Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet Stores

　　Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet stores are the coolest thing since sliced bread. Well, okay, they're a lot cooler than bread, so insert your coolest fashion idea or accessory. The outlet stores take everything you love about the brand (the clothes, the selection, the quality) and serve it to you wrapped up in a nice, neat package. With locations all over the country (scratch that - locations all over the *world*), it's easy to get your A&F fix wherever you are. There are over 200 locations in the United States alone.

　　You may be asking yourself how Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet stores can offer such a great brand at "regular store" prices. The answer is simple - the clothes and fashions you find at the outlet stores are a season behind. Yes, that's right, by waiting a few months until they release their new clothing line, you can save big bucks on the brand of clothes you love. You can see why this idea is so popular. People love this brand, but with the economy and trying to stick to a budget, it's hard sometimes to justify spending a little more for quality. Outlet stores let you get the brand for less. Even if it's a few months old, it doesn't matter - you're still going to save money.

　　A&F Outlet Store

　　A&F Outlets

　　Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet stores might be laughed at or mocked by some people who need to have the latest and greatest clothes, but it doesn't make sense not to want to save a little money. Sure, you can still get one or two new A&F items when they first come out so you can keep up with everyone else, but waiting a few months and shopping at an outlet store will allow you to get a lot more clothes for your money. And you know what, when you wear the clothes, no one except your closest friends and family will even know that you saved money by shopping at an outlet store. How many people do you see wearing styles that are years old? That's right, usually a lot.

　　If you're wondering if Abercrombie and Fitch Clothing Outlet stores are for you, here's all you need to think about. If you like to save money while shopping for the brand you know and love, then the outlet stores are going to be for you. If you don't care if your fashions are a few months old when you buy them new, you can save a lot of money by shopping at an outlet store. With coupons shopping online for clothes can be similar to shopping at an outlet, but there's something about going to the store with friends and family to buy clothes that makes the experience worth it.

Abercrombie Wants Off ‘Jersey Shore’

　　Brands have pursued product placement for years, cutting deals to get sodas and sports cars in movies and on television. Some have even insisted on the opposite, having their logos and labels blurred by the camera when associated with the bad guy, for instance.

　　Now Abercrombie & Fitch is doing one better: it has offered to pay the cast members of the trashy-and-proud MTV reality show “Jersey Shore” never to wear its clothes on air. “This association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,” the company said in a news release.

　　Michael S. Jeffries, Abercrombie’s chairman and chief executive, said on Wednesday that the company was “having a lot of fun” with the proposed payoff, which analysts and MTV characterized as a publicity stunt — even if a pretty good one for a slow day in August.

　　Drew Kerr, a public relations consultant in New York, said the move reminded him of Larry Flynt offering famous people millions to pose for Hustler. “It’s offering something publicly that you know is never going to happen, but you do it because it’s just made for the press,” he said.

　　In a news release with the title “Abercrombie & Fitch Proposes a Win-Win Situation,” the company said on Tuesday that it had become concerned after noticing that a cast member, Mike Sorrentino, known as “the Situation,” had taken to wearing its clothes. Mr. Sorrentino’s nickname is a reference to his six-pack abs.

　　It is hard to imagine that Abercrombie’s fans were too distressed — they would probably be more upset if their parents started wearing the clothes. After all, Abercrombie is a mass-market brand that goes after teenagers and is not shy about controversy — when it opened its Paris store earlier this year, it paraded shirtless models along the Champs-élysées before the police shut the show down.

　　Jordan Yospe, a lawyer who handles product-placement deals in movies and television shows, said that if Abercrombie were serious about keeping its clothing off the Situation, it would have pursued legal options rather than offering him money.

　　“They could try to prevent the series from airing their intellectual property without their permission,” said Mr. Yospe, a lawyer at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles. Logos and labels fall under fair-use law, he said, and shows have to get approval from the owner of the intellectual property to use them.

　　That’s why on so many low-end reality shows, brands are often blurred, Mr. Yospe said — the shows either could not or did not try to get approval. Abercrombie “could say, ‘Blur ’em,’ ” if they really wanted to sever the association, Mr. Yospe said.

　　However, in issuing a news release instead, Abercrombie seemed pleased to fan the flames. And MTV played along on Wednesday. “It’s a clever P.R. stunt, and we’d love to work with them on other ways they can leverage ‘Jersey Shore’ to reach the largest youth audience on television,” it said in an e-mail.

　　Mr. Kerr, the public relations consultant, said the episode echoed one last year on the same show, when rumors about product placement surrounded Mr. Sorrentino’s cast mate Nicole Polizzi, known as “Snooki,” a brunette with voluminous hair who likes to wear tiny leopard-print dresses. The contention, never confirmed but given media attention nonetheless, was that luxury handbag companies were supplying Snooki with rival brands’ purses so that theirs would not be associated with her.

　　Abercrombie reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and its executives seemed rather pleased with their Situation situation in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.

　　“Is no one going to ask about the Situation?” Mr. Jeffries, the chief executive, asked after a series of questions about Abercrombie’s finances and strategy.

　　Finally, an analyst did, and Mr. Jeffries explained the background.

　　“Last Friday morning, I was with a group of people here and someone came up and said, ‘Mike, I have terrible, terrible news for you. Last night on “Jersey Shore,” the Situation had A.& F. product on.’ We all said, ‘Oh! That’s terrible! What are we going to do about it?’ And the group kind of came up with the solution: Let’s pay them not to wear our product.”

　　John D. Morris, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, said the move was a smart one because it left an optimistic tone to Abercrombie’s conference call.

　　“This puts the name Abercrombie top of mind during the all-important back-to-school season,” he said. He added that while Abercrombie’s quarterly results beat forecasts, executives’ caution about the rest of the year seemed worrisome. “Our take was, if they were so concerned about the current state of business, would they be bringing up something as grave as the Situation?” Mr. Morris said.

Earlier this month, jaws in the high fashion world dropped

　　Earlier this month, jaws in the high fashion world dropped. The Row, the ready-to-wear line from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, announced the release of its first line of handbags. It wasn't the pictorial reveal of said bags or even a rerun of Two of a Kind that caused the collective gasps and screams of horror. Rather, five little numbers set the blogosphere and Twitter on fire: 39000.

　　39000, also known as $39,000, is the price for a black crocodile backpack from the twins who, in a past life, performed ditties like "B-U-T-T Out" and "Gimme Pizza" on straight-to-VHS classics. They've matured, folks! Some Fashion News

　　Still, if I'm going to spend $39,000 on a handbag, it better come equipped with a real life Olsen twin ready to spout cheesy one liners ("You got it, dude!") at a moment's notice.

　　

　　Image courtesy of Marie Claire

　　So, what's the point? Are the Olsen twins simply trying to make a statement, declaring that they have, in fact, grown up and are as sophisticated as other high end bag designers? Are these sisters showing us that you really can't appreciate the art of their craftsmanship without possessing 39K? Are they trying to prove that the quality of their products is truly on par with the great leather goods houses?

　　If the Olsens are indeed testing the collective body of American fashion, I would say that I have failed miserably. No matter how gorgeous a handbag (and let's face it, The Row's backpack is pretty lame save for its glossy croc skin), I can't justify spending the equivalent of a year's worth of Ivy League tuition or the full cash payment for a really nice Lexus on a bag.

　　I'll admit, I would gladly drop $10,000 (donations accepted!) on an Hermès Birkin, a mythic purse that has withstood the tests of time and trends to remain one of the most coveted and superior designs to ever exist, but $39,000 on a brand new bag from a brand new accessories collection?