Do You Have This In a 2X?

As I made my way through my nightly social networking sites, I came across an uproar that seemed to disturb the spirits of many of my networking friends. As mad as I thought everyone should be at Foxy Brown for trying to discredit Jay-Z and even having the audacity to utter that Beyoncé had halitosis [uuugh... I'm getting upset] !!! The attention was turned to an interview that was conducted back in 2006 where some CEO of a major clothing label issued statements about not making his clothes for fat people. Adhering, investigating, and conducting an interview myself with a dear friend & writer himself, I thought to give my take on the issue.

Let me start by saying that I do believe that everything is not for everyone. Some of us can deal with this, yet some of us cannot. Everybody has seen someone in clothing rather unflattering that they should not have walked out of the house in. Like I tell my friends though, don't blame them, blame the group of friends with them. Forget freedom expression, forget freedom of speech, forget all of that; it was just wrong.

So I came across this picture with a quote from Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO, Michael Jeffries, in response to him refusing to make clothes for women of a larger frame. As stated,

"We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong in our clothes, and can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

Exclusionary. I could have told you that. As a man who hasn't been "skinny" since high school, I have always said that stores like Abercrombie & Hollister were not made for the African American male physique. Now, am I trying to make this a race thing? No. But I strongly believe that our Caucasian counterparts fit better into these clothings from the aforementioned stores. This isn't a bad thing, I'm just calling it like I see it.

Now, was this statement "politically correct"? No. Was it something that should have been said in an interview? No. Do I disagree with the statement? No. I actually agree with it. Every successful business has a target market [Business 101]. They make clothes that cater to the people they desire to fashion them. I, myself, am working on a brand of t-shirts [plug] and know my target audience of who I think would look good in my clothing line, but that's for a later article. You have to set your limits, know your client, and market to the appropriate clients/purchasers. This idea would coincide greatly with the fact that A&F has been successful because of its set strategies. Not conforming to the masses and trying to please everyone.

Every store is not going to offer plus sizes. I have broad shoulders, big arms, and thighs... for days. I don't remember the last time I purchased a shirt without it having at least 1 X behind that L. Maybe we should rethink this and stop trying to make fat happen. Find what works for you, and go with it. Or do like I used to do in college; buy something smaller, and lose the weight until you can fit it. Look at it as more of a challenge/goal for yourself. Thank me later.

Although Jeffries refuses to make clothes in bigger sizes to fit the masses [no pun], it still hasn't stopped some of you from trying to fit into them. It's okay... we have all fell victim to this. Now leave the man alone and go to Old Navy or Gap.