From the Dallas Morning News - "Employees: 'Hierarchy of hotness' rules at Abercrombie and Fitch"
America is going to hell in an Abercrombie and Fitch handbasket. They must honestly take pride in being the most morally decrepit clothing store in all the world. They have worked so hard for the last ten years gaining and maintaining that status. Well done, A&F! Where would we be without the self-hatred and sexual degradation you inspire in our youth? You are awesome!
(You can read about the last time I shopped at Abercrombie here.)
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61 comments:
Wow.
One of the many reasons my daughters will not wear clothes from there.
Wow.
I didn't realize they were this bad. I have a couple of AF tees in my closet - I'm going to toss them. Must say that I found their sizing to be "off". I'm usually an 8/10 but only the XL will fit me - trying on some of their clothing my 13 year old daughter complained she was "fat". I told her that she wasn't, their sizes were just MUCH smaller than usual. Guess they want to ensure that their clientele (advertising) fits the "mold" they shove their employees into.
I heard about this on the radio this morning. Yet another reason we will continue to NOT buy clothes there. My oldest daughter was put out with me when I announced my one-woman boycott a couple of years ago, but after she and I heard this story, she conceded that the boycott was dead on.
How sad for our society that we've come to this. Lord Jesus, come quickly.
So obscene. The A&F in my city actually had a male model standing at the front of the store during 4th of July weekend, wearing no shirt and low-slung jeans. Just standing there. Girls were pouring into the store, giggling. I was so appalled.
Wow - that's truly disgusting. There are truly better places to spend a dollar (or a hundred!). Thanks for sharing!
OMG! I loathe A&F, as a mom of a teen girl and preteen boy, I wish they would agree with me, but I' working on it, hopefully this article will help :)
THanks for sharing!!
Amen sister! And I remember reading about your last experience there. Priceless!
I'm with you, Sister!
I read your previous post as well. What a lesson! And how awesome of God to make such wonderful use of the clothing.
I think I should email this post to my teen daughters. I feel a long talk coming on.
Rena ;)
That is horrible - as if high school and college age girls don't struggle with enough self esteem issues.
I sadly used to shop at A&F up until about age 25 when I realized I was too old, too uncool, and too fat for their size 0 clothes.
Talk about humble pie (I just read the A & F story!)
A guy I went to college with was an A & F model, up until they went off the deep end. Everyone I went to college with wore their clothes. I'm ashamed to admit that I still have perfume that I bought there, 11 years ago!
Emily
Talk about humble pie (I just read the A & F story!)
A guy I went to college with was an A & F model, up until they went off the deep end. Everyone I went to college with wore their clothes. I'm ashamed to admit that I still have perfume that I bought there, 11 years ago!
Emily
GAG. How can we put them out of business?
Hey Amanda,
This is not good at all. I remember Abercrombie getting in trouble for "racy" ads, and I was in the mall with my lil sis Jennifer this past wk, and we were walking by the entrance and there was this picture that was not appropriate at all big as day on the wall when you walk in. It does inspire self-hatred and sexual degradation when you think, "I have to be this way", when God makes us uniquely with traits that are given especially to us. No two of us are exactly alike, even twins:) I have a few clothes from Abercrombie, they do look cute, and they are durable, but should I endorse such a company by wearing their clothing?? And modesty-our nation needs revival BAD, there's no way around it. Now is the time to be in the world, but cleary not of it.
katiegfromtennessee
Amanda,
I don't even have to read the last post, I can imagine!
It always smells like all the clothes are drenched in cologne there, and they only have clothes for under size 0 people...yea, my friend worked there for awhile...but when you are raised to believe into the lies of materialism then that's what happens.
I was raised on Kmart, Walmart, Ross, and Goodwill:)
Hi Amanda,
I could say that I cant believe, it but I can. so wrong in many ways....
I was at the conf. this past weekend (What a weekend!!!!! Awesome!), and I was hoping that I could have made my way down to at least meet you. I have been reading your blog for quite some time, and you really have given me tons of smiles, that I wanted to meet the person responbsible! And then I saw a pic of some lucky ladies that got to meet you all, I was bummed ..Ha. You looked adorable with the little bump.
Maybe someday....there will be another SA conf.....:(
I am a mother of three, and have one close to Mr Jacksons age, so I love the potty traning tips, because my last one - stubborn!
Love in Christ,
Lisa
Maybe I'm glad now that I could never get my big butt to fit into any of their jeans :)
Oh I laughed at your A&F experience. When we first got married (almost 9 years ago) we were A&F shoppers... I love the style and the fit (back then... probably not now...) Anyways, slowly we were both feeling convicted about it but they were Stephen's absolute favorite jeans & cologne (woods!) and we couldn't find suitable replacements.
The jeans we found after a sermon that further convicted us but the cologne... heaven help, I love the smell of 'woods'... was one of a kind. We went as far as to not go IN the store... we would order the stuff. I think the point is the same, we were supporting it...
We got ours when A&F just simply stopped carrying it. I guess God took care of that for us, too. My nose still grieves.
I really enjoyed reading about your a&f experience. I am thankful for the precious sisters in Christ that will go ahead and just put it out there...I didn't know much about their company or procedures. Shows just how much I don't really know all thats going on in the generation coming up. The one that I'm desperate to speak in to. Thank you and blessings. Tiffany For His Glory
I knew there was a reason I didn't shop Abercrombie... How in the world are the children of world supposed to grow up with an sense of self-worth when such practices are going on? Ugh.
A few years ago my husband and I decided to boycott American Eagle. We got tired of seeing them market sexually suggestive t-shirts to tweens and teens. I was sad to give up their jeans, but I didn't want to support such ick clothing in any way.
A few years ago JC Penny's released a shirt in their Juniors Department that read, "Your boyfriend told me to tell you Hello last night" (or something like that). A dear friend of mine was the assistant manager of a Penny's at the time and sent her store's box of shirts back, saying she wasn't going to sell them. The shirts were eventually removed from a majority of Penny's in the South. Taking a stand..however small...can make a difference!
I cannot believe that! Seriously! Man! Whoa!
I loved what your Mom said this weekend...
"Our souls are being mauled by the sexual abuse of our culture" and that "Teen girls have bought into the lie that they are as valuable as they are sensual" (or good looking, hot, skinny... fill in the blank!)
Goodness! I have three teens and I have to be on my face praying for them... it is so tough out there and not just for teens for us too!
Lord help us all let our theology become our reality! (I love that!)
Emmy
Amanda,
Ditto. As a mom of two teenage sons, we never graced their store with our presence or cash. If Christians would boycott this place, they would probably go out of business. Congrats on the potty training. I missed meeting you in San Antonio! Maybe next time.
Jan
Amanda - totally agree! Thank you for speaking up about this trend in advertising and clothing. Can't we as young women be stylish and fully clothed? Too many young girls are getting the wrong idea about what it means to be a woman and to be loved.
How is the potty training?
rebecca in e.tx
I think it's terrible, too. It's aweful to see teenagers thinking that they have to fit into a certain mold, and not seeing that they are beautiful just how God created them. It's heartbreaking.
I read the other post you linked, and it was very funny! God had a terrific sense of humor.
Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing the article.
Lord, help us raise our kids in this culture!
I truely dislike this store because of their desire to "sell" sex to youth!!! Thank you for speaking out against them. So may people read your blog and hopefully your post just opened someone's eyes to not shop there any more.
I too, used to shop there.
and I no longer even go in.
It's just not right, what they're doing, and I refuse to support them.
Not to mention, at 38, I'd be the oldest one in the store.
My 17 year old son refuses to shop at A & E because of this very reason! He never understood why a clothing store would have models posing in their ads when it appears that they were not even wearing anything at all! ;)
Man, that just stinks.
I sit here with my jaw to the floor in pure shock
They call their employees models and have a face rating system - excuse me?!
I have not been in A&F since my connor was little so almost 6-7 yrs ago. I stopped going when I felt uncomfortable b/c of the pictures displayed in the store
Connor said to me when he was 2 "why are they naked mommy?"
(B/c all the guys had no shirts on and the girls were so tiny and scantly clad - that was it I was done)
I can see they have not improved so why do people still shop there? Better yet why are parents allowing their kids to shop there?
What year are we in again - I feel like in 2008 we should have more common sense....
Ok I am coming off my soapbox
Thanks for the heads up Amanda
Blessings
Kim
You go girl! I couldn't agree with you more!! And thanks for not mincing words!
Yuck yuck yuck!!! It makes me sick. My boys will not have "them" on their sweatshirts.
I'm going to pass this news article along. THanks for sharing it with us.
Hugs,
Fran
Wow that is disgusting! I feel dirty just walking by that store in the mall! I will never step foot in there! How sad! That company needs the Lord!
WOW! I used to LOVE shopping there in high school, until all their clothes seemed to shrink to that of 12 year-old overnight! Thanks for the post. Ill be sure in passing it on to some of my college buddies!
Amen!!! I have boycotted A&F for the last 4 years!! The last time I bought a $95 pair of jeans there and they ripped in no time! Since then, I have been done with them! I'll save my $100 for a pair (or half a pair) that won't tear up!!
Now just another reason not to shop there!
I beg you maker of 7 for all Mankind jeans to please not sink so low, I am not sure what my closet would do without you!!!
I must confess that I worked at A&F years ago. I was a junior in college, and had been praying for a job. I walked in to the store (to, eek, shop) and was approached by a manager who asked if I'd like to work there. I was so elated to have a job, that I accepted. I worked there three weeks and quit. The "sexual tension" was unimaginable. CUSTOMERS are rated by staff as they walk in (ugly ones are not helped). It is policy not to approach a customer, or offer standard customer service (your "hotness" is supposed to do that job). I look at it as an eye-opening look at a very dark world.
Oh and about the smell; employees are required to spray the perfume around the store every 30 minutes to an hour.
I won't even walk in the store. And you can be sure that my daughters (ages 9 and 11) are gonna hear all about it. :)
AMEN to everything you said!!! I have had ENOUGH of their advertisements filled with scantily clad models! Sometimes I just can't believe stories like this are real!...so sad that this is what our world is coming to.
This store has never fit our budget or our bodacious bums, so we have never shopped there. But this article just makes me want to vomit!
Amanda, I saw you on the floor Friday night and right when I was about to ask you to strike a pose with Kelly's head, someone started talking to you and then someone started talking to me and then the Alamodome folks kicked us out. I thought, no problem, I'm sure I will catch up with her later. And then it just never came to pass.
Sigh. Now we're all sad.
I was so bummed I actually consoled myself with God's sovereignty. Death, disease, lack of photo ops...He's in control.
:)
Amen on that Amanda. Makes me sick. I took my baby boy to stroll the mall last week and was so embarrassed by the Victoria's Secret window, I turned the corner and there was the AF window---in all it's pubescent perversion. Sick. I felt panicked as a momma---how can we make this garbage stop?
Now if we could just convince the teens in our youth group that they're not worth spending money on! I don't think they realize the connection of spending money at AF = supporting the company and it's immoral ways. Sooo frustrating!
Well, Amen.
Our store has a HUMONGOUS picture of a half-naked guy wearing jeans WAY too low cut you can see from the outside of the store in the mall. I always distract my kids when we walk by there.
I also hate the shirts that have "FITCH" written on the front, for obvious reasons.
The cologne stench just reminds me how their "alluring ads" must smell to God's nostrils.
Maybe I am being too harsh?
Ughhhh!!! Gag....I don't know what to say!!!! That is absolutely HORRIBLE!!!! Isn't that called DISCRIMINATION????? Thanks for blogging about this!
I hate that there's now an A&F FOR KIDS!!! What's next?? A&F For Babies? Sure hope more parents take a stand and boycott the store.
I love it when you rant. I'm SO right there with you.
That is the single most ridiculous thing I've heard all day. Can you imagine how awful it must feel to be sent to the stockroom because you're not "hot" enough?
Wow! I had no idea. What's sad is that I'm not that shocked, because it is Abercrombie.
And after reading Ashley's comment, I am even in more disgust. They can't even ask to help a customer? How rude. And spraying perfume once an hour? Ew. No wonder I sneezed every time I walked in there!
Sharing this article with my girls...thanks for sharing it with us!
Lindsee
Thanks, girl- I'm going to pass this on to two of the teen girls I mentor who were telling me yesterday that they are allowed to buy clothes there if it is with their own money. Great chance for them to examine and think through some things!
Yuck, I totally agree. I have never spent any money in that store for my daughters or myself. The last time I even went in there was several years back to buy a gift for my SIL. (that was when they still had cute sweaters, etc) Not now, I remember several years back there was an article concerning their Christmas catalog about teen sex and experimentation. YUCK. It is sad that America is being tricked by this clothing line. I could be wrong, but I believe their company owns several other clothing lines that many of us may shop at. I will look into that.
Mom of Eleven
Amanda,
Found this out on Wikipedia, interesting that the store was originally established for outdoor gear. . .um what happened?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aafc2.jpg
I have never been able to shop there, not like I would now anyway. Thanks for the info though because I do have a daughter that is only getting closer to those teenage years!
Amanda,
Just heard this song and thought you might enjoy it. Faith Hill has a Christmas album coming out at the end of the month and People.com is previewing the only new, original song on the album. It's called "A Baby Changes Everything." Hear it here: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20222030,00.html
My family is from KC and we're friends with Nate, Kari, and Landon. I love reading your blog.
best,
stacy b
Little Miss Firecracker started kindergarten this week and today I was praying every single one of the prayers from The Power of a Praying Parent, especially the one about holiness and purity, "I pray that the clothes she wears...and chooses to adorn her body and face will reflect a reverence and a desire to glorify You, Lord." Then I read your blog post. A Babylonian mentality if ever there was one!
Congrats to you on your little one. You and Kelly's Korner are the cutest moms to be!
Gross. Just plain gross. Neither one of my boys will ever wear clothes from there. Thanks for sharing Amanda!
And we give the chinese a hard time about the little girl (not) singing at the Olympic openning ceremony. We have no right.
But, on a lighter note, LOL at your previous A&F experience.
~Donna
(I didn't realize your Ag status... c/o '95 here).
Amanda, I totally agree!!
It's hard enough for our young ladies these days without this!
Thanks for your post!!!
Amazing. And some people still wonder why young girls have such issues. I enjoy your blog.
I hardly ever go in AF, and the reasons are plentiful.
You'd think that after all the "bad" publicity they've had the last few years, they'd have cleaned up their act a bit. Apparently not.
However, I am an avid Big Brother fan. And while Joshuah was not my favorite player (for many reasons), he was a snazzy dresser. And not a bad looking guy. Anybody telling him not to come back to work because he didn't look right is just crazy in the head.
I love you. Sometimes, I feel so alone in my rants. This would make a good virtue alert topic. Wouldn't it be dreamy if parents (the primary BUYERS) got offended enough by this story that they decided to finally close their wallets to this store? Oh, we can dream, now can't we?
The thong underwear for little girls sent me over the edge w/ this store. The icing on the cake was when their company spokesperson defended it and said it was "cute, and fun, and sweet." Ick.
Sadness to add to this...
My friend was sitting with me today and she talked about getting a second job...take a guess what was the first one she said?
yep.
I mean working at VS in the beginning was weird for me, because I didn't want to help all kinds of women put on their bras...it was just too weird...
so my thing was the beauty dept. I never did learn how to measure someone for a bra correctly...no matter how many times someone showed me...!
But I totally got the sales thing down with the fragrances...I did like it there...I mean it was a place where you got to know everyone...just wish it paid more.
Oh Amanda. It's really been a couple of years since we had wardrobe controversy in our home.
My teens were having "identity" issues with the death of their brother, their new school and well... Just being 14 and 16 respectively (now nearing 17 and 19). (Though A & F were never really on the table with my girls - they hated the pictures from the outside and never went inside to see what was available... But this was well after the public scandal of A & F had begun).
I never realized establishing Identity was such a difficult thing. My mom never minced words and if I was to have what I desired she and my father 1.) had to approve of the fit and 2.) had to be able to afford it... and if I spent my own money on it... They still got a say.
We were at Grapevine Mills Mall on a shopping trip with our youth girls and I walked by Hott Topic taking a look for the first time. Okay, now I don't know that HT is actually "evil" but they are just so "dark" and I honestly got the "heebie-jeebies" when we walked by that store. I felt like they were selling death. And, making it fashionable.
I had made a remark about it which sent my girls into a tizzy saying I was overreacting since all their friends shopped there.
So we were there again a few months later and the same debate ensued. Their attitude got a teensy bit on the side of disrespectful and I got fed up so I forbade them to shop there.
My youngest daughter replied, "well, if that is the case then we shouldn't be able to shop at Victoria's Secret, Hollister or... Either." I don't remember the others at the moment, but what I do remember is that their comment made a statement that I was willing to live up to - since I don't shop at those stores to begin with but my girls did I said, "Fine. Then you are not allowed to shop their either."
Okay, so my girls had American Eagle and the Gap pretty much left... Banana Republic and Windsor sometimes and well... Oh and CHARLOTTE RUSSE - which they love to shop there... along with a few other nominal mall shops that would trend them out in style - still they were expressly forbidden to shop at the aforementioined stores. Imagine the scandal, the horror and the disgust - we had it all.
My oldest got creative with Target and Rue 21, even shopping at Marshall's on occasion but my youngest remained staunch and steadfast in her full on rants when the subject came up.
So... How does this little (long) fashion saga end... BIBLE STUDY.
My youngest and I have been in Bible study together since the fall and her attitude has wholly recovered from those shopping days at the mall. My eldest fully complied and states she never really relished HT or the other stores - and she has since discovered Forever 21 with their John 3:16 shopping bags... Oh Glory. Where have they been all our lives. (Actually for a number of years they have been right there in Grapevine Mills Mall, I just had no idea they were a message store.)
Anyway... So that is the kind of pointless story of how fashion drama led to message mentality in our dress code at home. They still rarely shop at Hott Topic though they completely understand my sentiments. And, since Victoria's Secret has turned down the "sex" dial a bit - they do shop in the make-up store. I think we just were hit by the power of the influence of those type of mega-advertising companies who were selling sex and style in a way that just turns the stomach and drives young women into the world of eating disorders and destructive behaviors ... and it hurts to think that companies like A & F get away with exploiting teens who are struggling with Identity issues already - all the more reason to make sure our kids are firmly rooted in Christ so no one can shake them or what they believe about themselves.
I've told my girls from day one they are beautiful and precious - and I taught them to be gracious. Now, they walk in confidence and are standing on a firm foundation in Christ. WHEW! I said a lot - and did not mean to do so. Thanks for the information. I would have missed this otherwise.
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