Abercrombie and Fitch and the Moral Degradation of America Essay

In the 1950s, the fashion industry was based mostly around teenagers and young adults. Before this time, adolescents were expected to follow in their parents’

In the introduction of Chapter 1 “Consuming Passions” “The Culture of American Consumption,” it talks about how American popular culture is grounded in consumption. With the media in our hand, it is a huge influence towards the advertising world. With how styles of clothing have been changing over time, this talks about how from the earlier times wearing a simple type of blue jeans can change between who wears them over the years. As stated, “ By the 1950s, however, blue jeans began to bear an additional class significance as “casual wear” for middle-class Americans.” (72). In 1970 these pants have then become a simple fashion wear. They have also been introduced as a hipster type wear. Then in 1980 through the early 2000s, baggy jeans were

Chanel, Versace, American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Under Armor, True Religion, and Free People are only some of the name brand clothing that teens see in their everyday lives walking down the hallway at school or while shopping at the mall. Kim Kardashian is walking down New York 5th Avenue in skintight Versace cheetah pants with a black Dior chiffon top and spiked high-heeled Gucci boots. Crouching in an inconspicuous bush, paparazzi with its vulture like claws, snap pictures of her strutting by. The next day the picture of Kim strolling down the sidewalk will be splashed across the front page of every magazine. Without exception, girls in Los Angeles, California, or Maple Grove, Minnesota will try to replicate that exact

Now-a-days, you can’t find appropriate clothing for your children because all stores are selling short-shorts and crop tops for 12-year-olds. This issue is contradicting; girls are being sexualized by being told not to wear clothes that show their skin, yet the only clothes that are currently being sold are clothes that only sexualize girls even more by showing too much skin that doesn’t fit their age group. Orenstein also argues that, “ For today’s girls, sexy appearance has been firmly conflated with strong womanhood.” Meaning, instead of having a princess birthday party at the park, preschoolers are now having mani-pedi spa birthday parties; or how the Elementary school cheer dance routine is more provocative; or when 9-year-olds are taught “all the ticks of beauty.” In our defence, when society depicts young women as sexual objects, they make young girls think that their beauty is more important than their brains(hence the reason why you can easily mistake a 13-year-old for a

The root cause in the Abercrombie and Fitch case was the company’s practice was to focus their recruiting and hiring of a sales persons around their image, which was around the mantra of “an all American Classic look” and they shied away from individuals that did not fit that mold. Due to this behavior, the company was hit with a lawsuit in 2003 that alleged they violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by placing a targeted focus on their recruiting and hiring that essentially excluded or limited its minority and female workforce population (Wikipedia, 2017).

The company Abercrombie and Fitch has been sued countless times because of the rules the government has imposed on hiring and firing people. Abercrombie is trying to target attractive looking people to their line of cloths. During an interview Salon Jeffries the CEO of Abercrombie stated… his business was built around sex appeal… “He believes that good-looking people attract other good-looking people”… If a clothing line

In Anne Norton’s, "The Signs of Shopping", Anne Norton, a Political Science Professor at the University of Pennsylvania determines the ways in which malls, catalogs, and home shopping networks create our sense of “identity”. In the first part of her essay, “Shopping at the mall”, Anne analyzes the ways in which malls and catalogs “tell you who you are by selling you what they want.” Anne first states what she believes the mall was created to be; she believes it was created to be an impulsive gathering place and place of centralized public activity. Anne then goes on to state how she believes the mall has come to exploit the lifestyles and identities of people, especially those of young women. Anne makes the claim that the mall appears to be

The store associates are dressed in the season's latest looks marketing to the incoming customers. The music is blasting with a bohemian and beachy tunes, which parents may not appreciate but it was what makes the adolescents happy. The store appeals to your senses all in order to make you buy more. I find my friends and me drooling over all the new clothes in stock. But after reading Gladwell's “Consuming Passion” I began making connection in my own life. There is a reason why as soon as I walk into the store I have the overwhelming urge to buy everything in the store, or at least try everything I see. The way they layout the all the clothes in the table it's not a mistake they are simply encouraging the feel of being at home and radiating a comfortable feeling so their customers can relax, touch the clothing, and spend more money. If the conditions are right the customer will be able to buy anything. The stores uses colors to appeal to the sense of sight of the customers a feeling of happiness which would cause them to shop more. However my favorite conditions of all times are clearance because I love a great deal. When you see the signs outside the store saying the sales are here yet again or when you get an email with special coupon always gives me a sense of

Teenagers all across the country contain a fascination in determining who they are especially when shown through fashion. This passion to show who one is, is not racist or ableist, it's just an emotion that many teenagers face while learning who they are. From this passion they style their ideas and clothing choices off the magazines and stores they constantly see. From back to school sales to black friday shopping, advertisements that are posted influence what teenagers spend their money on. One of the most prominent teenager stores would be American Eagle. American Eagle might be a worldwide organization, having clothes on teenagers in every corner of the globe, yet its representation

For generations, Americans has been brainwashed by the media to believe that what is displayed on television is the ideal perception of what real beauty have manipulated American citizens of what style looks like. Furthermore, with their many brainwashing strategies, that means more and more consumers spending beyond their budget. Our perspectives have been heavily influenced by what they believe is nice, but can we afford it all? With unrealistic combination of goods in store, plazas, and mall, consuming has become a bad behavior of some. In support of my argument of the “Overspending”, author Gladwell’s article “The Science of Shopping” also argues that stores adjust to fit the needs and wants of the shopper are evidently presented. With that being said, we have no idea when we are being manipulated into unrealistic shopping behavior that is influenced by the way the advertisement is presented in visual sight. Author Gladwell gets a “retail anthropologist” and “urban geographer” named Paco Underhill to give breakdown points of how he helps brand name stores influence consumers into persuasion of buying more. However, most of us fall short of that discipline, while being persuaded to overspend during our store visits.

The release of 2014 financial statements by American Eagle Outfitters and The Buckle Company require analysis to determine the financial position of the respective companies. A decision between the two companies is needed to decide which company Baruch College Fund should invest in. Findings in our research shows that The Buckle Company beats American Eagle Outfitters in terms of the key performance indicators of return on assets, profit margin, and asset turnover ratio. This information reveals that The Buckle Company is the better company to invest in.

As a country, Americans love to shop. Whether in malls, grocery stores, on the Internet, or elsewhere, the culture of buying is deeply ingrained in American culture. Fueled largely by advertising and the current credit system, America’s consumer culture is depleting our planet’s finite natural resources and polluting our environment. Consumerism has instilled in Americans an artificial, ongoing, and insatiable desire for mass-produced and marketed products, and the money with which to buy them, with little regard to their actual usefulness or necessity. This constant desire to acquire more possessions is poisoning the planet, as it can never be sated and thus results in the never-ending exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources, and

Even if the groups of people who shop there aren’t necessarily responding to the “sex sells” approach, they are still advocating it by buying Abercrombie as well as other stores that use sexuality in ads. It is rare to find someone that outwardly objects to this form of advertising; people have come to accept that this has become commonplace in the world of advertisement. This was not always the case though; the prevalence of this style of advertising is fairly new, only starting in the past 10 to 20 years. The difference between advertisements now and in the 60s is one that is shocking when considered in a side-by-side comparison.

“It’s where it all starts, from the ground up; street is the seed to all other fashion” says Kenta Goto from Brknhome, a now defunct Canadian t-shirt brand (Vogel 37). There are many voices that speak of the streetwear culture: what it is or once was, how it all started and where it is heading. Streetwear is not just some fad or a passing trend. It is nothing but pure talent and passion, and the vision to stand out from the rest. It is a fashion movement, primarily for the youth who roam the streets expressing their interests, cultural identity, and common scenarios that take place in their urban catwalks. For the youth, streetwear can be the most effective form of self-expression.

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants