Kate Hackett
Way, way back in the early Aughts, Abercrombie & Fitch was THE PLACE to shop. It was where the cool, rich girls bought all their clothes and boy, was it aspirational. Did I ever buy anything from it? Hell no, that sh*t was expensive. Did I walk through it and pretend I wasn’t being assaulted by body spray? You betcha.
Recently members of the BuzzFeed Community were asked what it was like to work in the store. Here are some of the wildest stories.
1. The chaos!
“I worked as a ‘model’ — what they called their sales associates — folding clothes at the front of the store and it was my job to greet people who walked in. The only greeting I was allowed to use was ‘Hey, how’s it goin’?’ because I guess it seemed more ‘cool and laid back’ or whatever. I literally got yelled at by my manager once for going off-script and saying, ‘Hey, welcome to Abercrombie’ instead.” —shermans
2. Hookups
“People would hook up with each other while working. Stock rooms, on the floor hidden from the cameras, etc. It was a cesspool for people who were told they were good-looking to mingle with each other while making minimum wage. 😂” —crazygal818
3. Nice natural look
“No one was supposed to use the words ‘attractive’ or ‘good-looking’ to describe the ideal Abercrombie look (even though that’s clearly what they were going for). Instead, managers would say, ‘We want our employees to have a nice ‘natural look.'” —izzieex
4. Poor dudes
“Men had to wear their jeans one waist size bigger so you could see their underwear line and the logo. Our shirts also had to be one size smaller so it was tight in the chest/arms so you could see our muscles. Oh, and we had to wear our belts extra long to hang in front like a penis.” —jraatz3
5. Yup. Believe it.
“There was someone assigned during every shift to spritz each individual piece of clothing with the latest cologne once EVERY. 30. MINUTES.” —queenelsa217
6. Banished
“We had a poster in the back with pictures of what was acceptable to wear. One time, I wore the wrong flip-flops and was told to go home or work the register and stay behind the counter barefoot.” —jakesandlin
7. Don’t interact
“During orientation, we were told to not interact with customers. Our jobs were to ‘fold shirts and look good in the clothes.'” —nathanielj5
8. Secret apps!
“Managers had to give the people they ‘scouted’ a password to be able to access the online application so that only people who were personally invited could apply for a job.” —shanko1324
9. Brr!
“It was always freezing cold, so I would walk in and put on one of the sweatshirts from the shelves and wear it throughout my entire shift and then put it back after. It wasn’t worth spending the money!” —ambern4dc7ddcc0
10. How crappy
“I remember a girl once came up to me and asked if we were hiring. We were, but somehow a manager overheard and told me in the headset to tell her that we weren’t. The manager said she didn’t have ‘the look.'” —nancyl4f19853e7
11. How …racist.
“I cut my hair into a short afro, and the next day when I came into work with it, my manager immediately told me to go home because my hair no longer fit the approved styles in the company look book. They showed me the approved styles — all of which I obviously couldn’t replicate with a one-inch curly afro. It was very clear that when my hair was chemically straightened it was approved, but that when I allowed my hair to grow naturally, it became a problem. As a young Black woman, it definitely hurt to think my natural look wasn’t ‘acceptable.’ They essentially refused to schedule me until I made my hair look white again, so I just never showed up again.” —karismaw
12. Hahaha what.
“I’m naturally blonde and showed up to work with the ‘natural makeup’ they required. However, I had black mascara on. I was then told by my manager: ‘You have blonde hair, so you would never have naturally black eyelashes. Go to the bathroom and pick your mascara off.’ Needless to say, I didn’t stay at the job very long after that.” —volcanna
13. Sartorial dictatorship
“We were only allowed to wear white, gray, and navy, and at Christmastime, it was a luxury to wear red plaid.” —jraatz3
14. Had to buy new stuff constantly
“We could never wear sale items on the floor and most of my income was constantly spent on buying new clothes.” —nathanielj5
15. No hair!
“The guys had to be clean shaven. If you came in with any facial hair, there was a rusty old razor in the restroom you could use to shave with, otherwise you wouldn’t be allowed to work.” —holdenl2
16. Yeah, seems right.
“I had braces and I was told I had to work in the stockroom.” —muddypuddles
17. RULES.
“You weren’t allowed to have more than one ear piercing and could only wear nude nail polish.” —jessiemoskovitzp
18. So many rules.
“They were very specific about how to wear the clothes as well, like what buttons to use, how to roll up sleeves, how to tie shirts, etc. They even had a book with photo instructions and new clothes they wanted to promote — they were especially cheap so we would wear them.” —dioncori
19. …What if she’d brought a book?
“I helped open a Hollister — Abercrombie’s sister company — and my job was literally to sit in a chair at the entrance and read a magazine and flirt with a male floor model.” —Lynanne9278
20. Assault
“We weren’t allowed to wear jewelry that wasn’t a wedding band, and I wore the same necklace from my boyfriend every day. One day I forgot to take it off when I first showed up for my shift and the regional manager was in. He turned round, saw my necklace, and straight up YANKED it off my neck. 🙃” —marandawareham
