Walking down Charleston's iconic King Street, I couldn't help but notice the "90 percent off" sign in the front window of American Apparel. I couldn't believe my eyes. Sure, I had heard rumors of them shutting down, but this sighting confirmed it.

I've always loved American Apparel's clothes -- especially for basics. Being a poor college student, though, I never dared step foot in the door because I knew that I wouldn't be able to even afford a white t-shirt. Today, though, I walked out with five items that would have totaled about 120 dollars for only eight dollars and 34 cents. The store was bare and sad, but I finally got some American-made, sweatshop-free clothes for an unbelievable price. Needless to say, it's quite a bittersweet situation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Canadian company Gildan Activewear bid $88 million for American Apparel's manufacturing equipment and property, and that Amazon and Forever 21 are rumored to be interested in the physical stores.

American Apparel has filed two bankruptcies within two years because of the high cost of manufacturing in Los Angeles. Another contributing factor is their lack of sales despite having 110 stores nationwide (at their peak, they had 230 stores). Not to mention, Dov Charney, American Apparel's CEO until 2014, was convicted of sexual harassment allegations, which shed a bad light on the company. Even before his conviction, his racy campaigns sparked a lot of controversy, so his reputation did not do the company well.

Gildan Activewear's president and CEO, Glen Chamandy said, "we see strong potential to grow American Apparel sales by leveraging our extensive printwear distribution networks in North America." The company is even keeping some factories in L.A.. Unfortunately, though, a few thousand jobs will be lost by the end of Gildan Activewear's purchase.

Chamandy also states that he hopes American Apparel will be a "strong complementary addition to [Gildan Activewear's] growing brand portfolio." Perhaps the overtake from this growing Canadian company will bring some positivity back to American Apparel and their reputation.