abercrombie
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- unknown0
totally forgot that commercial.
and please raise a hand if you lived in the day when you had to beg your parents, or hint very strongly around Christmas time that you wanted:
Z Cavaricci's with as many pleaated flaps on the front, and belt loops on the back as possible.
Girbaud "Brand X" style pants with the straight pockets, not curved.
- balb0a0
Sorry i'm late to the party, but i'm feeling the need to chime in...
This one goes out to all the haters:
Abercrombie made a buttload of $$$ using pictures of buff naked males cavorting with labrador retrievers to sell pre-weathered baseball caps to ignorant gaybashing jocks in the midwest.
That irony alone is worthy of some praise.
And even though i don't personally identify with "the brand", they also did commit some pretty serious $$$ toward a printed tee and applied graphics program. And put a lot of designers to work.
We've all been conditioned to either LOVE or HATE brands. But don't you think that as designers, we should be the last ones to fall for that crap?
Can't you base your judgment on the bigger picture?
It's weird. I thought that this generation had finally gotten over the "MALL SUX. THRIFT RULEZ" mentality. I used to be the same way, but when Big Brands coopted punk rebellion, everything changed. It's over, people. One of the best skateparks I've ever seen is in the same Mall that I wouldn't have been caught dead in when I was in High School. The old borders are gone.
Are you all so Punk Rock™ that you can't see a billion other people just like you all doing exactly the same thing? Your identity can't be defined by what Brand you wear any more.
"Thrift" is a cliche just like Abercrombie. I can't get a damn thing at a Thrift Store these days because they're infested with poor little angry unhipsters.
Recursive culture, total media dissemination, and the Web has made it next to impossible to create something truly unique any more. It's all one big mix now.
What's important (besides calming the feck down) is how you select and combine what you wear. Sample across brands. Define yourself through unique assemblies. Customize. Buy an Abercrappie shirt, slap your own stencil on it, and strip the label off. Cut off the sleeves of a Thrift Store jacket, and layer it over a Gucci shirt. Get a Hong Kong Prada bag knockoff and stud it with metal spikes.
Don't hate -- Create!
And anyway, taking sides is sooo last season...
:)
:)
:)
- kpl0
oh so, even if abercrombie is all racist and shit...it doesn't matter cos they're smart!
yay!
- tfs__mag0
dude.. balboa is mad because we're dissing his abercrombie wardrobe.. hee hee
- balb0a0
Nah man, I don't own a single piece.
And i'm not mad...
I'm the opposite of mad. :)Oh, and I can't speak personally for A+F corporate politics or policies (as far as being racist or whatever).
I just think it's hilarious that they made a fortune using gay softporn to sell clothes to homophobes.
Im just suggesting that we should avoid basing our opinion of a brand on just the surface style.
I'd rather that people hate them because they got a racist vibe from first-hand experience, than because they don't like the look of the pants.
- JazX0
no offense mg33, brother, it's just my opinion, and maybe not a good one, just my own personal statement, even though I stand by it. Poorly designed and poorly made.
- mrdobolina0
Just glad that noone has started wearing my potato sack and aluminum can gear yet.
- balb0a0
I just re-read my previous post, and in it I sound pretty pissed.
Why do I always sound pissed when i'm trying to be articulate?
That Thrift Store thing is true, though. You guys have to leave some good stuff for the rest of us!
- fate0
i·ron·ic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-rnk) also i·ron·i·cal (-rn-kl) adj. -- Calling people who wear A+F shallow and mindless while being so vehement on a shallow and mindless subject...
- Gorbie0
I once went to a thrift store to by an irreverant t-shirt.
...but I left when I realized, the smelly guy next to me wasn't being ironic.
- JazX0
Thrift Store can be more original and better than Abercrombie and Gap any day of the week.
- mrdobolina0
good point gorbie.
- balb0a0
You're right Jaz, but have you noticed lately that most Thrift Stores are getting more and more filled up with Old Navy and Gap stuff?
If you think about it, pretty soon all the sweet old stuff will be gone. I was just saying that to my GF on Sunday (while in a big-ass thrift store) -- You just can't find any 50s vintage stuff any more, because it's all gone.
Big Brands have erased variety in America. So even the Thrift Store selection is endangered. THAT'S something to be pissed about.
What are the next generation of kids going to do? Wear thrifted Gap and Old Navy?
- tfs__mag0
nah the next generation will all wear space suits and drive hover cars
- balb0a0
"previously worn" space suits.
no grandkid of mine is gonna wear that big brand mass produced silver quilted sh*t.
HA!
- unknown0
JazX,
no problem, we can all have our opinions.However, I'd like you to know that BR's quality has gotten much much better. In the time I worked there they got a new designer for their clothing, and things were being designed in-house as opposed to how they got a number of styles from fashion shows where they were literally buying things made by someone else. I haven't worked there since March 03, but as I've been back there a few times, I've noticed the results of their changes. The clothes are costing more, but the quality has gone up too.
I have quite a few things from there that lacked in quality-
zipper falling apart in mere seconds on $118 pants, boxer stitching coming apart, t-shirts wearing a hole where the tag is, etc.
Luckily I only payed half price for anything that did that, and the zipper got fixed for free by them.
Their new t-shirts don't have tags, but have the into printed where the tag would go.Not trying to bore you, just trying to say that their quality and style has improved tremendously in the time I've been able to follow it closely.
- unknown0
good point balboa.
I would never go to a thrift store to look for recent Gap stuff or the like because it's likely going to be horrible.
I only go to thrift stores for old stuff, worn out jeans, wool blazers or coats. If I want something nice, I buy it new. I wouldn't buy work clothes at a thrift store. But I stocked up like crazy on work clothes when I was at BR.
- balb0a0
...yeah, you just can't beat those free samples.
my ass has been covered by free samples for the past 5 years.
mg33 -- my GF did surface design at Gap back in 2001 (when Mickey was still CEO).
Management was seriously trying to evolve the line back then, to make it more directional, knocking off Marc Jacobs and even high-end stuff from Colette. Same year as the Roman Coppola/ Scarlett Johannson/Shins TV spot.
Kind of backfired though. You just can't fark with that Gap ID. Now they're back to Missy and Madonna mainstream stuff.
What's the inside scoop on Banana's direction? The clothing may have improved, but the advertising seems less strong. I loved the "Work" campaign.
- unknown0
I know what you mean.
BR doesn't advertise that much, and I always wonder why. But they've said there (and this was a flagship store on Michigan Ave I worked in, ) I always got the feeling that it was very word of mouth as far as promoting themselves. Kind of like that gave it some kind of stature to not be throwing themselves at everyone like GAP and Old Navy (if you dont' know, all three are owned by GAP Inc.)You occasionally see a BR ad in GQ or Details, and that's about it for men's magazines. I frequently see huge outdoor wall ads downtown and from the highway as well.
- balb0a0
There's a huge billboard right outside my window (like 50 feet away).
Banana has posted there for the past 4 years, so I tend to be sensitive to tiny fluctuations in their advertising - heh heh.