# Abercrombie pisses me off **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 22, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855 "2003-08-22T03:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/41 "2003-08-24T14:55:44Z")
Oh, and I would _never_ spend $80 on a freakin’ _t-shirt_. That’s just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/db5fbb/32.png) [@Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/42 "2003-08-24T18:24:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lezlers \* > \*\*Oh, and I would _never_ spend $80 on a freakin’ _t-shirt_. That’s just wrong. \*\* It’s a good thing the t-shirts at A&F are $20 then, right? Also: **ralph,** are you that dense that you think that this is the only company that puts better looking folk in their advertisements? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/43 "2003-08-24T19:09:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Deathstatic \* > \*\*I’m 22… \*\* I’m sorry, but you’re not allowed to be 22. Haven’t you heard? Abercrombie owns “22”, or at least its Hollister stores do, and they’re suing American Eagle for putting “22” on its clothing: [NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Abercrombie-Lawsuit.html) (requires no-cost registration). > [@](#): > > **Abercrombie says Hollister owns the number 22 because it has appeared on the chain’s clothing since the stores opened three years ago.** So, before you go infringing on Abercrombie’s trademark, you’d better consult with your attorney! ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/44 "2003-08-24T19:09:18Z")
$20 for a _t-shirt_? Most of mine were 5$. I don’t think I own any that were more than 10$. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/45 "2003-08-24T19:52:22Z")
What about the fact that they charge you $30 for a T-shirt, that happens to have the logo on it? Pay more to be a walking billboard. You used to shop there? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/46 "2003-08-24T19:54:40Z")
Sorry, I swear, I seriously thought I was the second reply, I didn’t read that what I said was already brought up. ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/47 "2003-08-24T20:18:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*How come A&F has all of those good-looking kids for models? Ya know, the gals with huge hogans and the guys with big muscles…and nary a zit on any of em? The poor kids who buy this shit think that they will be magically transformed into good-looking hunks and hotties, by wearing their overpriced, crappy clothes! Its hilarious to see all of those huge butted , acne-afflicted girls spending their hard-extorted dollars 9from their parents), thinking that they will look like supermodels! > Ahh, the power of advertising! \*\* It’s funny that they have huge posters of impossibly attractive models plastered all over their walls and windows, and most of them are shown wearing little to no actual clothes. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/48 "2003-08-24T23:16:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skwerl \* > **Now you have to wear Hollister to be cool.** [Hollister](http://www.hollister.com)? Ewwww … ---
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/49 "2003-08-25T01:43:38Z")
I bought a fifty dollar shirt once. It’s not cheap when you want “Skinny People get kidnapped” on your t-shirt, and each letter costs a buck. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/50 "2003-08-25T03:10:11Z")
What do you people have against A&F? If some kids with money want to buy a $40 T-Shirt that looks like a T-Shirt you might get on a college campus, in bar on Martha’s Vinyard or from a rec-league basketball team, what do you care? Does the fact that they market to upscale youth offend your delicate sensibilities? God forbit anyone shop anywhere other than Dress Barn or Fillene’s Basement less they incur your scorn. I agree that paying $40 for a T-Shirt is stupid. I prefer to have T-shirts from things I have actually done and places I have actually been. Had i known all those T-Shirts from summer camp or jr hockey league were worth something, I might have kept them. I still like their sweaters though. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/51 "2003-08-25T06:08:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eternal \* > \*\*I always liked the idea of “Independent” apparel. Are they selling the idea that buying clothing with “Independent” on it makes the wearer indpenendent? Or is it selling the idea that you need a shirt to make sure everyone else knows your independent? Is it supposed to be ironic? \*\* Independent is a skateboard equipment manufacturer - specifically, skateboard trucks. It is the company name. ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/52 "2003-08-25T14:35:11Z")
Why is paying $40 for a t-shirt stupid? Just because someone else attaches $40 of value to something that you attach $5 of value to doesn’t mean the other person is stupid. The same person that wouldn’t spend $40 on a t-shirt may also spend $20,000 on a car, and someone else would say that a $15,000 car would have been just as good. How much value a person attaches to something is completely subjective and relative, and one’s assessment of the value of something cannot be stupid. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/53 "2003-08-25T16:18:19Z")
One good thing about beat-up looking shirts that reference made up sports teams, summer camps, colleges or restaurants, etc. is that it looks better than the authentic stuff most of the time. Authentic stuff is usually very cheaply made/printed because it’s sold as a souviner, not high fashion. The cheap souvenirs tend to be bigger sizes, too, which is their main disadvantage. At least when you get a fake one, you can get a decent size. Also, brands tend to make the designs look prettier than an authentic souvenir could afford to or be interested in. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/54 "2003-08-25T17:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*The poor kids who buy this shit think that they will be magically transformed into good-looking hunks and hotties, by wearing their overpriced, crappy clothes! \*\* Maybe A&F clothes really do that! The only people I’ve seen wearing A&F are Aryan Generation Y hotties and MTV Real World surfer dude/frat boy-looking guys. I’ve never seen any people that could be described as overweight, or even weight-proportionate-to-height, wearing A&F or Hollister. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/55 "2003-08-25T18:16:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TaxGuy \* > Why is paying $40 for a t-shirt stupid? Just because someone else attaches $40 of value to something that you attach $5 of value to doesn’t mean the other person is stupid. > \*\* Because I can buy a Brook’s Brothers dress shirt for about the same price and 90% of the time I wear the T-shirt under something else? While I don’t wear A&F that much anymore (the preppy-grunge look doesn’t seem that popular in New York City) I liked their clothes when I was in college/early 20s. That’s what upper-middle class kids wore. A&F, J. Crew, The Gap, American Eagle, (the now defunct) Britches, L.L. Bean, J. Peterman (yes, the guy from Seinfeld is a real person), Eddie Bauer, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger (until they went Gansta’). They all have the same basic look: “Hey, we’re so good looking and wealthy! Look at us roughhousing in five layers of $80 Rugby[sup]TM[/sup] shirts (and one tied around the waste). I’m going to bring my crew oar and my labrador retriever up to the Cape this weekend so we can do some fishing in our Genuine Cordoroy Barn Jackets[sup]TM[/sup]. Hey Brad! Do you and James want to play some homo-erotic football after class?” When will designers finally make a clothing line that combines my materialism with my hatred of rich people and my disdain for poor people? ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/56 "2003-08-25T18:32:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Because I can buy a Brook’s Brothers dress shirt for about the same price and 90% of the time I wear the T-shirt under something else? Why does what you can do with your money make what someone else does with their money stupid? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/57 "2003-08-25T20:14:07Z")
Just bought some clearance t-shirts from Old Navy. They look like the same stuff you’d buy at A&F. Like high school gym shirts. One says “North” with a 14 sewn on it. One says “Anderson” with a lion’s head. I like them because they are made of a heavier material and don’t shrink. Oh yeah, they were $6 a piece. People who shop at A&F don’t bother me. I just remember the old adage “There’s a sucker born every minute.” ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/58 "2003-08-25T20:51:12Z")
Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you people? Why can’t you understand that different people attach different amounts of value to different things? It doesn’t mean that one or the other of these people is a sucker, for christ’s sake. If I go buy a Porsche 911 for $80,000, it doesn’t mean I’m a sucker and you are cool because you bought a Dodge Neon for $12,000. I just attached more value to what I drive than you did. And even though you may see no difference between an Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt and a Hanes t-shirt, the people that buy the former sure do, and that’s all that matters. Why does this get y’all all riled up? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/59 "2003-08-25T23:05:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TaxGuy \* > If I go buy a Porsche 911 for $80,000, it doesn’t mean I’m a sucker and you are cool because you bought a Dodge Neon for $12,000. I just attached more value to what I drive than you did. > \*\* No, but you are a sucker if you buy a Neon for $80,000. Or if you can buy a Porsche for $12,000 and insist on paying $80,000. A T-shirt is still just a T-shirt. I don’t really care what other people buy. It’s their money. I just choose not to spend $40 for a T-shirt. And even though I like the style, I still think the marketing is a little silly. ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855/60 "2003-08-25T23:17:05Z")
A t-shirt is not just a t-shirt, that’s the whole damn point. A t-shirt bought at Abercrombie and Fitch is different from a t-shirt bought at Target simply because of the fact that the t-shirt was bought at Abercrombie and Fitch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abercrombie-pisses-me-off/196855.md?page=4)