Tuesday, June 30, 2009

To the Stockroom

In middle school, Abercrombie & Fitch was the place to shop. If you weren't wearing A&F, you weren't cool. Done and done.

My mother hated it. Hated that I wanted to shop there. Hated that I was so concerned about being cool. Hated the loud music. Hated the bratty employees. She let me shop there but only with my money.

Years later, I realized how ridiculous the store was. And how ridiculous it was that my classmates and I all wanted to look alike. That is was Abercrombie is about: uniformity. It doesn't take long to notice that most of the employees are young and attractive. You wont find much diversity.

Twenty-two year-old Riam Dean is young and attractive. She also has a prosthetic arm. The British student was working at Abercrombie & Fitch to earn extra money while she was in-school. According to her, when her employer became aware of her prosthetic arm she was told she'd be working in the stock room until winter, when their uniforms would cover her arm.
Dean is now suing Abercrombie & Fitch for disability discrimination.

Abercrombie & Fitch has been criticized in the past and according to Jezebel, hiring managers at the store are given a guidebook of mostly photos of examples of the "look" minority employees should have. Their tipster said "all of the minorities, by the way, are as white looking as a person can be without actually being Caucasian."

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Dean's case. Regardless, the allegations against Abercrombie & Fitch are appalling.

[source, source]

18 comments:

Jenny @ Practically Perfect... said...

Oh my gosh, that's despicable. Just disgusting!

Anonymous said...

I have been told by people who have worked there that they will openly tell someone they can't hire them because they aren't pretty enough. Pretty disgusting. I hope she wins her case.

That place also wreaks of awful smelling cologne and perfume!

Liv said...

That's absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe they did that.

I refuse to shop there ever again.

I hope she wins and kicks them where it hurts at the same time.

Moonjava said...

Wow, crazy! I hope she wins! I've actually never shopped there, I think one of my cousins might have gotten me a pair of shorts there...but that's it!

I'm not a huge fan of their clothes.

Ashley said...

Good for her for standing up for herself. A lot of people would let them get away with it which is why they think they can.

Jessie said...

unbelievable! makes me actually sick.

when i was younger that was the it store as well but i refused to shop there. i wnated nothing to do with it. i wanted to be my own person, not everyone else.

Anonymous said...

My brother was a manager there for a short amount of time. He was able to hire his caucasion girlfriend because she was tan enough to pass as latino. Yeah, pretty sad!

E said...

Wow! That is awful! And yeah I rememeber the high school days when I to HAD to have A&F looking back it really is like "what were we thinking" $30 bucks for a tshirt?!!

Unknown said...

That is just awful! I have never been a fan, but I will most definitely not step foot in that store again.

Chandra said...

Sick. When will this company finally get what it deserves? I hope someone sues them what everything their worth.

Heather said...

I've heard about the discrimination at Abercrombie and know of a very light-skinned black man that was let go for ridiculous reasons. This post reminds me of a funny post I read a while back about this store:

http://www.erinjackson.net/blog/2008/01/20/we-dont-carry-purple-either/#more-149

Natalie | Make Today Great said...

I've been boycotting that place for years because they use so much sex to sell to young kids -- and it reaks of cologne.

Totally despicable - but sadly not surprising for them.

Elle said...

Abercrombie has always had a rep of discriminating. It's ridiculous! Not once did I see an unattractive girl over a size 2 as an employee.

Hilary said...

Good for the girl suing! I hate that store. They tried to recruit me as a "team member" during a career fair & when I told them I was more into design, they told me they only get the best designers from London & Tokyo. Seriously? Because your clothes suck! They're super original...

Vampy Varnish said...

I hate everything about Abercrombie & Fitch. Especially the horrific "Axe" body spray stench that permeates out of every store, they are pathetic. Hope she wins her case!

Melissa said...

Well, however many years later, the "it" store for teens is American Eagle. And you MUST purcahse the Aerie underwear from them to go with it. Ask me how I know.

I make her shop there with her own money, too. I would NEVER pay what she pays for a pair of jeans from AE. But then again, I'm not 14 anymore.

I hope this young lady wins her lawsuit. There is no excuse for their hiring practices...NONE.

Anonymous said...

A girl I went to HS with worked at A&F during college. She was given a free pair of jeans and she requested a size 2 as she normally wore. They forced her to get a zero to make her look even more thin. She said she could barely breathe and later finally quit because of the BS from working there.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! That is just awful! More power to the girl!