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Abercrombie & Fitch wasn’t always the worst. Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra H. Fitch, the company became the place where sportsmen went to shop for decades; it outfitted Charles Lindbergh for his famous solo flight across the ocean, Ernest Hemingway made A&F his first stop when visiting New York — and eventually did himself in using a shotgun purchased from the store — and the delightful 1964 Howard Hawks comedy, Man’s Favorite Sport?, saw Rock Hudson as a clueless salesman for the store passing himself off as a fishing expert. Then, sometime in the 1990s, in an attempt to define the store in the crowded malls across America, Abercrombie & Fitch’s new owners turned the brand into the one-stop shop for aspiring frat boys, and other assorted bros who wanted to look like they belonged at Greek Week keg parties. Henceforward, clothes with the logo of a once-respectable company spent the next two decades as a symbol for pretty much everything bad in the world, especially since that company was so often in the news for less-than-flattering reasons.

Most recently, there’s Abercrombie’s attempt at making an anti-bullying statement for National Bullying Prevention Month with these “Bros Before Bullies” T-shirts. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with raising awareness that bullying sucks, even if you express that sentiment on a shirt that also includes the vile word “bro,” except it somehow slipped the company’s mind to make the shirts for plus-sized people. Of course, under more normal circumstances this would have been seen as just a dumb oversight, but then we recall…View Complete Map » Connect online with Abercrombie & Fitch The name says it all. A classic, casual look that reflects the fashion style and sensibilities of today’s collegiate culture like no other.Since 1892, Abercrombie & Fitch has been producing premier quality clothing with a distinctive all-American appeal rooted in East Coast tradition and Ivy League heritage. It’s the brand today’s collegiate (and almost collegiate) generation seeks out as much for the statement as the style.

Jeans that will be your new best friends. Tees that say what’s on your mind. Polos, pants, fleece and flops. Skirts, shorts, totes and tanks. Plus an array of accessories for guys and gals to make each look their own.From the coveted catalog to the queue on Fifth Avenue, and all the cool clothing in between, there’s an aspirational appeal that makes Abercrombie & Fitch the brand to shop.Despite the shameful mall brand that it has morphed into over the past couple decades, there was a time when Abercrombie & Fitch was great. More than great even, Abercrombie & Fitch was important, a brand that was as integral to our country’s culture of clothing as it was to our culture as a whole. This was a company that outfitted presidents and pioneers, authors and actors, explorers and icons. Today, the Abercrombie & Fitch clientele is decidedly less illustrious, and their products are about as American as a three Yuan bill. I oft wonder how many shoppers even realize that Abercrombie & Fitch were real people to begin with?

Then again, it would be wrong to fault anyone for overlooking the real Abercrombie & Fitch. After all the philosophy upon which these two gentleman built their brand is wholly absent from the stores that bear their names today.David T. Abercrombie, a Baltimore native, founded “Abercrombie Co.” on the shores of the East River, at 36 South Street in Manhattan on June 4, 1892.
clandestine hoodieThe store was informed by Abercrombie’s infatuation with the great outdoors, hawking all sorts of wilderness ready gadgets and gear.
exo hoodie online shop malaysiaAbercrombie had an unflappable eye for high-end outdoor ephemera (you could say he was the first purveyor of “gentlemen camper” goods) which he used to punctiliously select items that were as upscale as they were utilitarian.
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This was the era of Teddy Roosevelt on safari, when dignitaries and celebrities would go on expensive outdoor jaunts, and the upper class still wanted to get their hands dirty. Or at least get their leather gloves dirty. And it was these affluent outdoorsmen (and women) that became Abercrombie’s audience. One such man was Ezra Fitch, a New York based lawyer and real estate developer who had grown tired of his day job and had taken to yachting, climbing, and fishing upstate.
sons of anarchy hooded leather jacketIn those early years, Fitch was one of Abercrombie’s most dedicated customers, purchasing from the shop continuously until one day Fitch decided to buy something quite a bit larger.
sons of anarchy hooded leather jacketIn 1900 Abercrombie, after some convincing, allowed Fitch to purchase a major share into his company, thus becoming a part in the steadily growing label.
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Four years later the partnership officially went public as Fitch’s name was tacked on, giving birth to “Abercrombie & Fitch Co.” Over the next few years both men enjoyed great financial success, but their relationship began to erode rapidly. Fitch was more economically minded and wanted to continue expansion on a larger scale, while Abercrombie was content with staying a premium brand for those that were wealthy enough to afford it. In the end Abercrombie bowed out of the brand he founded after fifteen years, turning over complete control to Fitch in 1907. The “Fitch Years,” as they are affectionately referred to, were a time of great prosperity for the brand, during which time the brand published their epic four hundred plus page catalogs (which now fetch some pretty hefty sums on eBay), became the first store in New York to sell clothes to both men and women, and unveiled their legendary twelve story Madison Avenue flagship store. That store was a shrine to all things outdoors and encapsulated the brand’s over-the-top approach to retail during the early twentieth-century.

It featured a shooting range, a bookstore, an art gallery, a watch repair suite, a golf section complete with a resident pro, and even a pool large enough to teach fly-fishing lessons in. These were the glory days of Abercrombie & Fitch, when the brand brought quaint outdoor pursuits to the opulent urban population in-spectacular fashion.The Abercrombie & Fitch of this era represents a time when no one would dare to venture into the wilderness without the finest accoutrements and attire. Their catalogs would include everything from burly walking coats, to exquisitely decorated firearms, to imported pith hats, to Mahjong straight from China. A&F enjoyed great success for the better part of the next handful of decades, planting locations across the country wherever the adventurous (and the wealthy) might live. Throughout the fifties and sixties, they brand made a significant push to keep their quality high, even in the face of an increasingly cost conscious marketplace. By the seventies though, A&F had little fight left – people were losing interest in their high quality (and high ticket) wares and so it was time for them to adapt.