abercrombie & fitch shirts - why the hate?

I know they are a "mall brand" yadda yadda yadda ...

I got a couple of their buttondown shirts on sale - their button down shirts are very slim fitting, and are made pretty well for $40 (on sale). The buttons are thick and shanked, the armholes are high, the sleeves are slim and the body length is fine for wearing tucked or untucked.

They have quite a few plaid patterns this year and pretty good looking flannels this fall. I just don't get the hate for A&F here. I hate their logo'd shirt and would never buy them, but the button down shirts are pretty good imo.

Has anyone tried A&F shirts recently?

OMFG finally i am vindicated. i have been touting the cheapness/goodness of AnF compared to the midtier brands favored on SF since i got on this board, and finally someone else realizes the value they are. everything is great in terms of fabric and construction, i dont like the logo in most cases, so basically everything nonlogo'd from ANF/Ruehl is pretty good. also the sales are deeeeeep... think like $20 bucks for a button up in late jan

fit is verryy slim, by "muscle fit" it means it can help people with a bit of muscle look much more muscular than they actually are, but for the skinny dudes on SF you will still look skinny

^ I think SW&D just succumbs to groupthink just like what happens at MC.

I'm sure some of the stuff is great but i'll be damned if i'm going to walk into an A&F store. Places are awful.

The sleeves are disproportionately long, most of the shirts have canvas labels stitched at the hem or the moose embroidery on the breast, and they have silly flourishes that needlessly jack up the price such as contrast-colored neck taping and huge ass canvas labels on the interior which are visible from the back of the shirt.

But my biggest gripe w/ them are the super long sleeves.

I've actually bought two of their flannels and two of their plaids this fall, and have to say, they're doing those particular shirts quite well. They're well constructed and the cotton is soft and thick. Some of the colorways are horrid, yet some are awesome IMO. Of course, I'd never buy anything with the moose logo, and I also removed the tag on the bottom of the hem.

On a side note, their customer service is ******* horrible, beyond belief. I've had girls go to look for a shirt for me out back, only to stop and chat with their friends for ten minutes, then see me and say "oops...I forgot!". Another time, I returned a shirt and the guy started to process the return, then proceeded to go into a texting frenzy on his Blackberry and then just wander off. It's an adventure going in there.

I'm gonna have to hop on this boat...


I have lanky arms so the sleeves wouldn't be an issue

Originally Posted by aaaeeeiiiooouuu

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The sleeves are disproportionately long, most of the shirts have canvas labels stitched at the hem or the moose embroidery on the breast, and they have silly flourishes that needlessly jack up the price such as contrast-colored neck taping and huge ass canvas labels on the interior which are visible from the back of the shirt.

But my biggest gripe w/ them are the super long sleeves.
I agree, but they're strictly "roll up" sleeve type shirts for me.

I walked into A&F last time I was in the mall, I noticed button downs/flannels looked ok but were $70+. I didn't find the sale section because the perfume was giving me a headache and I had to dart out of there quick. If there store wasn't pitch black and obnoxious smelling I would try it again, but as is I won't be back.

I've seen people get rid of the logos.

I've actually always have found the SA's there to be nice and helpful.

You know, I actually wore my friend's A&F l/s shirt as part of my Halloween costume and was impressed that it didn't fit me as poorly as I had imagined.

However the image that A&F projects is something I do not wish to be associated with. The trashy house music and cologne that hits your senses just by walking in the vicinity of the store to me is repulsive. A lot of the time I see douchey looking guys in there with the typical polo shirt, cargos and flip-flops ensemble. A&F attracts these type of people and they're more than happy to cater to them by selling them the things they expect to find there. I personally feel I am better than that (yeah, I said it) and don't believe A&F offers the things I want, nor would I be comfortable shopping in their store if they did.

Originally Posted by Stylin-1

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On a side note, their customer service is ******* horrible, beyond belief. I've had girls go to look for a shirt for me out back, only to stop and chat with their friends for ten minutes, then see me and say "oops...I forgot!". Another time, I returned a shirt and the guy started to process the return, then proceeded to go into a texting frenzy on his Blackberry and then just wander off. It's an adventure going in there.
They're probably high school kids working for minimum wage, you can't expect too much..

I agree that the store is awful, but the plaid/flannels this fall have been very good.

But honestly, since when are judging merchandise by the quality of the sales associates? Most of them there are kids anyway ... the website has much better deals most of the time. I won't buy anything at full price, but when the sale hits, the shirts are good value.

If you tell me these shirts are bad, I don't know what to say:





The sleeves are a bit long, but not by much. Since I wear these shirts rolled up it is not an issue anyway.

Originally Posted by blynch

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I walked into A&F last time I was in the mall, I noticed button downs/flannels looked ok but were $70+. I didn't find the sale section because the perfume was giving me a headache and I had to dart out of there quick. If there store wasn't pitch black and obnoxious smelling I would try it again, but as is I won't be back.
I just wear a gauze mask and a miner's flashlight on my head. If anyone asks, the mask is to fend off H1N1.

Originally Posted by Biscotti

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I've actually always have found the SA's there to be nice and helpful.
Most of the girls are hot too.