Once upon a time, I was a loyal shopper at Abercrombie and Fitch. Incredibly loyal.
Of course when you’re 21, and lookin’ to impress no one but the cute boy over in the corner of the campus watering hole, it didn’t matter whether I dressed “professionally” and found myself sporting their cute, low cut, knit tops and flip flops and sweaters religiously. The Ex and I used to shop there and at Hollister near religiously – perhaps we had the “look” that Abercrombie is going for?
I was appalled when I read on Jezebel that a British girl with a prosthetic arm was banished to the stock room because she “didn’t have the look.” The look?! Really? I mean, what is the look? Blonde hair, blue eyed, 100 lbs with a faux tan? No no, the look just doesn’t include a prosthetic arm. She stated:
“A worker from what they call the “visual team”, people who are employed to go round making sure the shop and its staff look up to scratch, came up to me and demanded I take the cardigan off. I told her, yet again, that I had been given special permission to wear it. A few minutes later my manager came over to me and said: “I can’t have you on the shop floor as you are breaking the Look Policy. Go to the stockroom immediately and I’ll get someone to replace you. I pride myself on being quite a confident girl but I had never experienced prejudice like that before and it made me feel utterly worthless. Afterwards I telephoned the company’s head office where a member of staff asked whether I was willing to work in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrived. That was the final straw. I just couldn’t go back.” [via Jezebel]
As Jezebel also points out, this isn’t the first time Abercrombie has gotten a bad rap for questionable employment practices back in 2003 alleging that they discriminate against African American, Hispanic, and Asians by trying to create an “all-white ‘A&F look” by hiring an overwhelmingly majority white employee force. In addition, they were sued back in 2003 for “forcing” employees to purchase their clothing (denied).
Sorry A&F, your days of being “cool” are over (thankfully, I was a loyal shopper at least 5 years ago. Now a days, hauling my lazy ass up to the third floor to shop at them in Cambridgeside just isn’t worth it). Proof is in the sales and a few weeks ago, Jezebel also reported on Abercrombie’s 34% drop in sales – cheaply made, over priced clothes with horrificly obscene logos on them just aren’t cool anymore.
That kind of attitude is the attitude that keeps racism and elitism alive and that? Is not okay.
Thankfully those A&F days are over, and my wardrobe, as I’ve been cleaning it out over the past two years, is 90% A&F free – after all I’m not a size 2 anymore and nor am I in college where wearing A&F was acceptable. I’ll stick with JCrew thankyouverymuch where at least I see a diverse sales force.
Thoughts? Comments? Do you still shop at A&F? Or do you too think it was a fad of the early 2000′s?
