Face Off: How To Tell If You Work At Abercrombie Or American Apparel
Posted by: Lily Q
Filed in:
style
2:00PM, Friday July 31st 2009
Dov Charney, American Apparel’s oft-sued CEO and general pervy slimeball, is at it again. This time around, he’s been accused of discriminating based on looks. Again. Apparently, one of his store managers tipped off Gawker, saying that Charney sent out a memo requesting that those employees not genetically blessed enough to hold up American Apparel’s aesthetic standards be fired. With all the time he spends sexually harassing dozens of employees, we’re surprised the dude even has a minute to actively discriminate based on looks!
But seeing that he has, in fact, made the time for the important things, we too will take time out of our day to make fun of him for it. With that in mind, check out our “How To Tell If You Work For…” chart, in which you’ll find every indicator you need to decide whether or not you do (or should) work for American Apparel or Abercrombie & Fitch, a company entirely different aesthetically but similarly besieged for discrimination legally.
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Humble Bee
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 01:09 pm: [report]
American Apparel models are UGLY! Abercrombie ones look a little better, but they are still anorexic looking beach loving wannabe’s.
humming angela
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 02:21 pm: [report]
I hear abercrombie actually has a “lookbook” of the types of people they hire. A friend of mine is the modle for “asian male”.
Yeah, he looks like a douche.
axdiva
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 02:42 pm: [report]
Let me just beef about Abercrombie for one second. In the mall where I often shop, the Abercrombie is directly across the aisleway from the Auntie Annie’s. This combination makes the most disgusting smell I have ever smelled in my life.
Actually, just the Abercrombie smell by itself makes me want to puke. I can’t be alone in this. Right?
raqueleza
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 03:37 pm: [report]
axdiva: Hollister too. It makes my stomach churn every time I walk by—I mean, anywhere within a 50-yard radius of—that store.
I shop AA, and I don’t know when this “aesthetic” business came about, but a good portion of their employees are FAR from gorgeous creatures. Maybe they were grandfathered in?
KaraH1982
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 03:41 pm: [report]
Funny graphic. To be fair, there is a big difference between saying something on a telephone call and allegedly sending out a memo. As far as I’ve read, this story is the first time I’ve seen it mentioned and you sure as heck don’t link to it.
Let’s be honest, of all the things you reference about Dov Charney they have the same foundation - a hazy internet rumor or a lawsuit that never went to court or a picture where he looks like a weirdo. Guilty or not, that isn’t the kind of evidence you should convict someone with in the court of public opinion. Calling him a perv slimeball who doesn’t have time to work because he’s busy sexually harassing women is just that.
Coral
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 03:47 pm: [report]
My ex boyfriend used to model for Abercrombie when he was in high school and college. He hated the people he worked for cause even though he worked for the modeling part of the company, he still thought all the employees there were too preppy and pretentious.
jpwong
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 10:28 pm: [report]
My friend works for Abercrombie right now, and is pretty sure she got the job because she is latina (since they got sued a while back, they now have to hire more diverse people). They’re style is supposedly “all-American,” but seriously? Who the hell is to say what “American” style is? My friend hates it there and always has these ridiculous stories of how image-obsessed they are. People aren’t allowed to wear nail polish, and once, a guy came in with stubble on his face and they made him go out and buy a razor to shave right away. I guess being hairy/scruffy is now unAmerican.
Anyhow, I gave Abercrombie the finger a long time ago, once I saw the racist Asian caricatures they once had on their t-shirts. I would never shop here.
And does anyone else get a headache/sensory overload from the cheap cologne smell, dim-lighting and pounding music?
littlebit21
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 11:44 pm: [report]
I feel like I have to sort of defend Abercrombie since they pay me a buttload of money to manage one of their stores. As far as part-time jobs go, it’s not a bad deal. You get paid to stand around and smile at people while wearing flip flops.
Secondly, each company has a certain aesthetic they prefer and A&F just legitimizes it by putting their ideals on paper. Dressing like I do (everyday casual clothes), I wouldn’t necessarily be a #1 candidate for a store like Hot Topic, would I?
The look policy is very specific but it’s similar to the idea that if you were working in an office, you most likely wouldn’t be encouraged to rock high-heeled flip-flops and a Green Day t-shirt to work.
I work in an Abercrombie store for 40 hours every week and the smell, coupled with the loud music, does get old very quickly. But in the same way a drug addict needs more to get high every time, my tolerance has risen and I don’t notice it at times.
Yes, Abercrombie and American Apparel both have lots of weak points that are susceptible to judgment and attack but most people who do criticize aren’t a part of the target audience for their companies. The members of the target market buy into a lot of the hype and from a business standpoint, that’s all that really matters to the company. As long as a target market exists, so will these stores.