Response 3

Cayce is a coolhunter. She tracks down upcoming fashions -- trends that will soon be referred to as "cool" by the mass public. To her, this usually means finding something authentic -- unique. Because of this desire, she abhors brand name items. She has a complete aversion to anything that is mass produced or has a "trademark" logo.
From the very beginning, the reader cathces a glimpse into Cayce's distaste for branded appareal. As she is getting dressed in the very first chapter, her clothes are described as having "every trademark carefully removed. Even the buttons on these have been ground flat, featureless, by a puzzled Korean locksmith, in the village, a week ago" (3). She wants to have no part in the trite nature of wearing branded clothing.
However, this dislike does not only come into play with regards to her own clothes. Cayce cannot even stand to see a popular, well-known logo anywhere. Cayce simply sees the Michelon man logo in a restaurant and has something like an allergic reaction to it. When she steps into a clothing store, her feeling is described as having "less warning aura as usual. Some people ingest a single peanut and their head swells like a basketball. When it happens to Cayce, it's her psyche" (17). It is explained that "Tommy Hilfiger does it every time" (17). She has such a strong aversion to Tommy Hilfiger because its entire unoriginality and mass production.
Because of her dislike of "pattern recognition," Cayce very much perfers to wear authentic and hand-made materials. Her favorite piece of clothing is her Buzz Rickson's jacket. She loves it because it is "as purely functional and iconic a garmet as the previous century produced" (11). This garmet is "virtually impossible to replace." This fact alone brings Cayce's love and attention to it. She loves to authenticity of it and detests the pattern recognition held by brand names.