abercrappy and bitch

great title, huh? i actually first saw it on a t-shirt that a friend had in college during the abercrombie craze back in 1998-99. it was making fun of the over-priced, self-advertised, ratty-looking t-shirts that were everywhere. i, myself, never had the moola in college to buy the $65 low-slung pants or the teeny-tiny t-shirts that looked as if they were about to fall apart...but i do remember that you had to pay 4 whole dollas to get a hold of their catalog with half-naked women (wait, these were girls!) dossing about in suggestive sexual positions. the store was (and still is) worse. my sister and i actually liked abercrombie before they increased their price points and became all tween-y. back in the day, they had really nice, classic, quality sweaters and clothes that didn't make you look like your chest was about to pop out.

soo...the abercrombie thing has came and gone.....or not! here in europe, there is ridiculous cult-following of the brand. the strangest thing is that they dont have any stores here in central europe...yet. from what i heard, they just opened a couple in the UK last year (and i only know this because hollister was one of our clients at my job from hell)...but you see the t-shirts and sweaters EVERYWHERE! some of my french stagiaires (interns) are craaaaazy about it (and have never visited the U.S. before) and apparently, the huge flagship store on 5th Ave in NYC is chock-full of abercrombie-loving europeans stocking up and filling their suitcases. i remember sitting next to a sweet 70-year old french dude on the plane in january and sure enough, he was donning a navy blue rugby top with "ABERCROMBIE" across his chest. one of the managers at work sports a rather less-obvious (but clearly very abercrombie) top on fridays. and its apparently the "in" thing to wear at clubs. who knew??!!!

this is definitely one of those rare times that something so american is so coveted in europe. its usually the other way around (examples...petit bateau tees, longchamp bags...etc. etc.)..in my opinion at least. at least the company should be happy that someone is wearing their clothes religiously. maybe we should stock up the next time we are back and sell it at the open-air markets here...it could work! :) this is a good gift idea for any young europeans!