Abercrombie "Banishes" Girl With Prosthetic Arm To Storeroom

inode

didn't know they had such a strict "look" policy. would that stop any boardies from buying then though?:rolleyes:

Just in case their racism, sexism, and general awfulness hasn't been enough to turn you away from Abercrombie & Fitch after all these years, here's another glimpse of the inner workings of the horrible store.

When I previously (and gleefully) wrote about the economic troubles that Abercrombie was having a few months back, I mentioned that my personal hatred for the store comes from the fact that one of the women I was in the intensive inpatient unit with during my treatment for anorexia was heavily recruited by the store just days before her hospitalization (she was incredibly underweight) because she had "the look" they wanted. Turns out that this horrific "look policy" doesn't just revolve around being stick-thin; according to Riam Dean, she was forced to work in the stockroom, as opposed to on the floor, at Abercrombie's London flagship store because her prosthetic arm didn't fit the company's attractiveness standards. You stay classy, Abercrombie!

When Riam applied to the store, they took a photograph of her and gave her a handbook that listed the company's expectations, as far as physical appearance goes. According to the Daily Mail, the handbook "stipulates that staff must represent a 'natural, classic American style' and instructs them on everything from how to wear their hair (clean and natural) to how long they should wear their nails (a quarter of an inch past the end of the finger)." Apparently, Riam's prosthetic arm wasn't "natural" or "classic" enough for the store- they made her buy a cardigan to wear in order to hide her arms while working.

The cardigan, however, wasn't enough to satisfy the Abercrombie team. As Riam recalls:

"A worker from what they call the "visual team", people who are employed to go round making sure the shop and its staff look up to scratch, came up to me and demanded I take the cardigan off. I told her, yet again, that I had been given special permission to wear it. A few minutes later my manager came over to me and said: "I can't have you on the shop floor as you are breaking the Look Policy. Go to the stockroom immediately and I'll get someone to replace you. I pride myself on being quite a confident girl but I had never experienced prejudice like that before and it made me feel utterly worthless. Afterwards I telephoned the company's head office where a member of staff asked whether I was willing to work in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrived. That was the final straw. I just couldn't go back."

She is now suing the company, which, by the way, already paid 2.2 million dollars to employees who felt that that the company was unfairly forcing them to buy Abercrombie's clothes in 2003. Oh, and did I mention they paid a 40 million dollar settlement in 2004, after being accused of discriminatory employment practices? Because they did! This is a company that continues to be called out for their sexist, racist, discriminatory practices, and by issuing half-ass apologies and paying off their accusers, they expect us to forget the nastiness at the core of this operation. Sadly, all of this only makes Riam's story as unsurprising as it is upsetting.

linky http://jezebel.com/5289492/abercrombie-banishes-girl-with-prosthetic-arm-to-storeroom-because-she-doesnt-fit-the-look-policy

4zn76tysfajdxp

Has Fitch released a statment yet?

Mossy Monk

I would

My name is URL

Only dicks would wear Abercrombie

The same kind of dicks that drive Audis and are in denial that they're dicks at all

super_furry

I like their clothes though, they're kind of like a twat badge so you know that anyone wearing them is usually someone you don't want to talk to.

ShooterSF

Surely there was no arm in what they did.

Mr. CooL ICE

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I would

You can have my sloppy seconds.

FearDark

My name is URL wrote: »

Only dicks would wear Abercrombie

The same kind of dicks that drive Audis and are in denial that they're dicks at all

Wat.
Douche.

4zn76tysfajdxp

ShooterSF wrote: »

Surely there was no arm in what they did.

Ummm..Arm not too sure if that's true. It was blatant discrimination, and everyone who buys from them again will encourage them and have a hand in it.

ShooterSF

Myla Skinny Hyacinth wrote: »

Ummm..Arm not too sure if that's true. It was blatant discrimination, and everyone who buys from them again will encourage them and have a hand in it.

Then again we're hearing one side of the argument and I don't know if I trust her. There's something fake about her.....

TheZohanS

ShooterSF wrote: »

Then again we're hearing one side of the argument and I don't know if I trust her. There's something fake about her.....

I know what you mean...just can't put my finger on it.

Rhyme

Whenever I hear about Abercrombie and Fitch doing something stupid i think of the MadTV sketches and everything is alright again.

My name is URL

FearDark wrote: »

Wat.
Douche.

lol

Sharpshooter

TheZohan wrote: »

I know what you mean...just can't put my finger on it.

They should be made to shoulder some responsibility here, though she should have just said no.

After all there was no one twisting her arm.

mike65

Audi drivers unite! :mad:

stovelid

Hopefully A & F will have to stump up over this.

Sharpshooter

I hope it costs them an arm and a leg.

stovelid

I have to confess that AH has been invaluable for brushing up on my punning powers. Especially when I pass them off in everyday conversation as my own to non-Boardsie friends.

Sharpshooter

I always pun irl.:o

Size=everything

a prosthetic arm???????

Thats disgusting.

stovelid

Sharpshooter wrote: »

I always pun irl.:o

Me too. Wasn't joking.

Wagon

My name is URL wrote: »

Only dicks would wear Abercrombie

The same kind of dicks that drive BMWs and are in denial that they're dicks at all

I agree with all of that. Except for the model of the car. I've changed it accordingly.

DarkJager

And they say ladies who work in fashion shops are so artficial?

TheZohanS

Sharpshooter wrote: »

They should be made to shoulder some responsibility here, though she should have just said no.

After all there was no one twisting her arm.

Exactly, they didn't give her the elbow, she left of her own accord.

dylano_k

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I would

Me too...but the whole rubber fist thing?? Anyone seen Borat ??

http://kurvinen.wordpress.com/2007/10/

Nodin

inode wrote: »

didn't know they had such a strict "look" policy. would that stop any boardies from buying then though?:rolleyes:

...as a life long scruffy fuck, it would have been unlikely to occur anyway.

As a similarily armless type, I have to say it underlines my view about it being a waste of time going for a 'realistic' prosthetic at the expense of functionality. They're only going to survive passing scrutiny, and if some arse is going to have a problem, they're going to have one anyway.

Earthhorse

Looks like they've really put their foot in it this time.

Maddison

Lots of people would give an arm & a leg for her job

Sharpshooter

Earthhorse wrote: »

Looks like they've really put their foot in it this time.

Well that's true, they will have to knuckle down now and deal with this properly.
Someones got to toe the line here.

Driver 8

A and F will probably want to keep this kind of bad press at arm's length

tinkerbell

I'm not surprised by this ... A&F are well known for their look policy. If you are put in the stock room, they don't think you are hot enough to be working in the shop.

dan719

What's the problem? Companies hire on the basis of intelligence, experience and so on.
Looks are another trait on which companies discriminate. And it is not only those companies which have a stated 'looks policy'. Even in interview situations, how one looks has an impact on success rates.

A&F is dependent on selling a look or a lifestyle, and it's stores (including staff) are part of this. Get over it.

Hamiltonion

In fairness its up to the company, if you're not happy work elsewhere. You wouldnt sue a model agency if they didnt deem you attractive enough to hire/use for a certain shoot

Ps A and F is utter tat, the badge of an arrogant, trust fund fueled, chest waxing twat

Blazer

super_furry wrote: »

I like their clothes though, they're kind of like a twat badge so you know that anyone wearing them is usually someone you don't want to talk to.

lol...my housemate every week buys them when over there...gonna have some laugh at him now..the big dickhead..:D

on the serious side I'm glad I didn't buy anything from the fcukers...an won't be in future..

ScumLord

I've never even heard of that shop.

Red Alert

Pity, some of their clothes are gorgeous but I think it's an awful shabby way to treat someone. Especially someone like her who seemed to be a good 'fit' for the company. Wonder what they do if someone gets pregnant?

BlackWizard

I like their clothes.

partyatmygaff

I don't like their clothes.

Saying people who wear Abercrombie drive Audis is just plain stupid. Audis are classy sporty cars.

You must be thinking of BMW.

Mossy Monk

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Audis are classy sporty cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ouasWbKMs

Bob Z

i hope she gave them the cold shoulder

The Walsho

Loving the puns in here.

I don't get why A&F didn't just say it was because she was really good in the stockroom. Like when playing football as a kid and you'd convince the worst player that he always had to go in goal because he was just such a good keeper.

And yer wan is suing them now? She's going out on a limb there.

Morlar

The Walsho wrote: »

And yer wan is suing them now? She's going out on a limb there.

On the other hand there is a good chance she will win.

davyjose

This is all very humerus.

Nodin

dan719 wrote: »

What's the problem? Companies hire on the basis of intelligence, experience and so on.
Looks are another trait on which companies discriminate..

Then why did they hire her for a job on the floor, then later decide she needed to cover herself, then banish her to the stockroom, which wasn't what she signed on for?

johnny_knoxvile

They didnt need to put her in the stock room... She could have gone in the window as a manaquin.

0ubliette

i was over in Utah a few weeks ago, one my girlfriends in laws works in A&F, and told us tht the people who work there arent called 'cashiers' or 'staff' or whatever, theyre called 'models'. Like seriously, the job title of the guy at the register is 'model'. :facepalm:

Mossy Monk

Sound like a shop only an idiot would shop at.

johnny_knoxvile

0ubliette wrote: »

i was over in Utah a few weeks ago, one my girlfriends in laws works in A&F, and told us tht the people who work there arent called 'cashiers' or 'staff' or whatever, theyre called 'models'. Like seriously, the job title of the guy at the register is 'model'. :facepalm:

well after his paintings, we might call Biffo a model too!

BraziliaNZ

why are Irish "omigod" types so obsessed with this label? From what i can see it seem people from "The Hills" and wannabe American D4 accent Irish people are the only people in the world that wear the stuff. How did this fascination start?

MaxFlower

I blame the girl for all this - it has simply gone too far. She should never have worn that cardigan in the first place.

Didn't she know that A&F are a US company and as such the laws of that country apply therefore (as stated in the second amendment) she had the right to bare arms!

johnny_knoxvile

It started when some one from D4 wanted an alternative to polo shirt but didnt want to as extreme as wear their PJs, and so the A&F craze was born.