You Didnt Think I Could Keep My Mouth Shut on this One?

Just in case you have been living under a rock.... I am going to tell you why I am no longer giving any of my money to the man pictured above.   I am ashamed at myself that it took me this long to officially boycott them.

Who is he?  He is Mike Jeffries, the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.    There are several brands associated with him and Abercrombie & Fitch:

 Why will I be boycotting these brands?

1.  "Anyone who’s been to Abercrombie & Fitch in the last few years has probably noticed that they don’t carry XL or XXL sizes of women’s clothing because they don’t  want overweight women wearing their brand."

Just because you wear an XL or XXL, it doesn't mean you are overweight.  It may just mean that you don't want your clothes to stick to you like Saran Wrap!  When I was 5'8" and 120 pounds (by no menas overweight) I wore an XL shirt.  I have broad shoulders and I didn't feel comfortable in super tight clothing.

2. “He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis said. “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.’”

Seriously?!?  So we should be teaching our daughters that if they are over a size 10 that they can't be cool?  Is that the definition of cool, under a size 10?  

3. He was asked if he was bothered by the fact that he was excluding "fat people?"

 
“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. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either,” he told Salon.

There are so many more inflammatory quotes from this man that I won't even bother to copy and paste here on my blog.  You can google, "inconsiderate jerk" and see plenty of his offensive quotes.

 

I don't shop in any of these stores for myself but I do have nieces and I do have two daughters.
So where should you shop if you need a trendy alternative?

1.   American Eagle offers sizes up to size 18

2.  Forever 21- They print John 3:16 on their shopping bags as a demonstration of the owner's Christian Faith.   They also have a brand that carries sizes up 3X (size 20).

3.  H&M also carries larger sizes up to XXL

  In an effort to present full disclosure, I am a size 8 in pants and an L/XL in tops in most stores.  I am not personally offended because he criticized my size.  He did not discriminate against a size 8. I am offended because he is making fun of people and creating an atmosphere that will cause low self-esteem in the already vulnerable pre-teen age group.

"Do unto others as you would have them do to you." 

Luke 6:31