Forget you, Abercrombie

I am going on a trip tomorrow and needed some new jeans.  I happened to be at one of the local shopping malls and this morning for something else, so I decided to check a few of the stores there.  Because I have unusually long legs (apparently), it is usually very difficult for me to find pants in a store, but every now and then I feel compelled to take some punishment.

So, after stopping at the Gap and getting the frowny-faced “No, we don’t carry 36-inch inseam in the store”, I headed to Abercrombie & Fitch.  I know I am decidedly not in their demographic, but I like some of their jeans.  I was looking over the selection when a spritely young associate came over to help me out.  My wife, who generally hates shopping with me anyway, asked him if they might have any 36” inseam jeans.  His response was, word for word:

“No, our customers are typically a lot younger, so they don’t have long legs.”  Now, my legs have not changed length since I was 17, and I know lots of “younger” people that are tall like me.

Hrm.  If I did not know better, I would think that youngster was calling me too old to shop there.  That I am older than Abercrombie’s target market was obvious to me before I set foot in the store.  I needed something today, so I decided to venture into the cologne-filled Mordor anyway.

I also know they probably don’t care at all about the thinly veiled insult.  There will be 100 teens walking in there today with their parents credit cards, ready to overspend.  However, just think if the guy had taken just a bit more time, maybe let me try on a pair of jeans to see if they fit.  Even if it doesn’t work out, I leave feeling OK about having walked into their store.  I don’t forbid both of my kids, both of whom are decidedly younger and shorter than I, to ever spend a dime in any A&F store.

Instead, I get a blatant insult and I write about it here.  And, my kids won’t shop there.  Period.

In the words of Cee Lo, “Forget you.”