The Difference Between Free People and Abercrombie

abercrombie and free people
” thrift shops do it really well because everything is very unique and I consider myself to have a unique style”

We spent some time at Dolores Park in San Francisco talking about brands. We got a lot of different opinions and insights. 

Name: Ilene

Age: 16

Works for: Student

Lives in: San Francisco (Marin County)

Last thing watched / read / listened to / seen: Either Kill Bill or Fight Club

How was it?

Fight club was just kind of like, mind blowing!

Major News Source: 

Instagram

Brands on the Street:

  1. Old Navy
  2. Nike
  3. H&M
  4. Buffalo Exchange

Why these brands?

I choose the brands because they are affordable.

Nike is a good investment because they last a long time. So it is very practical.

In terms of finding things that speak to me, finding my own style, thrift shops do it really well because everything is very unique and I consider myself to have a unique style. I don’t want to look like everyone else.

Another brand I really like is Unif, though I don’t have any of their clothes. I have seen them online, and stuff.

Are you aware of any “shared value” imparted by these brands, or other brands that you know of?

Free People claims that they donate money. I do not buy from them because I cannot afford it, but I do like their stuff. I like their style.

Are there any brands that you know of that have a particularly negative impact on society?

Yeah, Abercrombie [and Fitch] is like, known to discriminate against certain body types and is just like, focused on the way that people look and only hire people that look a certain way and I don’t think that is nice.

A lot of girls used to wear Abercrombie, it was a very mainstream brand and I like to stay away from mainstream brands. But after I heard that, I don’t want to support a company that acts that way.

Editor’s note: Often times we fact check our interviews, however our interviews are not meant to be understood as fact–they are the opinions of the people that we meet. Often times, opinion can be as impactful as fact, especially for brands. In the case of Abercrombie and Fitch, while we are not sure what their policies are today, we do know that they have been reported to have had some discriminatory practices in the past.

 

More about our interviews