Do Fashion Labels Hate Overweight People?

Written by Niamoni Chanel

I'm sure you've all heard the headlines by now "Attention Abercrombie shoppers: Walk away", "Teens Protest Abercrombie and Fitch's Stance on Plus-Size Clothes" or "A&F given 'brand readjustment' as revenge for plus-size meanness" all covering the recent events of Michael Jeffries (CEO or A&F) stating that the apparel his company designs was only for the "cool kids" and not for "fat people".

WOW!, those are brave and bold words to spout publicly especially with bullying as a trending topic in public media these days. Just when you started to believe "it gets better" they start it all over again. From a fashion standpoint the brand itself doesn't really do much to break the mold it's pretty much boring overpriced casual wear aimed at teens. Puppeteering the psychology of high school cool kids vs the losers much? 

Being that Abercombie doesn't carry sizes that the average young american woman can wear, I suppose they've realized their targeting a niche market so upsetting those they refuse to tailor clothing for is great promotion. Think about it, the day after Mothers Day this news hits the headlines and on their website you find a huge banner with mention of a secret internet sale.

We've all heard the old saying "There is no such thing as bad publicity" even if you're upset about their stance and want nothing to do with them, any mention of their name from you is an opportunity to get free promotion with the chance that someone who follows you might be "team abercrombie". And what will they do to support one of their favorites? that's right...make a purchase. cha-ching!

I don't want to turn this into some wacky conspiracy theory so I'll let you guys be the judge, I just find it to be very convenient timing, lol.

Even the Target Department store made headlines in a similar incident

Target was charging 2.99 less for the same dress even though it may have used more fabric to make it in a larger size and at a higher cost...just a thought.

"The whole manatee thing touches cultural pain points - it's not about Target - it's about how people feel how they're discussed," she said. "In a culture where women's bodies are commented on endlessly, this struck a nerve with a lot of people."

How many times have you gone into a clothing store and found a design that you absolutely must have only to find out that it's not in stock or even worse; not made for you size.

People have the right to wear whatever they feel comfortable in but if you did a search online you would probably  start to think otherwise. Are people really this cold hearted and mean towards the overweight? I've seen comments from people saying "fat people shouldn't wear" everything from stripes, skinny jeans, leggings, bikinis or tight clothes in general.

This entire overweight issue is getting out of hand, there are a lot of people considered to be chubby, fat or whatever synonym you want to use to classify them for the moment that are very attractive. Even if the appearance of extra body weight offends you that doesn't mean you should bash, single out or exclude this person.

There is no set in stone standard for beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder ...

Be the first to comment