BakerMcBride

“Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch” written by Dwight McBride talks about the astonishing advancement of corporations throughout society. The way photos and advertisements would help in the sales of certain clothing by portraying models who wear these products was a huge leap in the marketing department. Abercrombie and Fitch started as a clothing line mainly for homosexual men. When the author went to a club some years ago he noticed that almost every gay male was wearing this certain brand of clothing that he had never heard of before. The author discusses the history of the Abercrombie and Fitch and the way it came to be known in the fashion industry. The brand has been around even before Roosevelt outfitting the modern outdoorsmen. The brand slowly moved from David T. Abercrombie’s small shop in Manhattan into the large corporate giant we are familiar with today. Originally Abercrombie and Fitch were made for the common outdoorsman like Abercrombie himself. It has transformed over the years and has become the dress of mainly white, upper class males. The authors main quarrels with the brand are not as some may have thought the fact that Abercrombie and Fitch is so loose and shameless with the morals and the way of dress. The author does not actually disagree with how the photos and modeling show off the lack of clothing but the author does have a problem with who the brand is attempting to advertise to. Over the course of its history Abercrombie and Fitch has not been geared toward any real ethnic group. The brand also does more than set a certain trend but instills values on how the purchasers should actually act. There are rules that are supposedly supposed to be adhered to when wearing the clothing. Some such rules are rules about hairstyles and the jewelry ones can wear. Up until a few years ago the author speaks about all the models and photographs depicting only white people wearing and promoting this brand. The idea that Abercrombie and Fitch is made only for the white race is a corporate ideal and has only perpetuated itself throughout its life. Even now there are hardly any people of color wearing this clothing line and as such Abercrombie is looked at as a somewhat racist clothing line.
1) Has Abercrombie always been so expensive?
2) Who is in charge now?
My reaction to this article is not of surprise. I always thought of Abercrombie as a way to distinguish people if not by race but of just social class. The price of almost all of the clothing is made so that a very small percent of the population can afford to purchase the items thereby holding onto its constant high style and attitude.