So I must have missed a beat or it completely slipped my mind but come Thursday, London will have the privilege of having an Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store. Waves of deja vu are hitting me as I feel like I’m going to be repeating the same concerns I expressed last week about COS but actually the situation is more dire than that. In the past, when I have discussed style individuality and standing out, many have flagged up the ‘Abercrombie Clone’ situation going on across the pond. Well, the Abercrombie has landed and can we expect to see the same thing? I doubt it, but that is not the reason behind the beef I have with this Abercrombie in London business.
To be frank, I’m just baffled! What is the bloody point???? ANOTHER store selling polo shirts, chinos and t-shirts? MORE casual wear? Daniel Warner, part of the Abercrombie & Fitch design team said last night at the press preview party of the store, ‘I don’t think London will have seen anything like it so it’s really exciting.’ Rows and rows of different varities of polo shirts – now that is exciting stuff. I’m literally falling off my chair with anticipation.
Ok, so maybe there is the mass appeal with the easy-to-wear clothes and I have nothing against a simple shirt or two but let’s not forget that even the king of the high street basics – The Gap – have to employ a separate European design team to accomodate the more ‘fashion-led’ tastes prevalent in the UK and since the Abercrombie London store will be stocking exactly the same stuff the US folks get, the question of whether there is that demand remains a in my mind a little dubious.
Then there is the curious store location. Nestled behind the bustle of Regent Street and Piccadilly, the new store will be on Burlington Gardens just off Savile Row where the old Jil Sander store used to be. From Jil Sander to Abercrombie & Fitch. The contrast couldn’t be more stark. For a store that prides itself on all-round appeal, they have chosen a distinctly unapproachable location. Despite being central, the Savile Row/Mayfair area doesn’t exactly attract a heavy flow of people traffic.
So again, I’m just plain baffled. Is it trying to cultivate a high-fashion, luxury image or go for mass-appeal? All this just expounds a ton of questions in my head, as to how successful the store will be in London. I’ll keep an open mind and toodle along to the store this weekend but don’t be surprised if I turn around within 2 minutes of being inside the store and head over to the b-Store on Savile Row instead.
Blargh. Abercrombie is oppressive–all the wealthy assholes at my middle school wore it! It’s a pity, too, because I LOVED Mayfair (Reiss in Mayfair anyone? Love!) when I lived in London, just because it was so quaint and cute, and almost, it seemed, antiquated (though in a very trendy way). It’s too bad that the worst of chain stores will be there now.
I remember noticing this ages ago when i was in and around mayfair and i was surprised. But to be honest, who cares? I kind of like it. I don’t think there’s really many places in London to get a truly ‘American’ style that A&F and AE sell (even you mentioned susie that Gap has it’s own european design team). It’s no different than the loads of places in W1 selling eurotrash clothing. I understand why people don’t like Abercrombie but I think people just need to get over it.
They are charging ££s for $$s too! They expect us to wear silly Americanised clothes AND PAY MORE than Americans! Tsk!
We have a couple Abercrombie stores in Canada now and i hate them with a passion!!! The stores are very dark, you can hardly see the clothes and they always have very loud annoying music blasting. And the clothes are pretty boring and not cheap!It’s really not worth the visit. Althought they maybe different in London, don’t know.
the picture makes me laugh.
were super low jeans as popular on your side of the pond as they were here several years ago? is A&F trying to start a trend for back cleavage in jolly old england?
i abhor abercrombie, personally…it’s mass garbage.
what do you see as american style, coming from your perspective as a brit?
I think Abercrombie’s god awful. It makes me sad to hear they’re attacking London like the next plague. They try so hard to sell their horrid clothing through sex (I mean they wouldn’t be the first, but the quality’s so poor. . .). And I hated how it was such a divided line in my high school between who “had” and who “had not”. I just don’t think it symbolizes “American Style” at all. Certainly not the America, I live in.
oh the pictures always make me laugh… they’re great! they have just the same amount of heterosexuality as ‘top gun’! ; )
I echo what Smoochy have said.
I hope their business in Britain fails atrociously. I think A&F is a form of contamination to fashion. I think their biggest crime is that there is NOT a SINGLE piece of clothing in their store that does NOT have A&F logo tatooed on it.
I find it very interesting that chain stores find the need to step up the fashion for the ‘fashion-led’ tastes across the ocean. How disappointing and humiliating that is for an American!
Furthermore, I really hope that this isn’t the perception of an American style over there. That, too, is humiliation. You won’t find anything there worth your while, I’m sure.
Maybe if you ignore them, they’ll go away…
Abercrombie is AWFUL!
The people who wear abercrombie should be called aberzombies, they dress the same and do the same things.
My problem with abercrombie is that it tries to sell you a “cheerleading, polo playing” american lifestyle. So in buying one of their clothing items, you are consenting that yes, you are a part of their lifestyle or aspiring to be in it.
I felt so uncomfortable when I went
to their store once. I could see that most of the female customers had the same tacky highlighted hair and the same way of wearing the clothes.
Of course, I could argue that brands like gucci, prada, and chanel are trying to sell you a lifestyle too. But how many people wear head to toe chanel or prada?
All the pieces in abercrombie are just overdressed basics that people only wear with ae, af, hollister.
Hey susie! Long time no tag! Hehe. How’s everything? Good, I presume. Where on earth is this A&F located? Gah. I cannot, for the life of me, navigate around London without getting lost. Dammit. And, does A&F really have such a horrid reputation?
hmmm i think it is a shame they took over the jill sander store but if that is what people want to wear then fair enough if they open up here- i think there will plenty of demand- all those 14 year old girls at my (admitedly private skl)will be overjoyed now they dont have to stock up in the US…
not being off subject but what is the point of his butt-crack showing???
Have you actually been in the new COS store? You seem so quick to slag it off, irst thing when you did not even see inside the store even in act I love it it’s not just basics it’s good quality clothing you just need to know how you team it.
My opinion that’s all.
Poor London. Abercrombie clothes are just so plain and bleh. Once you become a ‘prep’ AKA a fashion zombie, you all look and talk alike. Not to mention have all your clothes stamped with a moose.
in response to Aja, I think Abercrombie is what America strives to be like. Sure, not every teen in America dresses this way, but the teens that do wear it are seen to be “normal, well-adjusted” (not to mention cookie-cutter) Americans. I dislike it, but I don’t really want to look like the cookie-cutter version of “normalcy”
but really, it is HILARIOUS that the Abercrombie execs think that it is gonna work in Britain. i don’t think so.
A&F need to take their wannabe preppy, bland, overly expensive clothing and disappear off the face of the earth. Their stores will fail miserably in funky England. I’m surprised not very many people on this post know about A&F. Well, this American is going to educate you: they have been in the news in the past couple of years for discriminatory hiring, overly sexual ads, and offensive t-shirts (“I wish these were brains”, “Wong Brothers Laundry Service — Two Wongs Can Make It White.”). They are a terribe, bland clothing company. I do not shop in their store or their child company Hollister and never will. There are much more tasteful and actually stylish clothes I can get with even more “prep status” than A&F. Google offensive and Abercrombie and you all will see their terrible tase. The Catwalk Queen blog run by Gemma has featured them and they’ve decided to hire models as store clerks. A&F is just so ridiculous.
That same advertisement is pasted on an enormous billboard in downtown Seattle. It’s so homoerotic, it makes me laugh to think of all the frat boys who shop there. The whole angle of the store is just baffling to me. On the rare occasions I’m longing for a basic preppy piece, I head for J.Crew or A&E, NOT Abercrombie.
Wow – a lot of A&F hate… not being American or overly familiar with the brand, I had no idea there were all these different connontations so thanks for the enlightenment. So excuse me for sounding silly but I’ve looked at the prices and they’re not SUPER expensive – why is that it’s considered the difference between the ‘have’ and the ‘have-nots’?
Katie: I have been to the COS store now – if you read my post on it carefully – what I was trying to say was that I can’t fault the clothes themselves but rather that I think COS could have been a more ‘design-led’ concept – there is so much one could do with branching out on their H&M formula that I think they might have missed the boat a little. To be honest though, for me, I’d rather shell out a little more for APC or pay less for UNIQLO or Muji…..
I think everyone should be aware that Abercrombie is notorious for racial discrimination. Many workers across the nation lost their jobs based on their ethnic backgrounds a few years ago. In compensation, many firms, including the NAACP, sucessfully won lawsuits against A&F. Since then, Abercrombie has hired a more racially diverse staff but I don’t think anyone should forget their ugly past. A&F = Racist jerks.
Ugh, nothing would make me happier than for Abercrombie to fail miserably in London.
Thanks for your response susie, I have been there and I really love your place, yes– they could have done another H&M but I think it’s really clever, it’s a whole different customer base those who want minimalistic clothing which you can’t spot where it’s from–that’s what the clothes are they are so neautral but in high quality!
I’m sure it’s going to become a hit!
I don’t see why Abercrombie clothes are so hated. I mean, I can understand that it gets annoying when like in the States practically all teenagers are wearing head-to-toe Abercrombie, but I don’t find the clothes themselves that bad. They look okay as long as you don’t overdo it.
I was wondering, what are people’s view on Juicy Couture, Victoria’s Secret (PINK line), and Coach? Every preppy teen girl wears them. Are they considered horrible, like Abercrombie?
my boyfriend loves Abercrombie and AE, maybe we forgot a “niche”, the boys, here? there are at least a few boys who do not care so much about being avantgarde, egdy or all this, they’re just heading out for simple stuff, like polos.. he claims Abercrombie’s and AE’s cuts do fit him more than any shirt sold in Germany.
My two-penno’worth:
A&C is a store that sells a lifestyle but so is Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Tiffany, Boden, Laura Ashley, APC… (I could go on). If there are people out there who want to wear the label head to toe and submerge themselves in A&C’s version of the healthy, WASPY, preppy All-American dream, let them. It’s their choice and it’s not fair to attack them for being clones and berate their lack of individual style (however much they may be lacking in fashion sense) especially on a fabulously fashionable blog like Susie’s, which is unlikely to be read by many A&C fans hoping to defend their clothing choices.
Although the racial discrimination claims are worrying, I think we should perhaps be thankful that not everyone is dressed alike, allowing our amazing outfits to shine, and smirk inwardly at any style sheep if we really feel the need.
Peace out.
I swear I’m not usually so hippyish!
Chantal, lol at “aberzombies”!
have you read the A&F article at salon.com? the guy who makes abercrombie is completely disgusting!!
Yes, the guy who owns it is REALLY weird and i agree they have highly suspicious hiring practices. Hate it for those reasons. but i agree. Most people seem to hate it because the kids at their highschool wore it. To me, it’s not different than everyone at Boombox wearing chris kane and gareth pugh. Dressing head to toe and buying into an image that a brand is projecting happens at every style level and pricepoint.
A&F are pretty awful. over-sexualized and over-priced. i must say the money is in the name- people would stop wearing if the label stopped showing.
and the racial discrimination? yeah-still exists. guess who gets to fold the clothes?
Susie, it’s come down remarkably in price, since I was in high school (possibly because their popularity has dropped a bit), but it will never be an H&M (cheap and accessible to all). I did go to a school where there was very little room for any sort of originality, if you didn’t conform, life was pretty lonely. And yes, all the racism claims make me a lot less inclined to ever set foot in that store. And Katie, if America really strives to be like Abercrombie and Fitch. . .that really doesn’t say a whole lot about America, does it? Sad, sad, sad . . .
Susie, you asked, “So excuse me for sounding silly but I’ve looked at the prices and they’re not SUPER expensive – why is that it’s considered the difference between the ‘have’ and the ‘have-nots’?”
It’s considered a difference between the haves and have nots because MOST Americans cannot afford to spend that much on clothes. As young professionals, you and I can both afford to spend that kind of money on clothes if we so desired (which we don’t, of course :), but the majority of people in the US really struggle to make ends meet. The last thing such a person is thinking about is spending $30 on a Abercrombie logo tee for her teenaged daughter when that parent can barely scrape together enough money for the family’s food, utilities, rent/mortgage, car insurance, car payments, public transportation, school supplies, other loans and healthcare each month. It’s easy to forget about them when all we see in the way of American media is fashion and Hollywood.
^ Just wanted to clarify something I wrote above. I meant to say that although we can afford to shop at Abercrombie, we don’t desire to shop there specifically.
It’s not even that they’re oversexualized or overpriced. They’re not the best quality for $50 polos. Not very original, either. Boring. Blah. It’s like the same old stuff every season. That’s Abercrombie.
I’ve heard of British kids mall-ordering Abercrombie from England before.
RRRRUNNN ENGLAAAAND RUN! im so sick of abercombie, ever since it came to Canada, every little preppy girl dresses head to toe in it (and thats only when i really find it annoying). But seriously im not about to waste 30 bucks on a plain white tank!
I agree with Kristina. Though the current administration does not to project it, loads of people in America are becoming poorer and poorer- that’s how Wal-Mart became so popular over here. I also think the monetary value of a U.S. dollar will continue to go down a lot, so maybe that’s why they are additionally overpricing! That should be an accurate introduction to what kind of store they are.
ugh i hate abercrombie
i live in the us, and there’s nothing that i hate more than seeing everyone dressed exactly the same and acting like they’re wearing “expensive” stuff. they think that because they all dress in stupid abercrombie clothes that they’yre wearing designer or something. there’s no originality in anything they do, everyone looks the same, and if u dont wear it there must be something wrong with u, supossedly. i hate it. i’m so sorry that ur getting a store over there. all it has done to this society is oppress and create clones. ew.
Abercrombie is a fake. A friend of mine told me that most of the male models working there are Gay guys who take loads of drugs at the weekend in Gay clubs in the Vauxhall area!!
What an Image for a so called Top American Brand.!!
Rememnber that next time one of them says Hi Ya when you go in.!!
I agree that Abercrombie is pretty bland and a bit of a rip-off but I must say the couple of plain tops I’ve bought from there are really good quality and wash really well. And I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as Jack Wills which is kind of the British equivelent, but much more of a rip-off and quite sickening in the way it uses sort of public school styling in it’s ads to sell what are essentially chavvy clothes.
ohh please guys. Im from america. Everyone that can actually aford Abercrombie loves it. Its different from other white trash stores because of the quality and some of the different styles they sell. Get over it people.
Hi. The average person thinks he isn’t.
I am from Norway and also now am reading in English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: “The hollywood news, the number one portal for film, celebrity and entertainment news online a movie that starred how can we put this a bevvy of busty.”
Best regards ;-), Yuki.