Dear Mr. Jeffries and Abercrombie

In a recent interview, Ray Lewis, co-author of “The New Rules of Retail” outlined his perspective on Abercrombie and Fitch’s business model of not offering women’s clothes any larger than size 10. Mr. Lewis’s visibility has shifted the focus to comments Abercrombie’s CEO, Mike Jeffries, has made about the brand over the years. Among Mr. Jeffrie’s philosophies on his company:

“Candidly, we go after the cool kids…A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

“(Sex appeal) is why we hire good looking people in our stores. Because good looking people attract other good-looking people and we want to market to good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”

Because this issue is more than big or small, right or wrong, I’ve issued the following open letter to Mr. Jeffries:

Mr. Jeffries,

I do not expect you to read this, or for this letter to affect your marketing plan. In fact, I’m sure you’re ecstatic that Abercrombie is generating the kind of buzz it is. No such thing as bad press, right? As a businesswoman and entrepreneur, I find your strategy fascinating, and yes, I’ll admit it- even smart: Including everyone does keep the peace, but it doesn’t make a splash- I get it. You want Abercrombie to stand out, to make a difference…right?

On behalf of countless (former and present) fat kids, computer nerds, chess club geeks, braces-wearers, eat-lunch-aloners, and hand-me-down-wearers, let me say: We don’t need Abercrombie, but someday you may need us. Perhaps you haven’t seen the end of this movie yet, but the good guys win. The geeks you’re isolating now don’t stay geeks, and the fat kids get healthy or grow into their bodies. The computer nerds and chess club geeks grow up to be CEOs of companies like yours. The braces wearers grow up to be supermodels. The eat-lunch-aloners grow up to be politicians or movie stars, and the hand-me-down-wearers grow up to be millionaires. As is with everything, Mr. Jeffries, the “cool” that you’re targeting is cyclical. And by isolating today’s “un-cool”, fat, or geeky kids, you miss out on tomorrow’s “cool kid”- the one who never felt welcomed by you or your company when they didn’t fit your mold, and has no intention of supporting it now that they do.

The reality of this situation is this: The world doesn’t need an Abercrombie. Not because we don’t need trendy, over-perfumed jeans, but because we don’t need those jeans at the expense of self-worth and tolerance. Call it what you will- marketing, making a splash, being “exciting”- but a spade is a spade. There are countless stores that do not cater to plus size markets, and that’s fine. It’s not about that. It’s about the understanding that isolating a portion of the population (a large portion. Pun intended) through hateful, divisive speech is unnecessary. Those of us that are over a size 10 already feel subconscious about our size when we walk in or by your stores, and already compare ourselves to the size 0 17-year-old model hanging like a tarp on your walls,  unrealistic as that comparison may be. No one’s shocked, that Abercrombie doesn’t cater to a plus size market (unless you live under a rock). But by coming into the national spotlight to highlight your intolerance for a group of “not-so-cool” and larger-than-size-large people, you are not doing us a disservice. You are serving as a catalyst for outward discrimination and as a breeder and symbol of bigotry. You are doing Abercrombie and Fitch a disservice, and reflecting negatively on everyone that ever has or ever will shop there or work there.

Mr. Jeffries, I admire a man who values his career. But I wonder, if someday you had a child, or a nephew or niece that struggled with their weight, or didn’t fit the Abercrombie mold, what you might say to them when they came to you, upset that they couldn’t shop at the same store as their friends. I wouldn’t expect you to change it for them, no- no parent or mentor or teacher or friend can change the world to accommodate every want or every win for their child, nor should they want to. But could you look at a child that you loved and tell them, “You know, let me tell you: There are cool kids and not-so-cool kids, and you’re just not a cool kid. You’re not thin and beautiful. And you probably should be excluded. Oh, and also- you’ll probably never have thin, beautiful or popular friends. Because thin, beautiful people only like hanging out with thin beautiful people”. Would you say that?

Whether you like it or not, whether you asked for it or not, children (and adults) listen and invest in public figures, companies and brands. You, Mr. Jeffries, and Abercrombie, are two of many entities that we are aware of and invested in through the media, our marketplace and word of mouth. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and also a tremendous privilege- to be a brand that is known throughout the world, raking in money hand over fist, and in a position of success. However, with great privilege comes great responsibility. It is not your responsibility to cater to size 0 through size 28W. It’s not- No matter what anyone says, thinks or wants. But it is your responsibility, as a public figure and public company to promote acceptance, ideally, but respect absolutely- especially because of your target demographic of 14-22 year old girls- OR to say absolutely nothing at all. This is not hard. Literally: If all you can think of to say is bashing one group for the supposed benefit of another, Just. Shut. Up.

Somewhere there is a teenage girl who cannot fit into the Abercrombie and Fitch clothes her girl friends wear. I promise you, she’s already cried about it. She’s already appraised her own self-worth as being little to none. She’s already wondered if she’ll ever be “cool” or grow into herself, or out of her awkwardness. And if she has read your stinging words, you have not come off as “matter-of-fact” or “just being honest”. You’ve pushed her one step further to the edge…maybe even over it. In a world where pre-teens and teens spend more time with their computer than their parents, more time at malls than outside and measure themselves against Abercrombie models rather than role models, your words are as important as anyone’s (mothers, fathers, friends, family)- and potentially even more important because of the position in which you sit. That’s an unfair responsibility, absolutely, but it’s not untrue.

Ultimately, business, people and trends evolve. I do not wish you or your business poorly, and believe you will continue to be an authority in the teen fashion market. But it will not be because of your views; it will be in spite of them. I’m sorry that you are so steeped in superficiality that you believe your customers care about whether or not someone who is a size 16 wearing their same jeans might make them less cool. As a curvy girl who has some hot, cool, popular, kick-ass friends, I think you underestimate your customer…And the only thing worse than being discriminated against, is being underestimated.

Here’s to small business boutiques, clothing companies that make a difference without isolation, and jeans that perfectly hug my round, curvy hips,

Isabeau