Abercrombie Doesn't Want Gross Fat People Wearing Their Clothes

By Lindy West | May 3, 2013 | 10:20pm

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The good folks at Abercrombie & Fitch, it appears, have so little interest in taking fat people’s money, they don’t even make women’s sizes above L or pants above a size 10. Because, you know, why would they? Think of what it would do for the brand! Everybody knows that fat people are all dowdy frumps with no fashion sense—I mean, just look at the clothes they choose to wear, which CLEARLY has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that nearly all major brands refuse to create clothes that fit fat people’s bodies because of exactly this type of kneejerk anti-fat disgust. More bedazzled tunics patterned like an antique Parisian suitcase, please! That’s what we fat ladies like!

Ashley Lutz at Business Insider took a look at Abercrombie’s explicitly anti-fat business practices:

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It’s not surprising that Abercrombie excludes plus-sized women considering the attitude of CEO Mike Jeffries, said Robin Lewis, co-author of The New Rules of Retail and CEO of newsletter The Robin Report.

“He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis told Business Insider. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.'”

The only reason Abercrombie offers XL and XXL men’s sizes is probably to appeal to beefy football players and wrestlers, Lewis said.

Abercrombie reps declined to comment for Lutz’s story, but here are some choice old quotes from CEO Jeffries himself:

“It’s almost everything. That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries also told Salon that he wasn’t bothered by excluding some customers.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he told the site. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

Well, at least the feeling is mutual, Abercrombie. I don’t want my body’s personal brand associated with your creepy, predatory, bedbug-infested, bigoted, racist garbage clothes anyway. But, just to sum up real quick, in case this is confusing for anyone: Fat people won’t be able to shed the stigma of being unfashionable frumps until we’re actually able to purchase fashionable clothes with the freedom and diversity that straight-size people do. Dear stores, I have money. Let me fucking give it to you.