Former Abercrombie & Fitch Employees Revealed Secrets And Stories From Working There, And WHEW, Are They Toxic
Recently, we asked the former Abercrombie & Fitch employees of the BuzzFeed Community what it was like working at the heavily perfumed store back in the early 2000s. Here are some of the most eye-opening submissions we received...
DISCLAIMER: Obviously we can't 100% confirm all of these stories, but these people are supposedly speaking from their own experiences as alleged former employees.
This article also mentions eating disorders.
1."I worked as a 'model' — what they called their sales associates — folding clothes at the front of the store and it was my job to greet people who walked in. The only greeting I was allowed to use was 'Hey, how’s it goin'?' because I guess it seemed more 'cool and laid back' or whatever. I literally got yelled at by my manager once for going off-script and saying, 'Hey, welcome to Abercrombie' instead."
2."People would hook up with each other while working. Stock rooms, on the floor hidden from the cameras, etc. It was a cesspool for people who were told they were good-looking to mingle with each other while making minimum wage. 😂"
3."No one was supposed to use the words 'attractive' or 'good-looking' to describe the ideal Abercrombie look (even though that’s clearly what they were going for). Instead, managers would say, 'We want our employees to have a nice 'natural look.'"
4."Men had to wear their jeans one waist size bigger so you could see their underwear line and the logo. Our shirts also had to be one size smaller so it was tight in the chest/arms so you could see our muscles. Oh, and we had to wear our belts extra long to hang in front like a penis."
5."There was someone assigned during every shift to spritz each individual piece of clothing with the latest cologne once EVERY. 30. MINUTES."
6."We had a poster in the back with pictures of what was acceptable to wear. One time, I wore the wrong flip-flops and was told to go home or work the register and stay behind the counter barefoot."
7."During orientation, we were told to not interact with customers. Our jobs were to 'fold shirts and look good in the clothes.'"
8."Managers had to give the people they 'scouted' a password to be able to access the online application so that only people who were personally invited could apply for a job."
9."It was always freezing cold, so I would walk in and put on one of the sweatshirts from the shelves and wear it throughout my entire shift and then put it back after. It wasn't worth spending the money!"
10."I remember a girl once came up to me and asked if we were hiring. We were, but somehow a manager overheard and told me in the headset to tell her that we weren’t. The manager said she didn’t have 'the look.'"
11."I cut my hair into a short afro, and the next day when I came into work with it, my manager immediately told me to go home because my hair no longer fit the approved styles in the company look book. They showed me the approved styles — all of which I obviously couldn't replicate with a one-inch curly afro. It was very clear that when my hair was chemically straightened it was approved, but that when I allowed my hair to grow naturally, it became a problem. As a young Black woman, it definitely hurt to think my natural look wasn’t 'acceptable.' They essentially refused to schedule me until I made my hair look white again, so I just never showed up again."
12."I’m naturally blonde and showed up to work with the 'natural makeup' they required. However, I had black mascara on. I was then told by my manager: 'You have blonde hair, so you would never have naturally black eyelashes. Go to the bathroom and pick your mascara off.' Needless to say, I didn’t stay at the job very long after that."
13."We were only allowed to wear white, gray, and navy, and at Christmastime, it was a luxury to wear red plaid."
14."We could never wear sale items on the floor and most of my income was constantly spent on buying new clothes."
15."The guys had to be clean shaven. If you came in with any facial hair, there was a rusty old razor in the restroom you could use to shave with, otherwise you wouldn't be allowed to work."
16."I had braces and I was told I had to work in the stockroom."
17."You weren't allowed to have more than one ear piercing and could only wear nude nail polish."
18."They were very specific about how to wear the clothes as well, like what buttons to use, how to roll up sleeves, how to tie shirts, etc. They even had a book with photo instructions and new clothes they wanted to promote — they were especially cheap so we would wear them."
19."I helped open a Hollister — Abercrombie's sister company — and my job was literally to sit in a chair at the entrance and read a magazine and flirt with a male floor model."
20."We weren't allowed to wear jewelry that wasn't a wedding band, and I wore the same necklace from my boyfriend every day. One day I forgot to take it off when I first showed up for my shift and the regional manager was in. He turned round, saw my necklace, and straight up YANKED it off my neck. 🙃"
21."Our store literally had perfume misters built into the ceiling that were set to go off on a timer. Every time I had to fold clothes near them, I'd walk away feeling nauseous and dizzy."
22."On slow days, they would send some of us into the mall to recruit new employees — we would bring a bunch of applications back to our manager with pictures of the people who filled them out. The manager would go through the applications with the picture and circle 'A' for good-looking, or 'F' for not good-looking. At the end of the week, they would go through the applications and throw away all the 'F' ones."
23."For 'legal reasons,' you couldn’t wear black. Very dark blue that appears black, but no black."
24."There were also literal diagrams of where to spray the cologne. Like 6 inches above the hem of pants, 8 inches to the inside of a rug."
25."My friend worked there and couldn’t wear ponytails or buns. She had to wash her hair in the sink once to put it down."
26."You'd get 50% off your first purchase (to allow you to buy the clothes you were going to work in) and then 30% off all other purchases. I recall a number of employees getting hired, buying a crazy amount of gift cards (and getting 30% off) and then quitting. The turnover was wild."
27."As a 19-year-old with a serious eating disorder, I was hired to work in the summertime. I had extensive retail knowledge, and was very tan, tall, and thin. When I called to see if I could work during Christmas break from college that year, it was an enthusiastic yes. I showed up to my first shift, but I guess I had gained too much weight during the semester and was told I could only work stock in the back room. My parents immediately told me I was no longer allowed to work there."
28."A friend of mine got hired at A&F simply because he knew the manager. He didn't really fit 'the look,' so he was scheduled at times when nobody higher up would find out or be visiting."
29."I worked at Hollister and apparently people gossiped that I wore too much makeup at my interview. It was pretty clear because another employee said to me 'Oh, you’re the girl who wore too much makeup to her interview!' So that was nice."
30."I made $6.25/hour at the time, had to buy the required clothing ($$$), and had to work until 1 a.m. some nights to finish all the back-stock."
31."We had all night inventories that would eventually devolve into some of the staff hooking up on the floor furniture. I seriously hope none of you sat on the couches by the fitting rooms."
32."My mom called me mid-shift saying there had been an emergency and could I please come home. We had to put my cat down. My manager told me if I left, I would be fired."
33."We were also told to be more attentive with attractive customers because if they wore the clothes, everyone else would want to as well."
34.And lastly: "At one point my store did a 'store holiday photo shoot' that explicitly involved only models and management. I was laughed at when I asked if there would be one with stockers."
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
