“Yeah, you should really do this this week. It's a timelystory,” our photo editor says, all smirking 'cause we're a weekly and I'm a monthly. And yeah, Abercrombie N Fitch is in hot water right now over its latest T-shirt series, printed with timeless screeds like “Blondes Are Adored/Brunettes Are Ignored,” “Do I Make You Look Fat?” and “Who Needs Brains When You Have These?”
But this was really a timely story three years ago, in April 2002, which was when A&F got busted the first time, then backed down and gave up on T-shirts promoting such absolutely non-racist institutions as the Chinese laundry, with fake logos and deathless slogans like “Two Wongs Can Make It White.”
It's still a timely story; it's just really sad at the same time. Sad that A&F keeps making lame, suck-ass tees with messages as old as those license-plate frames reading “Teachers Do It With Class.” Only, you know, sexist. Sad because by writing this, I'm giving A&F press—and all press is good press. Sad because young women have organized a boycott—a girlcott, actually. Seriously—when perhaps the best thing to do would be to ignore A&F. (Or not.)
The only good news is that, just as it did last time, A&F has caved and is pulling the T-shirts. Finally. And I can stop writing about them. Again.
