Rural Dictionary

Abercrombie

Abercrombie & Fitch is the most popular and fashionable teen retailer. From humble beginnings Abercrombie has become a teenage Mecca. Originally A&F was a professional sporting goods store that outfitted some of America’s finest and most influential leaders and other wealthy patrons. In 1988, Limited Brands acquired the Abercrombie & Fitch name and carefully rolled out its new concept and created the Abercrombie & Fitch we know and love today. You can find Abercrombie & Fitch located throughout America in upscale shopping malls. The chain targets 18-24 year old college students from the upper-middle class, but it is more popular among middle and high school students. Abercrombie & Fitch promotes itself as a lifestyle brand, which is a brand that embodies the values and appeal of a desirable way of living. Stores have pictures of physically attractive models and they are carefully laid out. Merchandise is rotated so the regular customers always have a different shopping experience. The stores also are spritzed daily with Abercrombie cologne and feature loud dance music blaring though powerful speakers. Abercrombie stores also hire workers who embody the Abercrombie image; attractive, athletic, popular, enthusiastic, and outgoing. Abercrombie’s clothing is fairly predictable they feature common staples such as woven shirts, denim, miniskirts, cargo shorts, wool sweaters, polo shirts, and t-shirts. Labels on clothing reinforce the company’s image of as a casual luxury merchandiser and emphasize the quality and durability of the product. Careful marketing made the brand synonymous with wealth and status among young patrons. Abercrombie stores are easily recognized by a white facade, navy blue awnings, and solid metal and glass doors. The interior features gray walls, white molding, polished concrete and black wood floors, metal fixtures, and large pictures of scantily-clad models. Abercrombie & Fitch has been mired in controversy due to its ill-fated A&F Quarterly, accusations of discrimination against minority employees, and degrading T-shirts. The A&F Quarterly was a magazine/catalog sold from 1997 to 2003; it was released four times a year and included erotic photographs along with articles and advertisements for their clothing. After protests from religious organizations and other activist groups Abercrombie pulled the catalog from the stores, they then announced they were discontinuing the A&F Quarterly. Abercrombie has also been criticized for slogans on their clothing. Back in 2002 controversy erupted over shirts featuring racist caricatures of Asians and other ethnic groups. One shirt featured the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service—Two Wongs Can Make It White" with smiling figures in conical hats, a 1900s popular-culture depiction of Chinese immigrants. That year A&F also created thongs for children that included phrases like "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink" printed on the front. The shirts and thongs were taken down after many protests and boycotts across the country. In 2004 more controversy occurred due to a shirt featuring the phrase, "It's All Relative in West Virginia." West Virginia governor Bob Wise spoke out against the company for depicting "an unfounded, negative stereotype of West Virginia," but the shirts were not removed. Another incident involved a shirt with the phrase "L is for loser" written next to a picture of a gymnast on the rings. The company stopped selling the shirt in October of 2004 after USA Gymnastics started a boycott. In 2005 Abercrombie was the subject of a "girl-cott" due to degrading slogans such as "Who needs a brain when you have these?", "Available for parties", and “Blondes are adored, Brunettes are ignored”, they were pulled on November 5th after pressure from the media and activist groups. Abercrombie & Fitch has also been accused of discrimination against minority employees. . A 2004 lawsuit — Gonzales v. Abercrombie & Fitch — accused the company of discriminating against minority employees by offering desirable positions to white employees. Abercrombie decided to settle out of court the terms of the settlement included paying $40 million to rejected applicants and affected employees and create a force to promote diversity in their stores. Abercrombie & Fitch operates three additional concept stores: abercrombie (Abercrombie Kids), a smaller version of the original chain which aims to attract patrons ages 7-14; Hollister Co., which sells California-inspired apparel to attract patrons 14-18; and RUEHL, which sells business casual and leather goods to target ages 22-30. Abercrombie & Fitch has attempted to differentiate itself from its sister brand by raising price-points, introducing a line of higher-end merchandise called "Ezra Fitch," and establishing strategies to limit the intrusion of Hollister into key Abercrombie & Fitch markets.

Becka: OMG so do u want to go to Abercrombie this weekend ?
Tiff: Yah!! I can finally get those Ezra Fitch jeans I want!
Becka: Cool! I need to get a gift card and some polos

by bored2121 December 17, 2005

19👍 19👎

Abercrombie

It looks like it's pretty much been defined..Abercbrombie is a worthless store that markets crap clothing to the typical 'popular crowd' as well as the insecure dregs who want to 'fit in' with the self centered, materialistic "popular crowd", and it is generally seen as a status symbol

Also, the clothing is generally EXTREMELY overpriced, and one can purchase very similar items that are mroe or less the same thing at Aeropostale, American Eagle, or Hollister (which is also owned by Abercrombie)

Abercrappie also features regualar hits such as "pre-worn jeans" which come beautifully quipped with holes in them. No thanks, but I'll run over my own jeans, and save the $80

I know this because I went to high school, and I saw that the preppy, popular kids always wore it, and I could never understand why. I wanted to fit in so bad, so I tried it. I unfortuanely wasted money on this shit, and was consequently made fun of by my REAL friends, who told me that I was blowing money on crap that I could easily purcahse at other stores, and that it didn't even look good on me.

Pity I didn't listen, when all along, I should have realized that I was posing to be people that didn't give a damn about me, and only cared about wasting their parent's hard earned dough to pose as slutty or preppy, superfifical asswipes.

I don't know why or how it's the case, but if you live in a rich area, that's predominantly white, you will see the 'Abercrombie effect' avoid at all costs, and no matter what, keep telling yourself, that the real "losers" are the people who buy it, who have no taste in clothing, and care only to confrom.

JUST REMEMBER: Buy it if you truly like it...not to fit in, cauz if those people want you, they would like you for who you are, NOT what you wear

See MAD TV, any upper scale suburban mall,

Girl 1: hey loser!
Girl 2: why?
Friend of girl 2: shes just jealous that you have a brain, and that you don't blow 80 bucks of your parents well earned money on an abercrombie, "shirt" that's so tight, only an 8 year old can fit in.

by Bobby from NJ September 3, 2005

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