HOW ANF OPERATES AT HARVARD
FYI
The game begins the moment the doors open. Trendy music pulsates as the players emerge, clad in matching jerseys, all number 52. It's a low-down, dirty fight to conquer fashion in the world of Abercrombie and Fitch. Clothing is just the beginning. Body, face, popularity -- these are the contenders.
Abercrombie & Fitch -- the store and "the look" that accompanies it -- has not only invaded Harvard square, but teen-consciousness everywhere. With glossy catalogue photos featuring chiseled male bodies doubling as wall decorations for crazed college girls, it's easy to become a player. But few benchwarmers realize that the rules are more rigid than they might seem at first. And the game much more superficial.
The Players
"The key is not only to be good looking but have lots of energy and be cool." This description from Randy J. Gomes '02 should come as no surprise to the typical Abercrombie patron. Let's face it, the workers at Abercrombie are hot. This is because the brand name aspires to hire a unique brand of worker: one who sells their clothes with their classically preppy good looks. "They don't hire just based on looks, but do tell us to give applications to pretty people," Gomes admits. Scot D. Hopps '01, was one such pretty person recruited by the Abercrombie squad. This tall, blonde varsity baseball player was solicited while walking through the store one afternoon. "I was shopping and they asked me if I wanted a job," Hopps recalls, "I filled out an application and they gave me this job right there on the spot. It was pretty sweet." However, the recruitment strategy sometimes sours for Abercrombie. Sarah E. Lewis, a striking black junior, wondered why a store with almost all white models was propositioning a minority to sell their clothes. "They said I had the Abercrombie look," Lewis, who turned down the offer, says. The Abercrombie team is willing to expand their playing field, going to all lengths in their endless pursuit for "the look." "They told me they'd pay me if I wandered around the square asking pretty girls if they wanted to work with me in Abercrombie," Hopps says. "They even went so far to ask me to bring in my teammates. I didn't do it though. I would have felt sleazy." The Chicago branch of the Abercrombie conglomerate doesn't share Hopps's inhibitions. A manager there went so far as to pluck a student right out of his dorm room.
"A sophomore brought some managers to the hall and they were looking at our pictures on the door," says Scott Jones, a sophomore at Northwestern University. "They knocked on the door and asked me if I wanted to work there." But the fierce competition is not confined to mere appearances. The coolness factor also plays a role in the hiring process. Gomes, who worked at the Abercrombie store for more than a year, watched as the store's target group changed with its surging popularity. As the store became more mainstream, Gomes was told to look for potential employees involved in the Greek fraternity and sorority system. Others have recounted being questioned on their underage drinking habits during the application process. But Abercrombie takes points off for sainthood. "They asked what I did for fun," says Lindsay K. Hall '01. "They wanted to hear that I drank and went out. They said they were looking for someone they would hang out with, or want to."
The Uniform
Once on the team, the Abercrombie players have to aspire to a certain look outlined in a 15 page, five-by-five pamphlet, known as the "Look Book." Before workers sign on, they usually peruse the book, agreeing to conform to its appearance standards, ranging from length of shorts to types of jewelry.
"Girls had to have shorts above a certain length," Gomes remembers. "If you didn't come in with a certain pair of sandals from J.Crew, they'd force you to go home. When I left, they were implementing the New Balance rule, forcing us to buy expensive silver tennis shoes. Just the other day, I went into the Harvard square store and I saw all the guys wearing the same shoes and thought, 'I hate this place.'"
Hopps, who worked at the Harvard store for three months this fall after his intense recruitment, managed to dodge the rigid shoe requirement. "They told me I had to shave my facial hair, which is okay, because I am not really attached to things growing on my face -- but then they wanted me to wear these stupid new balance shoes," he says, "And I am not buying shoes just to stand around that store."
Apparently, a pretty face is not the only requirement for standing around the store -- and shoes are only the beginning. According to Hall, fashion has to complement beauty. "One time I got in trouble for wearing clothes that were on sale in the store," she said. She also recalls her superiors describing the key to the Abercrombie "look." "They said, you know everyone here is attractive -- we do this on purpose." For this conglomerate, selling clothes is not about the quality of the fabric; it is simply about the of the people who wear them.
The Game
But the game is just as intense as the training. At the Fanueil Hall store, employees are strategically placed throughout the throngs of shoppers and carbon-copy outfits. The store even has a special position, "Greeter," who stands outlined by a silver box at the entrance.
"They told me to stand in a silver square and they gave me a lacrosse stick," Gomes recollects. "It rocked. I was getting paid eight bucks an hour to stand there and look popular. On one of the hottest days of the summer, they asked two girls to put on bikini tops and stand in the square. They were supposed to look like they were having fun." But not all employees were blessed with Gomes's fortune, or his good looks. Gomes recalls that they sometimes hired "scrubby girls," who often had trouble getting scheduled during peak shifts.
"A lot of the scheduling has to do with how you look," Gomes says. "They didn't put unpretty people on during peak times. The scrubby girls had to clean all the time. The greeters didn't even have to refold, just stay within the metal square."
On the other hand, employees like Hopps were in control of their game. "I could just tell them when I wanted to work," He remembers. "'Whatever you want is fine,' they'd tell me."
The Coaches
The masterminds behind the scheme have a lot to with how the game plays out. Each store will inevitably differ from the next. Although Abercrombie has a home base located in Columbus, Ohio, each manager has a different game plan. Jones, who forged a friendship with the manager of his Chicago branch, gained an inside perspective on her unique approach.
"My manager, a 23-year-old woman, would say that she'd only hire people she'd consider sleeping with," Jones says. "'Fuckable or not fuckable,' she'd say. And it was an unspoken rule with her that girls were at or below a size six."
Although the managers take some liberty in their interpretations, they can never escape from the Abercrombie home base. In the end, the president of the company maintains ultimate control. When Abercrombie President Michael Jeffries visited the Fanuiel Hall chain, employees primped their store and their look for three days in advance. On the day of the visit, some girls were sent home right away for donning the wrong sandals. Penalty.
Only days after mothers across the country had united in protest to the racy new Abercrombie catalogue, the head coach pushed the team forward. Gomes recalls the president's visit: "The president, who epitomized the hip, old man look, said to us, 'At Abercrombie & Fitch, we don't apologize. We do what we want.'"
Copyright 2000 The Harvard Crimson, Inc.
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