no clothes make the man?

It's amazing to me that one of the world's largest clothing retailers is capable of selling their product with advertisements that contain zero clothing.

I suppose a lot of people have their own personal rants about Abercrombie & Fitch - whether it's about discrimination towards employees, racist messages printed on their clothing, or demeaning females (especially young ones) and probably males. This one by me isn't to jump on the bandwagon by any means. From the moment the store came to exist in my hometown when I was in high school until this very day, I have not once set foot inside the store, nor do I intend to ever. Originally my choice was because friends of mine were asked to leave the store when they entered and weren't wearing the "right" clothes (...wouldn't that be why you go into a store that sells clothing...to buy the clothing they think is best since they're selling it...?), but a lot has changed since then, so the justification list is now quite long. I know lots of people who have been happily employed by the store, many who gladly purchase their clothing, and even a couple who have modeled for them - obviously somebody likes the company, because last year Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (which, in case you weren't aware, consists of the stores/brands Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, Hollister, and RUEHL - click at your own risk) reported $2.785 billion in net sales. It's a good business, I have to give them credit for that. They're doing what they need to do to get people to spend their money on their products. However, I utterly dislike the way in which they do so.

Sex sells. That should not come as any surprise. I am reminded of this every time I go to church, because on the expressway on the way to church (ironically), I am stared down by an Abercrombie guy. I think A&F has some sort of claim on this one particular building, because for as long as I've driven that way in Pittsburgh (three years), there's been some sort of A&F ad on the billboard affixed to the building's west face. The amazing thing is that in none of these ads - there have been three separate ones - have the models (who are all males) adorned any clothing on their upper body, and the lower body is depicted on only about one-sixteenth of the billboard, if at all. In one there was also a football.

It makes one wonder...what is A&F attempting to sell? I certainly don't sit up in the car and say, "Hey, I ought to go buy a guy I know a shirt, because I don't want him to be like this poor dude on the billboard who is too poor to buy a shirt!" I don't feel motivated to go check out the A&F jeans selection, in case that's what I'm supposed to be awed by in the photographs. Surely, if A&F is attempting to show off their clothing, they are doing a terrible job.

But that's just it - I really don't think that's what they're trying to sell. I don't know anyone who works for Abercrombie & Fitch Co., but I do know someone who works at a similar clothing store, which targets basically the same audience. He is a buyer for the men's clothing, and he tells me that it's not the clothing that is the focus of the product development. Instead, there's an image of a person the company wants to create their product for - this made up guy (who has a name, actually...sort of scary) who has a particular personality and certain types of goals and specific likes and dislikes. And thus, in the development of the product, the buyers and marketers are actually creating an image they are hoping consumers will buy into.

Is that wrong? Not my place to judge, but I know that for me personally I'd rather have my image be based on something or Someone a bit more...reliable and loving than that.

And besides that, I don't highly appreciate being duped into buying something because it's what a stranger strategically convinces me I should buy in order to be who I'm supposed to be. They can't fool me, but it's infuriating to me that the target audience of these advertisers isn't so much me but instead malleable teenagers who are seeking to decipher who they are and what they believe and why their existence matters.

currently on the billboard, although with less of the legs

So, what do I conclude as I turn off of the Boulevard of the Allies and onto the Veteran's Bridge with three bare chests (no heads...interesting) bearing down on me? I guess all I can figure is that clothes don't make the man, because these men sure don't have any on, and I can still tell exactly what type of men they are. (That sounds really judgmental - sorry.)