I know this thread has gotten way off topic, but I thought it was important even if it wasn't necessarily relevant to the topic at hand.

Thank you to everybody who said that I did a good job of saying what they were going to say. :p

Well, since we all came to the conclusion that A&F is nothing more than an elitest wanna-be store that promotes coolness and popularity they probably didnt want anybody from downriver to wear their clothes. ;)

as usual, AXOalum is RIGHT ON TARGET...

LMAO!

Are you from Downriver too? I'm from Wyandotte.

maybe in your point of view.. hehehe

i tend to agree more w/ sugar&spice with this here. i just feel she's made more valid points

but hey, to each their own... that's what discussion boards are for I guess :)

Okay...how on earth did I miss all this??

First of all, many people are missing and/or avoiding the point. Of COURSE one can be discriminated on for any reason. Does that make it RIGHT?? No, it does not.

To everyone who is dismissing this suit as frivilous and THEN complaining about how they are disciriminated against...HOW HYPOCRITICAL CAN YOU BE?

And also, JAM, not sure where you live, but I think I see more white pople wearing FUBU than black people.

My sentiments exactly http://superbabies.homestead.com/files/bow.gif

Out of the box abit!!

Why wear closes that are over priced with Company name on it for advertising them. They ought to be paying you as a walking talking bill board!

Sorry,not me!

And for a question way back up the board, I would hire someone who looks, dresses, and speaks well!:)

+++and hopefully honest!!!!!:D

Aww hell, cash -- now you've done it -- you've agreed with my priviledged white self, and there will be hell to pay... :p

texas*princess - you said in your reply to Cash's remark:

uh, yeah - isn't that what she said from her point of view? I mean she didn't say "as usual, according to someone else, AXOAlum is right on target..." -- I mean that was just kinda like "okay then, let me just kick some dirt on your shoes because you made a remark that I don't agree with" -- but then again, being the white priviledged princess (WPP) that I am, I will just have someone else clean my shoes :rolleyes:

I am not going to keep going in circles with people -- just don't bitch and say "race shouldn't matter" outta one side of your mouth, and then turn around and say the contrary when it applies to a person of a different skin tone/gender than yourself. If race shouldn't matter, then it shouldn't matter PERIOD - not just where it suits your needs.

WPP is off to wave some more at her crowds...

chill out AXO alum.. I was just making a comment that this is what discussion boards are for!!! didn't mean to upset anyone

first time on this thread...just kinda breezed through it.....my semi-experience with it:

last spring abercrombie came to our mall....a few of my friends were hired to help set it up, but then once it opened, were put in the back on stock crew, and then eventually just given no hours. one of which was my old roomie who is absolutely GORGEOUS (we noticed the "pretty"/stereotypical skinny blonde/"abercrombie boys" ppl were kept out front)....yet not white, but mexican. hmmm....we wondered what was up with that......

just a note...

That's how it is at a lot of places. i.e. Lerner, Express, Limited, etc. etc. They try to give you a discount but if you only make like $6 or $7 an hour, :(, you just keep giving your check to the company. I think with Lerner, Limited, and Express you have to keep your clothes current. Meaning whatever is on the sales floor now that you buy, you cannot wear it next fall 2004 after it is no longer the current hot product. You work there as another mannequin but you also ring the merchandise up and push that freaking credit card. :p

that's how it was when i worked at the gap... although don't think i made that much. we were given a nice discount but it was so we could wear what was currently in the store. we could also wear basics, black, white, grey, and navy so i tried to stick with those. i honestly don't think i made any money that year. it just went back to buying the clothes.

Yes indeed.

OMG BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you are a stone cold fool. :p

Yes, but at least at some of these places, you can "recycle" your looks because they sell a lot of "key" clothing piece (a lot of basic black and white). In places like A&F, you need to keep up with the current trendy Tees and sweaters.

I'm the same way - I used to work at a relatively upscale department store selling shoes, and my coworkers were pretty much entirely minorities (African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, etc..). They were called a host of names by some of our clientele (predonimately white women), and if I had a dollar for every time a woman said to me "Can you help me? I don't trust that darkie/Mexican/Tacohead(???)/ni----/Oriental?" I would not need student loans. They were all incredibly good natured about it (and I always refused the customer, telling them that BillySue was very capable to assist them) and when we were in the stockroom they would jokingly call me "Honkey" all the time. I saw one of them while shopping the other day and he yelled "Hey Honkey!" across the sales floor - got some weird looks, but made me laugh. :)

I'm not saying that race doesn't matter . . . I'm saying that it has no bearing on your ability to perform a given task. In general, race matters a LOT -- it's our heritage, it's our ancestry, it's our history, it's a huge portion of our identity. I don't think it's a good idea to promote "colorblindness" in order to have racial equality, because that almost verges on assimilation . . . it's not the answer.

But race has no bearing on how well you can fold sweaters, and that's the original point of this topic.

That's true. I think there's a difference between A&F and a lot of stores in that most stores just want you to be wearing stuff for the season (fall 2003, etc) and allows you to wear somewhat older khakis/other neutral pieces whereas A&F says that as soon as something hits the sales rack, you can't wear it to work anymore. That basically means new outfits every month, if not more often.

JAM.
You are Truly Wise!

Half my chapter has worked at AF at one tiem or another. Theres one 'bout 3 miles from campus. It is a hobby, not a job. They all liked it, but it was really expensive for them to work there. Someone before mentioned how AF used to be a good brand. Indeed. I have an uncle who is an avid outdoorsman and still owns quite a few Abercrombie pieces of hunting gear from 10+ years ago. I think he even owns a few AF fishing lures, lol. Nowdays youd be just a sliekly to find an AF lure as a dangle on a shell necklace. lol. He also has this huge hunting scene print framed above his fireplace that says "Abercrombie and Fitch" across the bottom. It cracks me the FU.

Apparently, from what I remember from a marketing class a while back... Abercrombie has in fact been in business since 1896 or whatever, however in the late 80's or early 90's the company was posting losses. At the same time, one of those big clothing retailers was looking to create a brand that appealed to this market segment. So I am not sure if it was Spiegel, or one of the limited companies, but one of them bought the AF name and trademarks and retooled it as what it is today, Essentially keeping only the name. So If I remember correctly, Its rither owned by one of those big retailers or is a part of one of them. I know the GAP companies did the same thing in the late 80's with the Bananna Republic brand. Anyone here rememebr when BR was all safari? I found an old BR safari shopping bag in our warehouse last week and laughed my ass off. GAP wanted to capture more of the market. GAP itself only marketed to middle income shoppers. They brought on BR and retooled it to upclass, and then createed Old Navy, to appeal to the more price concious consumers.

Someone feel free to correct me on the above info. I am pretty sure I rememebred it all correctly, but its been a few years since that class.

Lifesaver, I think you are just about right. I really liked A&F back in the mid-90s (lol, I feel old) and their stuff was a lot better made then. Now it's all ishtty logo tees and pants meant for 4 year olds.

I honestly don't know much about A&F as I'm not a part of their target demographic, but I went into one of their stores today just to see what it was like and I was less than impressed.

Their stuff is really pretty cheap looking and on top of that, it's really expensive! Don't get me wrong, I have no problem paying an extravagant amount for clothing (just ask Mr. KillarneyRose, payer of my bills :D ), but that stuff is junk! You can almost hear the high-ups in their parent company laughing their a$$es off at the gullibility of the people who shop there.

So were you deafened at the decibile level of the music in there? I was in there in May and was freaking out that I had turned into my mom/dad, becasue my first thought was, can someone turn this infernal music down? I dont think its that loud in most clubs I go to.

SigmaChiCard-Thank you for your kindness. Wish you were around more. Miss hearing your thoughts.

Librasoul, honestly, here I have never, ever seen kids from our HS wear the brand. Then again, maybe it's because we are in the South.

When we were first married, a group of about 15 men had a yearly party and is was called "The Banana Republic Party". (They pooled about 125 each and were allowed 20 invites.) It was a big deal at first and everyone dressed in their safari look! Later, people began to realize they could scrounge around and pull a similar outfit together for much less.

I forgot about the fishing gear!!! Hey Lifesaver, hold on to that picture!
I bet my bottom dollar it will be a GREAT collectable if it's not already. Advertising memorabilia is highly valued, especially if it's something unique like a framed picture as compared to something
like a matchbook-though some of those are pretty good as well.

I always wondered what you did with the Hummels!
That was you wasn't it???

I know, what's up with that? Most music stores don't have their tunes cranked up that high!

What does "head shop" image mean? I never heard of that one.

What does "head shop" image mean? I never heard of that one.

Catering to those who like to imbibe (as in consume) illegal substances.
In this case, her opinion pertains to the image of the clothing.
In reality, a shop that sells pipes, bongs, papers and other related paraphernalia. Not sure where they originated, but they sprang up in every college town and then spread. They also sold "Hippie" attire-lots of granny gowns, psychedelic T-shirts, peasant tops, beads, sandals and leather fringed vests and belts. Then came the black lights, strobes, fluorescent posters, incense burners, stash boxes and everything you could possible need as a poser or a bonified flower child.

I know, I know-ask a simple question...:D

How on earth would you know that, justamom? :eek:

;)

I think justamom's secret flower child identity just came out. :)

JAM knows everything :)

I'm from the South (the Panhandle of Florida, right on the water), as is Librasoul. The first kids in town I ever saw wearing FUBU were white. Of course, it's a pretty wealthy area, and these were kids willing to drive to Atlanta and New Orleans to buy whatever was the hippest at the time (ie, the first ones to wear anything when it comes out). When it finally came to my town, that's when everyone had it.

I never considered Gadzooks as catering to a druggie image, but, then, I haven't been in one since 1998.

I always think of Gazdzooks as a skater-ish shop...all the Hawaiian stuff and Roxy and baggy pants, etc.

I am a multilevel person with a vast amount of life experiences!;)
One day, all you young ones will be too!

Had to add this here as an edit- (I made the INITIAL statement and responded from the viewpoint of a locality! Without expressing the fact early on that this was observed in MY town, it became a sweeping statement even though that was not the intention. Of course I have no way of knowing which brands are or are not popular in other areas. I can only comment on my own observations and information.)

Gadzooks or however you spell it.- I did state that was my daughter's opinion. She is very conservative in her actions and her dress. Yet, she is NOT as conservative as many in this Baptist/Catholic town. You want to know who shops there? The little rice farm kids who come to town for a big time and the moms who like to dress their kids in a sexy way at 11, 12 and 13. Little boys who think the remarks on the T-shirts are so cool!

There is a ton of HS drinking, but for the most part if you do ANY kind of drug, you are excluded from the kids. We have drug testing here, doesn't everybody? YOU ARE OFF THE TEAM AND OUT OF THE CLUBS! In this place skaters are considered skanks-"corner people"... You know, the ones that gather in the corners during lunch or hang out with their skateboard downtown. It just so happens that a lot of buying and selling goes on by this bank that has a really vast spread of concrete with wheel chair accessibility front and back. Right across the street is a 4 story parking garage and it, I would guess, makes for a fun run. It is a gathering place for a very specific type of person. Hey, I can't help the stereo types of this town! THERE ARE ALWAYS INDIVIDUAL EXCEPTIONS TO ANY RULE!

I also stand by the FUBU statement. Sure, I can imagine some kids running out and buying it- at first, but I repeat, I have never seen it on a white kid HERE, and I'm certain I never will... unless some type of "idol" starts sporting the brand. It just won't happen. BUT, I must state, there are a few guys that walk around trying to ACT all that by purchasing the image and trying to verbally sound like the image, but it tends to tick people off on all sides of the rainbow. THEY just might have a shirt in their closet that I haven't seen. This was never meant to be a debate it was merely an observation.:confused:

I know every place is different, and the social and economical classes strives to move up the ladder as far as imitation goes. Guys will buy a shirt from Walmart if they can roll up the sleeves and look the way the affluent look-- in THIS town. Girls are the same way. The affluent HERE are conservative and preppy. THAT'S WHY THEY SHOP AT A&F!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! BACK ON TOPIC!:D

I remember when Banana was heavy into the safari stuff and I never set foot in there because of that. I like what they are today, although they need to expand their size range.;)

Oh snap, I almost forgot about the whole BR/safari thing, so much has changed over the years with the store. Talk about going down memory lane-lol.:)

Gadzooks is not a head shop or vaguely like one. Head shops are not located next to Casual Corner. :p Then again JAM, it's probably better that your daughter doesn't know that.

It's odd cause I was in I think delia's, and musing about how the stuff they were selling in there (the Keep On Truckin t-shirts!! OMG!!!) used to only be available at either the t-shirt shop at the skating rink, or the guys & gals jeans store where for some reason the proprietor's eyes never stopped spinning. Once you can buy it in the mall, it's not underground anymore.

Nah, it's just tacky. LOL :D

IS there even such a thing nowadays??? (headshop)

Hey, I agree with you 33girl-sometimes ignorance is bliss! If she says it's for "druggies" and I think it's for our druggies-then I won't be too concerned unless I see her start shopping there!!!:D

Which reminds me of a motherhood story. This is dated because things have changed and Victoria's Secret is a big deal BUT-

Before VS, if you didn't want your mother to know you were having sex, you did your own laundry. The fancier the underwear, the more likely you were showing it to some one!:p

Kind of a scary story:
One of my friends shops at Abercrombie religiously. I swear she owns everything they've ever made. She was randomly shopping one day when she was cornered by an employee who badgered her about taking a job there. She took the job, for lack of any way to get the girl to leave her alone.
On her first day, they made her take a 'survey'. Some of the questions: "what makes you hot?" "what do you like to do to chill?", etc. Just silly things that are absolutely not work related.
She was made to sit through photo shoots with the managers, districts, etc.
She was studied by all the higher ups.
During her first week working there(after all this crazy orientation stuff,) her boss said it would be a "recruitment" day. They basically told her that if she saw anyone who "looked like Abercrombie material," to offer them a job. She picked out a couple people and showed her boss, who rejected both girls(GORGEOUS girls). Her boss said that the girls "weren't 10's" and proceeded to critique tiny little things about them.
She's not allowed to dye her hair anymore. She got highlights and nearly got fired because it looked "too streaky", when really it looked like she'd just gotten back from the beach.
She had to buy like $200 of their clothes, that she has to wear on the days they tell her to.


Seriously. WHY doesn't she just quit??? Man.

JAM, you've obviously never been to Ann Arbor, Michigan! :p

In a city that boasts an annual "Hash Bash" (an all-day, city wide weed party where up to a gram of weed on your person is legal :eek: ), there are more than a few shops that advertise "blown glass" (pipes, bowls, etc.), papers, incense, black lights, Bob Marley posters, etc.

Interesting shops they are.