Abercrombie and Fitch and the Moral Degradation of America Essay

Abercrombie and Fitch and the Moral Degradation of AmericaThis past month I made my last visit to the popular teenage/college scholarly person retail store Abercrombie and Fitch. Finishing up some back to school day shopping, I was on a quest for jeans, and I knew the place to amount them. My last two favorite pairs were from Abercrombie and Fitch, and I was planning on acquire the same kind once again. Happy and relieved that I would not spend the afternoon ransacking the mall for atomic number 53 pair of jeans, I entered the store to the pulsating beat of techno dance music. In front of me was the teenage Mecca of what is rightfully hip -- the first thing I noticed were the life-size figure that cover the walls -- half-clad muscular and glistening young men, frolicking around with pouty faced exclusively beautiful young women who were wearing either size 2 fiddling shorts with bikini tops or 3 layered sweaters. The tables were covered with overpriced shorts, sh irts, and sweaters, strewn about by fearful customers hard-hitting for the perfect outfit. The sales people who roamed the floors were definitions of cool themselves -- ranging from age 16-22, they modeled their employee discounts in a tyrannical way which encouraged the customers to strive for their ultra-hip look. And strive the customers did. What was the most noticeable upon incoming the store (besides the blaringly loud music which made me wonder if I was at a clothing store or a dance club) were the herds of fearful young men and women, who seemed to range from age 12-25, strutting around the store and searching for anything that had the name A&F on it. I can but imaging how many nights of baby-sitting it would take some of these eager teenagers to buy one sweater. The young custome... ...r yourself and dont allow anyone else to decide for you. Even more important than the uniform you wear is how you guide to live your life -- a choice that is solo your own and no one elses. No store can choose a life style for you, and no one should talk you into believing that drinking, having sex, or anything else can make your life better than it already is. In their desperate attempt to sell their products, Abercrombie and Fitch has forgotten the exclusiveity of the word lifestyle. While claming that underage drinking and just the right outfit pass on make your life better, they forget that it is impossible to ever swop your individual persona, or who you truly are. No tomboy flares or martini shakers will change that. Thats why I decided to stick with my old jeans -- theyre comfortable, I bid them, but most importantly, theyre me.