Abercrombie & Fitch targets skinny shoppers,

[+DieChecker]

My wife told me about this story. Apparently it is making the rounds on Facebook....

http://www.nydailyne...ticle-1.1339454

“He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

While Abercrombie didn’t respond to the Daily News’ request for comment, Jeffries admitted in a 2006 interview with Salon he only wants the popular people to wear his clothes.

“We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends,” he said. “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.

Just another millionare a-hole, or Genius???

Edited May 23, 2013 by DieChecker

[MiskatonicGrad]

I only buy his stuff if I can get it at the thrift store. does that make me a second hand popular person? Does that make me cheap? Absolutely.

[shrooma]

after a trip to the states around 15yrs ago, I bought some A&F gear (had to. I was in new orleans, my luggage was in chicago), inc. a t-shirt with 'abercrombie' emblazoned across the front. back home in the UK, people thought abercrombie were the name of a band (a&f were unknown over here then), and all the 'cool kids' thought they were missing out on some new, underground band! at an ian brown gig, one guy actually asked me what I thought of abercrombie's latest album!

glad i'm not one of the cool kids if they're that pretentious & stoopid, and i'm even considering getting fat so they'll hate me!

[s33ker]

Only people like Ahmed Angel should wear that poxy brand.

[Lilly]

Plus sizes...heck, A&F doesn't even carry anything larger than a size 10 or 12. Plus size doesn't even start until size 16. The average American woman is a 12 to 14. And what about taller women, are they supposed to be able to wear the tiny sizes that short women wear? I could probably squeeze into their largest size...but I wouldn't give them my business on principle alone. Not only that but they're way over priced as well.

[Clarakore]

Many fashion houses (which Abercrombie is not one but is apparently taking cues from) do not make plus size clothes.

It is more expensive to make and does not sell as much.

Also, whoever thinks plus size is the new regular, are just encouraging unhealthy lifestyles that will cost society more with healthcare costs later on.

It is no secret that 50 years ago people were thinner in general. Trying to hate the fashion companies is silly when it is the fast food and beverage companies that profit on unhealthy misery.

The article mentions a 10 year old who is a size 12...

Edited May 23, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[Frank Merton]

Well I would boycott them, except I can't since I've never bought anything from them anyway and they aren't in my fashion league.

[Frank Merton]

Many fashion houses (which Abercrombie is not one but is apparently taking cues from) do not make plus size clothes.

It is more expensive to make and does not sell as much.

Also, whoever thinks plus size is the new regular, are just encouraging unhealthy lifestyles that will cost society more with healthcare costs later on.

It is no secret that 50 years ago people were thinner in general. Trying to hate the fashion companies is silly when it is the fast food and beverage companies that profit on unhealthy misery.

The article mentions a 10 year old who is a size 12...

Let's make being fat stylish; all you have to do is make food expensive so that eating becomes something only the well-off can afford. I guess that's the way is was in the past.

[Clarakore]

It is like that way in some places still.

They did a study, men from certain African countries like larger women, it does signify healthiness there. In fact most of the diets in America in the early 1900s were for a woman to gain weight not lose it.

Today with the overabundance of food, something we never had while evolving, being thin shows discipline and health in some regards. So men are going to be attracted to both discipline and health for a potential mate to pass on genes to their children.

Now the study surveyed the men from the same African country when they immigrated to New York. It was shown their tastes had changed, they still did not like the thinness ideal of America but they no longer especially favored larger women, their tastes fell in the middle.

The bottom line is the ideal figure will change from time to time depending on the context of the culture and what is happening.

[shrooma]

It is no secret that 50 years ago people were thinner in general.

.

people like-

marilyn monroe?

diana dors?

gina lollabrigida?

raquel welch?

jayne mansfield?

mama cass?

bette midler?

zsa zsa gabor?

or-

alfred hitchcock?

raymond burr?

dom deluise?

mel brooks?

fred flintstone?

oliver hardy?

chubby checker?

bill halley?

demis roussos?

peter lorre?

fats domino?

50yrs ago people PREFERRED people with curves, and while there's always been thin people, it's only fairly recently, amongst the shallow, that it's become an imperitive.

[Clarakore]

So when people in the future talk about our society today some will claim we were all thin and trump out a list of waifish celebrities while ignoring the many people on motorized scooters which cost tax dollars?

The ideal is not always the norm. Not then or now.

Curvy doesn't have to mean thick either. Some try to claim the word exclusively but there are plenty of thin women with curves.

The ideal for thinness is nothing new either as it can appear and fade throughout diffferent eras. Compare the more curvy Gibson girl ideal of the late 1800s to the more waifish flapper of the 1920s. The ideal of the '50s (Marilyn) is also not that of the late '60s (Twiggy).

What is certain, beyond ideal figures, is that those in the past did not have to deal with astronomical rates of juvenile obesity or debilitating diabetes in adults. People in the past were normally thing, gained a small amount of weight in their 30s then began to lose it in their 50s, but today that is not the norm anymore.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[shrooma]

dunno where you live LBA, but here in the UK, until recently, having a bit of weight about you was always a sign of prosperity, and was usually lauded and envied.

and in the interests of impartiality, the flipside of the modern obesity argument is the alarming rise of anorexia & bulemia, in some cases before they've even reached their teens. and not to mention the teenage suicides brought on through body issues.

even amongst gay men it's an issue- if you're a fat homosexual, you're a single homosexual.

people who aren't as thin as racing snakes are villified, especially in the media, who might throw in the odd fat guy as a token, but as a rule, the media treats them as lepers.

see if you can find a copy of 'my mad, fat diary' if you want to know what it's like growing up in a plus sized world these days, it's not nice at all.

(even though the book DOES have a very positive position on being a large teenager)

[Kowalski]

For all those people making certain comments about plus size people (You Know Who You Are...) why don't you step outside your little world, and walk in someone else's shoes for a little bit. Save me the "unhealthy lifestyle" BS....People who are skinny or not overweight can get diabetes, and high blood pressure also.

Some people are just beyond shallow.....

[Kowalski]

dunno where you live LBA, but here in the UK, until recently, having a bit of weight about you was always a sign of prosperity, and was usually lauded and envied.

and in the interests of impartiality, the flipside of the modern obesity argument is the alarming rise of anorexia & bulemia, in some cases before they've even reached their teens. and not to mention the teenage suicides brought on through body issues.

even amongst gay men it's an issue- if you're a fat homosexual, you're a single homosexual.

people who aren't as thin as racing snakes are villified, especially in the media, who might throw in the odd fat guy as a token, but as a rule, the media treats them as lepers.

see if you can find a copy of 'my mad, fat diary' if you want to know what it's like growing up in a plus sized world these days, it's not nice at all.

(even though the book DOES have a very positive position on being a large teenager)

I really hate it when people vilify overweight people. Just because some people were blessed with skinny genes doesn't mean everyone else is.....

I'd like to point out also it's because of this overweight BIGOTRY (which it is) also is what is causing eating disorders to go through the roof. I almost lost my sister to an eating disorder. I blame the media and culture. It needs to stop. People should be able to fat without being ridiculed.

You don't like fat people? Don't look....

[Junior Chubb]

Abercrombie & Fitch targets skinny shoppers

You don't say...

Apparently Jacamo target bigger people, poor skinny people not being able to buy clothes at Jacamo.

If you are shallow enough to believe there is some advantage to shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch and big people are missing out on something I think it is your mental state that needs addressing rather than your waistline.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Junior Chubb

[Clarakore]

It is unrealistic blaming the media for an epidemic caused by fast food and beverage companies.

If is a concern to general welfare in that the taxpayer has to foot the bill for their diabetes later on in life.

There is a toll in productivity that affects the businesses and the bottom line of our societies. A toll that robs years from people.

In the end families suffer too again affecting the national bottom line. No sense in beating around the bush either, diabetes affects the overweight way more than the thin.

[Lilly]

Well, there's a big difference between being bigger than the Hollywood standard and being medically obese. Being signifcantly overweight does indeed have negative consequences on a person's health. This is simply not the same thing calling a woman of let's say, Marilyn Monroe's size (which was only about a size 8 to 10) *fat*. Also, my 5' 10" daughter wears a womens size 12 or a juniors size 13. At her height this is not medically obese. I'm 5' 8" and wear a size 10 or 11 and my doctor has never catagorized me as being obese either.

[Clarakore]

The healthcare industry is not really offering preventative healthcare.

Related industries also profit from the rising rates of diabetes. Big pharm offers kickbacks. Scooter companies are rolling it in. Guess who is writing the prescriptions?

One should also consider vanity sizing. A size 6 today was not what a size 6 was yesteryear. Someone who was a size 10 or 12 in the past now is a size 8? Lower sizes are newer inventions.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[lightly]

A business can sell what ever product they want.. to who ever will buy it. ..and although the perceived ideal body shape and size does fluctuate, obesity is more prevalent today than the aforementioned 50 years ago. Aren't some blaming high fructose corn syrup in part, because it makes bodies form fats that are next to impossible to get rid of?

[Myles]

I really hate it when people vilify overweight people. Just because some people were blessed with skinny genes doesn't mean everyone else is.....

I'd like to point out also it's because of this overweight BIGOTRY (which it is) also is what is causing eating disorders to go through the roof. I almost lost my sister to an eating disorder. I blame the media and culture. It needs to stop. People should be able to fat without being ridiculed.

You don't like fat people? Don't look....

I agree with some of what you say, but not all.

I don't think we should cater as much to fat people either. Yes, some of it is genes, but most is diet. I don't want to see the culture of the country thinking being fat is OK. It's not OK. Parents should do what they can to bring their kids up healthy. It is our responsibility. It's amazing how many 3rd and 4th graders weigh over 100 lbs. That is not because of the genes. It's because of the parents.

I'm a little overweight. I'd like to go from 190 to 175. I don't want to pretend that 190 is a good weight for me because it is not.

[Myles]

A business can sell what ever product they want.. to who ever will buy it. ..and although the perceived ideal body shape and size does fluctuate, obesity is more prevalent today than the aforementioned 50 years ago. Aren't some blaming high fructose corn syrup in part, because it makes bodies form fats that are next to impossible to get rid of?

High fructose corn syrup is a horrible product. Stay away from it and keep your kids away from it.

[Kowalski]

It is unrealistic blaming the media for an epidemic caused by fast food and beverage companies.

If is a concern to general welfare in that the taxpayer has to foot the bill for their diabetes later on in life.

There is a toll in productivity that affects the businesses and the bottom line of our societies. A toll that robs years from people.

In the end families suffer too again affecting the national bottom line. No sense in beating around the bush either, diabetes affects the overweight way more than the thin.

This is the EXACT kind of thinking that leads to eating disorders.

Have you ever watched a loved one, go from a healthy size 110 to barely over 50 lbs?? Ever watch them hook up a 15 year old to a heart moniter because they are afraid she'll have a heart attack because there is no fat for her muscles to work any longer?

And it's not just my sister I had to watch go through this. I've had friends go through it too. It's this mentality that if your a little overweight your some kind of a leper. Then they go into a tirade about how "unhealthy" it is.

A & F is helping to create this unhealthy body image, that is also paraded all over our culture and in Hollywood.

The influence of the media (see our 'Women Are Dying to be Thin' infographic) on the proliferation of eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa cannot be refuted. From an early age we are bombarded with images and messages that reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful we must be thin. It is nearly impossible to open a newspaper or magazine, listen to the radio, shop at a mall or turn on a TV without being confronted with the message that to be fat is to be undesirable. The most frightening part is that this destructive message is reaching kids. When adolescents feel as though their breasts, weight or hips don’t match up to those of supermodels and actors, they feel fatally flawed. Sadly, even children of elementary school age are obsess over their weight. To illustrate the media’s obsession with thinness, try and name 5 current female television personalities who are overweight. Compare that task to naming 5 female television personalities who are underweight or at ideal weight. Even if the argument is made that the media’s portrayal of women is just a mirror of society and not an initiator, the media still needs to take responsibility for at least perpetuating the dysfunction.

The following are statistics and facts that document how obsessed we are as a society with the pursuit of thinness.

Dieting

• 95% of people who diet instead of following a healthy meal plan will gain back the weight they lose in between one and five years.
  
• 73% of teenage girls who abuse diet pills and 79% of teenage girls who self-purge frequently read women’s fitness and health magazines.
  
• At any given time, one in every three women and one in any four men are on a diet.
  
• 9/10 of girls who are high school juniors and seniors diet while only 1/10 of high school girls are overweight.
  
• Individuals who frequently diet often experience depression.
  
• 35% of individuals who diet only occasionally progress into pathological dieters.
  
• 2/5 of women and 1/5 would give up 3-5 years of their life to realize their weight loss goals.
  
• The diet and diet-related product industry boasts annual revenues of $33 billion.
  
• By 1990 the average age that a girl began dieting had dropped to eight from fourteen in 1970.
  
• Roughly one half of girls in 4th grade are on diets.
  
• More than half of nine and ten-year-old girls admitted that they felt better about themselves when dieting.
  

Body Image

• Often, one of the first seating disorders symptoms to manifest is poor body image.
  
• According to a study from the University of Central Florida, nearly 50% of girls aged three to six were already concerned about their weight.
  
• A study showed that women experience an average of 13 negative thoughts about their body each day, while 97% of women admit to having at least one “I hate my body” moment each day.
  
• Roughly half of the women in the U.S. wear size 14 or larger though most standard clothing retailers only cater to sizes 14 and smaller.
  
• When asked to choose their ideal body shapes, 30% of women chose one that is 20% underweight while 44% chose an ideal body shape that is 10% underweight.
  
• A Glamour magazine survey showed that 61% of respondents felt ashamed of their hips, 64% felt embarrassed by their stomachs, while 72% were ashamed of their thighs.
  
• One study showed that women overestimate the size of their waists by 25% and hips by 16%, while those same women could correctly estimate a box’s width.
  
• One study showed that 75% of women consider themselves overweight when, in reality, only 25% were.
  
• Four out of five women in the U.S. are unhappy with their appearance.
  
• 81% of ten-year-old girls experience a fear of being fat.
  
• 42% of 1st through 3rd grade girls say they wish they were thinner.
  
• Adolescent girls are more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents or nuclear war.
  
• More than half of white, adolescent girls who are a normal weight view themselves as fat.
  
• Seven out of ten women felt angrier and more depressed following the viewing of fashion model images.
  
• A study that offered preschoolers a choice between two dolls that were identical except for weight, the preschoolers chose the thinner doll nine out of ten times.
  
• Children were asked in one study to rate pictures of other children based on attractiveness. The obese child was rated less attractive than a child with a facial deformity, a child in a wheelchair and a child who is missing a limb.
  

Models

• The majority of runway model meet the Body Mass Index (BMI) criteria to be considered anorexic.
  
• Vogue magazine stated that they chose Gisele Bunchen as their “model of the year” due, in part, to the fact that she deviates from the typical “rail thin” image. In fact, Gisele weighs only 115 lbs. and is 5’11 – 25% below her ideal weight.
  
• At 5’7 and 95 lbs. Kate Moss is 30% below her ideal weight.
  
• Fashion models’ weight averaged only 8% less than the average women 20 years ago. Today the average fashion model weighs 23% less than the average woman.
  
• 25% of Playboy centerfold models meet the criteria to be considered anorexic.
  
• Many magazines create images of women that don’t really exist by using computer-modified compilations of various body parts.
  
• Playgirl magazine centerfolds have grown increasingly muscular with less body fat over the last 20 years. However, the average man’s weight and body fat percentage have increased.
  
• Miss America contestants have grown increasingly thinner over the past three decades.
  
• Plus-sized models averaged between size 12 and 18 only ten years ago. Now, the majority of plus-sized models on agency rosters are between size 6 and 14.
  
• Mannequins closely resembled the shape of the average woman in the 1950s; the average mannequin and woman both had the hip measurement of 34 inches. Since then, there has been an increasing disparity between mannequins and the average woman. By 1990 the average hip measurement had increased to 37 inches while mannequins had decreased to 31 inches.
  
• Based on their theoretical body-fat percentages, most mannequins would cease to menstruate if they were real women.
  
• The average U.S. model weighs 117 lbs and is 5’11 while the average U.S. woman weighs 140 lbs. and is 5’4.
  

Movies, Television and Music

• Many actors and musicians have admitted to struggling with eating disorders including Demi Lovato, Katie Couric, Lady Gaga, Kate Beckinsale and Kelly Clarkson.
  
• 50% of commercials aimed at women mention physical attractiveness.
  
• Every year, the average adolescent sees over 5,000 advertisements mentioning attractiveness.
  
• A People magazine survey showed that 80% of female respondents felt that women in movies and television programs made them feel insecure about their bodies.
  
• The rate of eating disorders in Fiji surged following the introduction of Western television programming.
  
• A People magazine survey showed that 80% of female respondents felt that women in movies and television programs made them feel insecure about their bodies.
  
• In Allure magazine model and actress Elizabeth Hurley stated, “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat.”
  
• Actresses Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts and the singer Diana Ross meet the BMI criteria for anorexia.
  

Taken from http://www.raderprograms.com/causes-statistics/media-eating-disorders.html

Eating disorders are the most deadly mental illness and statistics show that various media outlets are partially implicit. This infographic displays the disparity between the way the media presents a physically "ideal" woman and the actual average American woman. These statistics reveal that the way that the fashion and advertising industries influence women's self-image.

When 80% of women are made insecure by images they see of women on television and more than two-thirds of women are influenced by underweight models in magazines, media outlets should strongly consider changing the way that they portray women

Taken from http://www.raderprograms.com/health-concerns/infographic-eating-disorders-and-the-media.html

[Clarakore]

• No one is promoting eating disorders. On both ends of the spectrum unhealthy weight is an issue.
  
• Some do have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) where they already have a healthy body weight but keep trying to lose, very unhealthy.
  
• More are resorting to extreme dieting causing eating disorders because of body fat they do not want, gained by fast food, beverages, and overcompensation.
  
• Clearly those with BDD are fewer than those with unhealthy weight on the higher spectrum who then veer towards the lower spectrum and continue unhealthy cycling.
  
• Then there are those who do not care to diet at all and gain weight, each decade becoming bigger, until collectively it takes a toll on the healthcare system and tax base of our societies.
  
• No one should have to diet to begin with, society should promote healthier weight, companies should not profit on the diseases that come with being overweight, reform is desperately needed.
  

Sodas and fast food should be taxed to cover the cost they are incurring on society just as cigarettes were.

Overall there are more overweight people than those with eating disorders. One is clearly a larger problem with higher costs to society.

Many people talk about wanting to lose weight or increase their overall health, but statistics show that there are roughly 40 million obese Americans in the U.S. today. If you include overweight Americans, the figure jumps to 97 million adults, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Obese is defined as being more than 20 percent above your ideal body weight, or having a BMI (body mass index) over 30.

That makes a 5'7" woman weighing 185 pounds obese in medical terms.

For a complete chart that shows where you fall on the obesity scale, go to http://www.holisticonline.com

http://voices.yahoo....ese-153579.html

The above is from 2007. Obesity indexes and the number of obese as well as overweight Americans has probably changed since then.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[Lilly]

Our current society is demonstrating a disgusting display of dangerous extremes.

Just look at this piece of information:

The average U.S. model weighs 117 lbs and is 5’11 while the average U.S. woman weighs 140 lbs. and is 5’4.

A 5' 11" woman absolutely should NOT weigh 117 lbs. While a 5" 4" woman should really weigh in at closer to 125 lbs.

However, being 15 lbs overweight verses 35 lbs underweight isn't a completely equal comparison. Which of those choices do you think is the most physically dangerous? (Hint, being that thin at 5' 11" ups your chance of heart attack through the ceiling). Now, being 5' 4" and weighing in at 170 lbs (which would be 35 lbs overweight) is a more equal risk comparison. Being 35 lbs over weight raises ones risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

It's really pretty simple: Too thin is unhealthy. Too heavy is unhealthy. Also, a person's height and body frame determines ones optimal weight. It's patently stupid to think a 5' 2" woman should be the same weight and clothing size as a 5' 10" woman.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Lilly
oops math error

[Clarakore]

The cost is just too much to bear. Companies who profit on others gaining weight should be taxed to help recoup those costs but also provide prevention programs, awareness classes, and other campaigns.

The same was done to Big Tobacco and it was successful, smoking rates declined, that will mean less cancer and other diseases such as asthma. So we know it will work when we go after Big Food and Soda next.

• More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese. [Read data brief [PDF-528Kb]]
  
• Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. [Read guidelines]
  
• In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. [Read summary]
  

http://www.cdc.gov/o...data/adult.html

Edited May 23, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!