The minute Abercrombie & Fitch opened in the Eaton Centre here in Toronto everything about it has irked me. Why it's necessary to carry around a shopping bag with a half naked man on it, or be asphyxiated by cheap perfume that is just as strong on the corridor outside as it is inside the store to buy jeans I will never understand. Not only that, but the perfumed air is rank with discrimination. From the sizes that you need to be a size 2 to wear, to the obvious requirement that you have to look like a model that has just come from a day at the beach to work there, the demographic is drastically reduced to the "beautiful people". But, now they've really done it!
My friend told me about this case the other day and ever since I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. First because it is absolutely horrifying, but also because I've experienced similar situations:
When trying on clothes in stores, which despite my shopaholic tendencies, I don't do very often because stores never make it very easy, it is much, much easier for me if the store has a wheelchair accessible change room. More and more stores have them these days, but because customers who use wheelchairs are of the minority, stores often use the "extra" space of the accessible change room to store boxes and merchandise. I've managed to get salespersons to clear out change rooms in some situations, which is a waste of both of our time and a bit of an embarrassing spectacle, but the odd time I'm completely turned away with the excuse that the space is being used as a stock room.
One situation in particular comes to mind. I was in a store that refused to let me use their accessible change room because there was some boxes in it. When I discovered however that despite the boxes being there, there was still plenty of room for me to go in and try on my potential purchases. I closed the door and proceeded to undress. A salesperson promptly noticed and proceeded to stand outside the door and hound me, insisting that I come out immediately because I couldn't be in there with the merchandise.
First of all I wasn't about to come out until I'd gotten dressed, and second of all, the merchandise was in tightly sealed boxes, which I would've needed a box cutter to open and probably would've had to have made quite a production to steal.
It's all just ridiculous! People with disabilities have money just like everybody else and if stores would just follow the most basic human rights practices, maybe they'd spend it in that store! Needless to say for more reasons than one, I'm thrilled that Abercrombie got what they deserved.
