Abercrombie and Fitch Introduces Black Clothing

Abercrombie and Fitch, clothing retail equivalent of the popular kids who wouldn't speak to you in middle school, is doing away with their no-black policy, presumably to appeal to the Janis Ians among us. In fact, they've introduced a line of black clothing, including a James Dean-esque leather jacket, as part of a re-branding technique aimed at making A&F seem less exclusive.

Although most of us consider black to be pretty neutral, Abercrombie and Fitch (the Regina George of mall stores), publicly admitted in 2013 that the color was banned from their stores for being too "formal."

Abercrombie & Fitch does not sell black clothing and discourages wearing it at our home office and in our stores, because we are a casual lifestyle brand and feel black clothing is formal. We have nothing against black clothing and feel it is perfectly appropriate for things like tuxedos

Personally, I think the reason the company formerly eschewed black has something to do with the fact that Abercrombie and Fitch wears pink on Wednesdays and only weirdos and goths that deserve to be shoved in their lockers would dare sport black at the lunch table.

Now the brand has done a bit of a turnaround by introducing a selection of black (and some black and white) wares. Aside from the tough-lite motorcycle jacket mentioned above (complete with quilted sleeves and "edgy" zippers), the the new offerings are pretty much par for the course, like Bizarro World versions of A&F's typical styles. There's a pair of black denim short-shorts, a scallop-trimmed skater dress, an Iggy Azalea-worthy tank with the word "Fancy" printed across the chest, and zipper-bedecked leggings. Picture lots of A&F signatures darkened up for a moodier (and trendier) feel.

I don't think the alterna-kids will be running to Abercrombie to scoop up these wares (they have Hot Topic for that), but the relaxing of the no-black policy proves the company is at least somewhat committed to softening their unfriendly image. If it gets cheerleading captains across America to step away from the pink North Face sweatshirts, at least that's something.

Images: meangirlgifs/Tumblr, Abercrombie and Fitch