his "vertical integration" factory policy, which bans sweatshop labor and extends low-cost health care and humane working conditions to employees. Dov is heralded as a saint by immigrants who come to L.A. to work. Magazines begin to take notice as the kid starts to make a profit, despite (and perhaps because of) how he doesn't step on his workers' backs to make it. By 2003, AA's got $80 million in sales, stores in Montreal, New York, and L.A. Riding high, Dov calls European entrepreneurs "fucking lazy."

2004

The Year the bomb dropped. There's various interviews with Dov as his brand grows and people start to notice something's a little off about the guy. He spouts off diatribes about free-market economics, which apparently extend to his love life as well. He jerks it in front of Jane employee Claudine Ko during an interview. By now American Apparel is selling more than shirts: its selling an image of casual 70s sex appeal. Gawker, another emerging brand name in youth culture, gives Charney his first call-out post, which can be debated is the exact moment he "arrived." Dov begins to get a reputation for being an anti-union boss.

2005

Known for his ubiquitous, semi-pornographic billboards of women wearing his clothing, taken in that old-school Polaroid style, (usually with non-models and employees) Dov puts his money where his mouth is and appears in an American Apparel ad wearing nothing but pink underwear. He also battles in court with a few sexual harassment suits filed by former employees Heather Pithie, Rebecca Brinegar and Mary Nelson. All three claim to have suffered various degrees of harassment and being invited to masturbate with Dov. Keith Fink represents Nelson and begins his 4-year quest to milk Charney out of all his money. The lawsuits are eventually dropped or settled, except for one.

2006

American Apparel becomes part of a publicly traded special acquisitions company for $360 million. Dov becomes CEO of American Apparel Inc. and is the majority shareholder. Mary Nelson's sexual harassment case is ongoing, while AA opens up shop in Second Life. This way, Dov can create the porn models of his dreams and not have anyone sue. AA shifts their clothing stock from t-shirts and cotton to lamé and leotards.

2007

The "Splasher" appears in Williamsburg, vandalizing graffiti. An American Apparel "viral campaign" is momentarily fingered as the culprit. At this point, American Apparel employs over 6,700 people and is still seeing increasing profits. Woody Allen appears on AA billboard in LES.

2008

Retaliation! Another accuser comes forward to sue Dov, and this Nikki Yang also takes Keith Fink as her lawyer. Dov (or his lawyers) start campaigning against Fink. Press releases and internal memos abound, and public sentiment turns when it is found out that Fink is the one who took Ellen's dog away. Google ads are bought. Dov begins to look like the victim in all this mess, despite the fact that he's a known sexual pervert. The Mary Nelson case is settled, or perhaps thrown out of court: no one is really sure and we don't know who to believe. Woody Allen sues. Charney is also named Retailer of the Year, gets on the cover of Portfolio during exactly the wrong time and is the victim/perpetrator of another graffiti prank/viral marketing scheme.

2009

What's in the future for Dov Charney and AA? Well, he's shaved his pornstache and is looking quite manly these days, so the edge of 40 might be slowly ebbing him to grow up. Either that, or his lawyers are forcing him. Meanwhile American Apparel, perhaps in a nod to Barack Obama, has started their hideous Afrika line, and continues to grow during the recession, proving that people might give up their newspapers and their media, but they'll never give up $14 pairs of underwear that make you look fat.