Letter from the Editor! | Samantha Elauf, Abercrombie & Fitch Historic Supreme Court Ruling...

Samantha and her mom in front of the Supreme Court, February 25, 2015.   |   (image source)

         NEARLY EXACTLY SEVEN years after Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim young woman, was denied employment at her local abercrombie kids over the lifestyle usage of her hijab, the Supreme Court of the United States of America has made a landmark, historic ruling over case EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., that heralds a new step in progress in the dynamics of American society and will now stand, for Abercrombie & Fitch Co., as the resounding epic closure to paramount controversy and lawsuits, on the basis of discrimination, which has been plaguing the Company for years, in the modern era, until this newfound epoch for the future...

Letter from the Editor! | Abercrombie's Mythic Concept 6...

What were we in for, my Meister Mike...   |   Image, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

         WHAT HISTORY WILL remember as the Great Recession of the early-21st century, it was a globally destabilizing socioeconomic earthquake - the most detrimental since the Great Depression - that shook, cracked and crumbled foundations to the ground - manifesting an effect and aftermath of an environment survival-of-the-fittest reshaping the landscape anew. By the peak of incontrovertible iconic glory by the end of 2007 before the dawn of the Great Recession, Mike Jeffries' Abercrombie & Fitch was an unstoppable, unchallenged behemoth at the zenith of youth fashion retail - one of the leading revolutionary greats in fashion retail - which by then had ended the glorious mid-2000s with a powerful accelerating traction of potential to be realized and with five innovative concepts in its inspired portfolio of brands: the flagship Abercrombie & Fitch brand, abercrombie kids (1998; childrenswear version), Hollister Co. (2000; the Fantasy of Southern California), RUEHL No.925 (2004; upscale Greenwich Village, New York dream for young adults), and Gilly Hicks which was just gearing up for its premier to the world with its founding provocative, sophisticated-yet-cheeky "Down Undie" fantasy initially for women 18 and up. But the Recession changed everything, everything, and a possible Concept 6 just never saw the light of day....

Letter from the Editor! | In Summer Waters, a New Era Steadfast...

Amanda Norgaard, leading female face of marketing for new A&F...
Photography, Guy Aroch for Abercrombie & Fitch   |   @abercrombie Instagram, May 11, 2015

         NOW AS WE embark on newfound summer waters, a collective spirit nestled on a vessel of yet undergoing evolution, well onward we venture forward - the horizon promising through enigmatic in the epic odyssey which we partake. For however volatile the seas may become, and clouds and storms descend, there's is an occurrence of ever-glimpsing shinning sun and skies pure-blue reflecting unwavered hope and know of smiles to remain true. A fresh, strong incoming summerwind now picks up. Can you feel it. To advance our progressions and move us ever steadfast. On newfound summer waters we are, and by the end into new seas of journey fierce - we sail on, now more than ever so - we will begin to see, to feel, to taste, to love, with heart in yearn for a resurge, the fruits of a new paradise and more...

Letter from the Editor! | Für the Love of Fur...

Modeling premium (faux) fur-lined outerwear during the height of mid-2000s 'Casual Luxury',
A&F New Face Caitlin Wilber for A&F Chrismas 2005.   |   Image, Bruce Weber

         IF EVER THERE has been one sole representative of luxury, vanity, and status in the material culture of humans when it comes to wears (excluding jewelry), it has been animal fur. Affirming wealth and power, launching and fueling empires and fortunes, and even having played as a major catalyst in the development of the New World in the Northern Americas, fur has been a historic force in the story of human civilization (but then, so has slavery). In contemporary time, and now in a new millennium, it has become at odds in a collective hyper-globalized society where agents of reason/enlightenment and awareness for natural rights and the greater natural world push evermore strongly against the degradation of all life and the planet by malignant, cancerous human ignorance and greed. The issue with fur, while having been high ethical topic for years hitherto, now finds itself alarmingly frontstage like never before...

Letter from the Editor! | Mike Jeffries Retires, the End of an Era...

Mike, the man.   |   Image, Abercrombie & Fitch

         ONE OF THE greatest memories I will ever hold is that of a father and son one night out at the mall. This was in the fall of 2005 – late-October, or perhaps early November – and I was at the threshold of a personal period which would flourish to strongly transform my entire sense of being, dreaming, and believing. Having turned 14 that summer, a high school freshman I had become, and unbeknownst to be were the profound elements to come into my life of magnitude so great that reworked foundations would manifest with spirited, pioneering zest onto which build upon into adulthood. As we walked on, it coming into sight and passing alongside, my father looked to the left and nodded towards, "Soon, I'll take you there to shop your clothes." A great, elongated white facade, furthermore wrapping around the corner, featured wide clear-glass windows behind which reclined darkly-toned, seductive, sophisticated grayscale photography of young adult men and women and from which entrance, featuring the lead image of Matt Ratliff, pulsed bass-strong music with hints of fragrance – only a passerby's transient glimpse gave insight to an obscured dimly-lit interior which furthermore registered the notion of something so elevated, provocative, exclusive, and bold hitherto yet unexperienced for someone so young. Upon that moment's glance by those 14 year-old's eyes, I had no idea how profoundly Abercrombie & Fitch would become one of those molding elements in my life – let alone be composing this Letter in the future on this very blog as it stands. This was Mike Jeffries' Abercrombie & Fitch.

Letter from the Editor! | Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Sleigh Ride On...

#AVeryMerryAFHaul!   |   Image, C.E.R. for The Sitch on Fitch

         WITH THE SINCEREST hope that it was the same for you, I had the most awesome Thanksgiving and night that I’ve ever had. What made this one particularly perfect was that, for the first time, everything finally, miraculously, thank-god-ingly came together flawlessly – the food/courses, the people at the dinner table – from dinner and on, the night developed beautifully and I couldn’t have asked for one better...specially when annually being in charge of it all!

Letter from the Editor! | Dawn of #NewFuture...

One as a resolute fighter always looks forward for the
dawn of a day better than the yesterday...

         PERSONALLY FOR ME, the turn of a new year heralds an enveloping sense of futurism in the mind that sets in me a forward visionary mood. This only really began back in Winter 2009/10. I was on a high from a draught of emotion that the future was only really about to begin: James Cameron's revolutionary Avatar had me enthralled ushering the future of cinema in the 21st century with breakthrough stereoscopic 3D technology; Karl Lagerfeld showcased his CHANEL Métiers d'Art 2009/10 collection in Shanghai on the last days of the 2000s (only months before China was to surpass Japan as the world's second greatest economy, ever growing its consumer influence worldwide, on way to becoming the world's greatest luxury market, and now wholly accepted to be poised as a rising superpower to alter the modern world for the first time as we know it); Apple was rumored to be gearing up to launch a landmark tablet computer with an engrossing touchscreen interface; Abercrombie & Fitch had arrived in Asia with its towering, elegant Ginza flagship (forever my favorite) in Tokyo; and we were to leave behind the "00" years – to never happen again for another millennia – and enter the 2010s. From the last days of 2009 and on into 2010, the future had fully arrived, indeed...

This time, however, this sense of annual turn-of-the-year futurism takes a more particular significance. Ladies and gentlemen, the middle of the 2010s have begun. And let that sink in for a minute... As of now, you and I find ourselves at the dawn of a new period to set the new future.

This Spring 2014 season will concretely begin as the first of the mid-2010s and of this new period of transition. CEO Michael "Mike" S. Jeffries will continue to lead Abercrombie & Fitch Co. though now under his new-and-revised employment agreement (to come into effect on February 2) which has him susceptible to remain or not past 1 February 2015 and based more so on performance. As his tenure continues, Mike will oversee the execution of game-changing new initiatives anticipated to remedy the ailing situation at the Company across multiple aspects of the corporate organism: marketing and advertising; merchandising; retail operations; leadership and infrastructural clarity; investment returns; and as well as securing more sound international operations and expansion.

What is extremely interesting about all this – specially of note for me as a history buff – is that it is by fate a development of historic recurrence. Exactly one decade ago, Abercrombie & Fitch was in a problematic state that heatedly called for major changes: there was the scandal on the A&F Quarterly Christmas 2003 edition (pulled off shelves before December 2003 even ended) which far crossed the line that time to the public mind and reached levels of discontent unlike ever before; the Company faced alarming accusations of racial and sexist discrimination which gained national primetime TV coverage also in light of a major lawsuit (which A&F would go on to agree to settlement with plaintiffs and give rise to the preeminence of court-mandated corporate diversity programs); sales significantly declined for the Abercrombie & Fitch brand; and ANF stock took a nosedive as 2003 came to a close. Stock began climbing and things took a turn for the better in 2004 as the mid-2000s began and Abercrombie & Fitch took things to a higher level of quality and sophistication: focused on delivering ever-classic marketing; released the high-end Ezra Fitch collection; launched RUEHL No.925; introduced the "Casual Luxury" theme and overall pushed for a near-luxury image; and work was developing for the first ever A&F Flagship in the Modern Era as, internally, plans for international expansion were also flourishing.

As one famed quip goes...



" HISTORY DOES NOT REPEAT ITSELF, BUT IT RHYMES. "


In the early-2010s, the Company experienced a great improvement from the market's woes of the Great Recession which culminated in 2012 with epic global hype. But all that began to wane as 2013 progressed: the media began to prominently report Abercrombie's "cool" factor as shallow, losing relevancy, and in obvious decline; the springtime witnessed the international scandal over Mike Jeffries' words on his preference of people from an interview from the 2000s; by August, ANF stock took a sharply steep dive from which it has yet to recover; quarter after quarter resulted in a drop in sales; much inventory was left over from the third quarter (Q3) and the problem would continue on with winter merchandise in Q4; mass discounts rolled out one after another throughout the winter; and Gilly Hicks stores were announced in December to be closing by the end of Fiscal Year 2013. Recently, the Huffington Post included Abercrombie & Fitch as #9 on its list of "9 Iconic Brands That Could Soon Be Dead" Close friends know that nine has been my number for intriguing reasons for years now, and for A&F to be listed of all numbers at nine was an icy happening.

However, 2014 is here and the mid-2010s have begun. And as in rhyme of the past, profoundly intriguing new initiatives are to begin their play for the #NewFuture. We will be seeing much cool introductions into the merchandising throng – shades and Aber-shoeies among other things, anyone?! – and continued newness in the retail character and further spread of our icon worldwide. Of epic historic highlight, this year will furthermore mark the inauguration of Abercrombie & Fitch on mainland China with further mall-based expansion – a first for A&F internationally! – to closely follow; and allow me to share that A&F operations in China, with an outstanding foundation, do have the potential to become second only to the American market well before the mid-21st century. I do believe so. But apart from all the new key points to make their mark for the betterment of the Company, therein lies in Abercrombie a transcendent-through-time unyielding spirit. And I'll tell you something more: listing A&F on that list was just sorely off. I've delved deep in understanding this Company's soul full well, and of everything I've come to know is that Abercrombie & Fitch – for however many challenges and blows it may take – is resolutely an ultimate fighter and champion!

As for The Sitch on Fitch, I proudly welcome you to our new Spring 2014 season themed "#NEWFUTURE". One year ago, we launched #NEWLOOK Spring 2013 with a rebranding initiative that continued dramatically evolving the blog throughout the year on through Back-to-School 2013 and Christmas 2013. We've come out of that rebranding year embracing the great repositioning of image, content, and overall structure we underwent. Pulling through into the mid-2010s and the beginning of a new period for Abercrombie & Fitch, #THEHOTTESTBLOG now stands stately and exuding a new kind of elegance and sophistication, unlike ever before wrought by our efforts, and relevant to the time in terms of design and attitude. I creatively guide it now into the mid-2010s with a furthermore heightened sense of futurism and pragmatism which is also taking hold among high creative spheres. Significantly, The Sitch on Fitch Co. henceforth now recognizes its efforts as contained by an all encompassing triumvirate of business, culture, and style and it now commands a portfolio of three blogs focusing on delivering more direct content on each of the A&F Family brands. These three blogs are the flagship The Sitch on Fitch blog (tying together all elements of the universe of Abercrombie & Fitch) and two specialty blogs, The Trubble Village Bar (for RUEHL fans) and The Gilly Galzette (for Gilly Hicks fans) which both operate with blurred-lines of fantasy and reality. We will be working on developing and learning with this new portfolio, as time progresses and interaction with readers grows, this first-half of 2014: there are two other concepts still in the pipeline backstage which we won't begin on until the latter-half of 2014 by when we expect to have our current spinoffs fully settled. Thus The Sitch on Fitch commences the mid-2010s on a new level and leaves behind its seminal years in the early-2010s. It is truly an exciting time for this blog and I, back when I first launched it, would have never imagined where it has gone today. It's incredible.

In concluding this landmark Letter on the start of this new period, I deeply thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of The Sitch on Fitch through your visiting and loyal following. As we near four years since the launch, many of you have been following The Sitch on Fitch for 2+ and have been with it through all the incredible transformation it has undergone. And I thank you for your support. I thank you so much. It is because of awesome, devoted A&F fans from around the world like you that The Sitch on Fitch has become as iconic as it has become in our global A&F community. It is already a monumental record of what has happened in our world and a treasure hoard of insight. It informs the current fan and will exist with a great wealth of information for future generations of fans. It is a beautiful legacy in the making, and it is also something beautifully special and wonderful to have unified passionate fans, such as yourself, from around the world, to one spot...#THEHOTTESTBLOG. By your support, it continues ever more and continues striving for the next level always. It exists for YOU. Thank you, sincerely.

My fellows, as always, Stay FIERCE!

C.E.R.
Editor-in-Chief
The Sitch on Fitch

P.S. I leave you off with this tune which I just incessantly replayed through my designing of TSOF for this season and my typing of this Letter...

Follow @TheSitchonFitch

Letter from the Editor! | Peculiar Mr. Christmas 2013...

An insta-classic? The highly admired pic from our new instagram account.
Photo by C.E.R. for The Sitch on Fitch.

         CHRISTMAS 2013 has been the fourth Xmas season at #THEHOTTESTBLOG, though very much quite the different one. Markedly, this has been the first to carry on with no high-profile A&F Flagship store openings festivities – what have always been our signature appeal, what thousands worldwide relish, and the hallmark of our Christmases. Instead, this Christmas 2013 we experienced took a thrilling sleigh ride through new territory...

This season, #THEHOTTESTBLOG experienced an inviting new restructuring, had a neat interaction with the lovely Sage Nicole Humphries (current A&F model), and provided clarity through affecting new developments as time progressed - the shooting at Westfield Garden State Plaza, Gilly Hicks' stores closing, the future of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., fire destruction at A&F Paris, and the game-changing leadership situation at the Company. All-the-while, we interwove new fun with relevant fashion and pop culture trends of the moment, followed Hollister as it crashed its waves of cool ever more around the world, and shouted euphoric glee to finally see the new a&f kids hoarding wall go up in London. Furthermore, in awe we grew as we came to be ever more acquainted with the beauty of A&F Shanghai to open in the spring.

But the icing on the cake was definitely our new special holiday tradition, FIERCEMAS, during which we celebrate the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day with ever hot gifts! Fans definitely had fun in wonder of what the Moose would gift each day (see all gifts), and I already can't wait for when FIERCEMAS will take things to amusing new heights next year!

No epic flagship store openings, indeed, as in prior St. Nick seasons, but we sure had a Christmas to remember!

Now on the day of family, friends, food, and awesome presents, I wish a very joyous yuletide blast to all you awesome readers of the #THEHOTTESTBLOG 'round the world! I leave you off with this, my favorite of festive tunes ever played for Christmas by the A&F Family...




...Stay FIERCE!

Follow @TheSitchonFitch

Letter from the Editor! | The Sitch on Fitch: III Years #Applause...

The Sitch on Fitch three years later, 8.19.2013.

PUT YOUR HANDS UP,

MAKE ‘EM TOUCH!

#APPLAUSE

THE HOTTEST BLOG surpasses the three-year mark on 8.19.2013 resolutely as a premium global brand of unparalleled fanaticism! Ever so as it is within its being and existence, The Sitch on Fitch would not be in progressive continuance without your wonderful support from around the world... Honestly, and just humbly, I want to thank my amazing Contributors & Correspondents as well as every single awesome Abercrombie & Fitch Co. fan (and/or employee) who has stuck with us since their own personal discovery of this shinning gem of Aber-ARTwork! And indeed, I, too, live for the #APPLAUSE...the FIERCE roar of euphoria and excitement for our uniting passion in awe-inspiring performance!

I'm having a FIERCE little private party tonight with my closest pals in #CELEBRATION of TSOF's III YEARS #APPLAUSE. Wish I could fly all of you on over and cram you all in... LOL

I love y'all! Y'all are purely awesome... And, as always, Stay FIERCE! Stay FIERCE for #NowAndForever for what else is to come on down our great way! ;)

C.E.R.
Editor-in-Chief
The Sitch on Fitch


P.S. I have an incredible surprise to share on 8.23.2013 for all you RUEHL No.925 fans... It's absofreakinglutely epic! There's so much art, creativity, and excitement in the air, it's overwhelming! #TEASER

See THE HOTTEST BLOG on its 2012 two-year anniversary (here).

Letter from the Editor! | The Passing of Cory Monteith...

Cory photographed by Jeff Lipsky. Photo edit by TSOF.

I personally want to express my heartbreak over the loss of one of the great young stars of our generation. Cory Monteith, who played the amicable Finn Hudson on one of the most well-received recent series in American television, Glee, passed away over the weekend as most of the world has already gotten ear of. (Read CNN report). He played my favorite character on Glee for his humility, strength, and sense of honor and good. Such are the characteristics which stemmed from the actual man himself and radiated brightly through in character no matter what. And that is what I value in his memory the most: the good man he was. Cory, born in 1982, was a guy well into his young adulthood (31 years old at the time of his passing), though playing in role as a teen growing through the irreverence of life. It was his profound spirited youth and unyielding valor as a human being...as a man...which in turn made Finn, too, not a boy, but a good man in good will.

What struck a second cord of sentimentality, for me, in light of this tragedy, is for this to have happened around the launch of A&F Stars on the Rise. A celebration of young guys and girls in realization of beyond-atmospheric aspirations, this launch felt initially euphoric though now forever to be memorably heartfelt. Among the cast of this beautiful ode to dreams that is A&F Stars on the Rise is actor Jacob Artist, a great talent and part of the Glee family.

For every person personally touched by a remarkable person as Cory Monteith, no words can ever be enough for the loss of a friend, a love, a brother, a son...

I will always appreciate Cory for what he personally stood for me, for the depth I saw in him as in none else, for the certain revelations and virtues he personified so beautifully and resonated in me. Last night, I came across this wonderful comment by one fellow Gleek on Facebook...

HE DIDN’T DIE.

HE TOOK THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN

GOING ANYWHERE.

M I C H E L L E   R . ,   F A C E B O O K   F A N

He's a star on the rise no more...our guy now shines forever bright beyond dream and in the realms of eternal glory.

C.E.R.
Editor-in-Chief
The Sitch on Fitch

Letter from the Editor! | Forward to Time Classics-Past, Forward...

Actor Alexander Ludwig for A&F "Stars on the Rise".

Pillars of a unique essence, the classics of a heritage – one exemplar by a natural character inherent – stand in timeless code in uniform of authenticity and vigor. Champions against the toils of time, their vitality remain unwavering and transcendent virtuous of a spirit aspirational. History can attest to periods were dullness in culture occurs out of veering from the classics. So, too, it attests to reinvigoration in a renaissance, enlightenment, a rise to the stars by resurging cultural shine in return to ageless cues of past-classic...

This Back-to-School / Fall 2013 season, Abercrombie & Fitch progresses forth anew in a return of uplifting classic vivacity! I was beside myself with ethereal joy – something not felt about recent seasons for a very long time, mind you – upon laying eyes on the gorgeous brilliance of this new campaign. Immediately recognizable to my awestruck eyes was the reappearance of some of the many principle components of A&F classics: authentically all-new, naturalist photography; the capturing of raw, physical attractiveness in a duality of model-sensuality and clothing-appeal; the adorable inclusion of our animal friends; and the highlight of rising youth. Providing a flashy new sheen, the classics allure is back... Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

More specific to what is the epitome of iconic classic about a Back-to-School (BTS) season at Abercrombie & Fitch is the theme of aspiring youths and a specific new approach to jeans. What can be considered the cornerstone of such tradition is Back-to-School 2004 – the launch of the Ezra Fitch higher-end clothing line featuring premium denim; a celebration of the young dreamers of the day; and a captivating splash of desire. Furthermore, such a Back-to-School served to revitalize an Abercrombie & Fitch after a decline in freshness. Six years later, the BTS 2010 “Screen Test” theme arrived, after the Great Recession, to rekindle with “the new generation of rising stars with a gleam of hope...” and a focus on jeans for the ultimate look. The years 2011 and 2012 continued on with the now-established 2010s custom of centralizing on jeans, but, although relatively fun, haven’t been on par in heart and cool-charm. More to a general point, after getting into a rut of redundant and wholly unoriginal (and uninspiring) imagery for many recent consecutive fashion seasons (I’ve been feeling there’s a reason why they long stopped posting the pictures on Facebook every new season like they used to, ahem, ahem), a monotony literally settled over, dragging on season by season, like a dull record on replay, totally uncharacteristic of the Abercrombie & Fitch we love. But that seems over now. To me, this all-new “Stars on the Rise” Back-to-School 2013 is the resplendent stimulate of classic A&F back in the spotlight! ...Beyond euphoric I am, indeed!

Meanwhile on The Sitch on Fitch, this Back-to-School 2013 is introducing a quantum leap in cool taking THE HOTTEST BLOG to the next level. Principally, there has been an unprecedented heightening of our visual graphics now modestly beginning to border simulated-3D augmentation for the first time. This has not only exponentially improved the quality of the site, but also created new groundwork on which to progress into the future. On another important note, I am pleased to announce that the globally-popular A&F Family pages by The Sitch on Fitch will finally return! Honestly, I have been bashed with numerous inquiries regarding the availability of the pages since their closing more than six months ago. Things happen, things change, and new ideas bring stuff back onto the drawing boards. This BTS 2013 season you will finally have them back and better than ever before. (See the right-side of the blog for dates). Also, THE HOTTEST BLOG will be expanding into a new social media platform...I won’t say much else until the official announcement soon; it is a new way of expressing our fanaticism and a very exciting new venture.

On a final high note, I would also like to announce the upcoming premier of an all new special edition series on The Sitch on Fitch...’Tales of Vintage!’ Nearly six months in the making, this will be an awesome series of weekly posts highlighting notable vintage pieces of clothing and other goods with their accompanying stories. Incidentally, back in late-May this summer, I received, by a good friend of mine, a now-collectible issue of A&F Magazine from that distinctive Back-to-School 2004. It is wholly incidental out of the fact that nine years later (and nine being my favorite number), the Back-to-School 2013 season resurges A&F with modern cool and elements nodding back to the original BTS 2004 “Rising Stars”...and me receiving this A&F Magazine while prep work for BTS 2013 was being finalized. Funny how fate works out for me all the time. Of course, I will be sharing this incredible collectible piece with you during this season among other things... ‘Tales of Vintage’ begins its FIERCE cool July 18 exclusive on THE HOTTEST BLOG!

Do make sure to check out what else awaits for you at abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks, galore! ...This will definitely make for one beautifully memorable Back-to-School season.


We’re all gifted handsomely in our own unique way: dream in wondrous melodies, pursue your wholehearted ambitions, and never give up on the classics which make you iconic...

BABY, WHEN THEY

LOOK UP AT THE SKY,

WE’LL BE SHOOTING STARS

JUST PASSING BY...

“ N E O N   L I G H T S ” ,   D E M I   L O V A T O

As always, stay FIERCE!


C.E.R.
Editor-in-Chief
The Sitch on Fitch

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR! | BLOOM OF THE #NEWLOOK...

They call it the representative of change. Seen as the embodiment of a novel expression; by design, it inspires the dawn of a new perception. Born out of inspiration with an eye towards the future, it takes form anew on frames and foundations of periods past. They call it the representative of change... They call it the #NewLook...

My fellow readers, it’s been a long time since my last Letter from the Editor, but such absence is no longer within sight of my agenda. To you, I write spirited and enraptured for it is the dawn of Spring 2013 and of a new chapter in The Sitch on Fitch. "Things will never be the same again," we promoted on our Facebook page, and surely they never will be the same henceforth....

As you might have noticed, The Sitch on Fitch has been boldly rebranded in reflection of an exciting new stage in its evolution. In essence, we are no longer all about news, but about style content, as well, which is now being pushed to the forefront of our offerings in equal footing with news. As a new feature, The Sitch on Fitch Playlist has heightened the visitor's experience to an ambiance unparalleled in the blogosphere. Performance-wise, THE HOTTEST BLOG is now belonging to what we can cheekily call "the millionaire blogs club" – blogs generating well more than one million all-time views. The launch of this "rebranding season" has furthermore brought in a new wave of higher-grade graphics and unprecedented visual detail to form new foundations for the future. The Sitch on Fitch is no longer a mere blog, it's a brand...a signature brand of pioneering fanaticism, and this #NewLook is its iconic quintessence.

I furthermore want to share something with you that I refrained from publicly sharing for months: notable members of A&F Home Office read and keep a "close eye" on The Sitch on Fitch. (Honestly, I wanted the right opportunity in time to share this on the blog, and this is now it). I was first contacted, actually, back in April 2012 by a corporate recruiter after the social media team first came across the blog. She approached offering me opportunities with the Company. However, for personal reasons, I was unable to proceed with obtaining possible employment at Home Office. Nevertheless, she told me that if anything she wanted to express the Company's appreciation for The Sitch on Fitch. Readership from the Company and its employees, however, now extends from the Company's upper echelons and on down to the impact members, store models, and Hot Guys. It was very humbling when a store model emailed me, thinking the The Sitch on Fitch to be an experimental Home Office project, upon his first discovery of the site. But The Sitch on Fitch is not by Abercrombie & Fitch. It's a devoted non-profit fan blog... And our pursuit of perfection is only equal to the power of passion.

Impeccable attention to detail and authenticity is what marks The Sitch on Fitch exceptional within the world-spanning A&F Fan community. I literally could not wait for the launch of Spring 2013 because it is the start of something greater on THE HOTTEST BLOG... something greater that transcends this #NewLook which is only the new signature platform. Throughout the season, more all-new features will be introduced along with the return of the reconstructed A&F Family pages on The Sitch on Fitch. So look for that coming up and more!

I leave you off with this incontrovertible statement: The Sitch on Fitch is a recognized global effort redefining the meaning of fanaticism...

Stay FIERCE!

C.E.R., Editor-in-Chief


P.S. The new 'The Sitch on Fitch' logo was inspired by, and pays a homage to, two things from A&F's past. Only a hardcore Abercrombie & Fitch fan will be able to tell me what those two things are. Think you know? Leave your answer as a comment below! Also, if you know the answer or not, leave me feedback on the #NewLook, as well...

Letter from the Editor! | RUEHL No.925: Eight Years Later – A Celebration of the Launch of Refined Cool...

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to introduce to you the first ever 'RUEHL Week' on The Sitch on Fitch! Henceforth, it is that special time of the year in which the ultimate fantasy of being a young adult in New York City – living and romancing and soaking in the fun and finer things in life – takes center stage, based in Greenwich Village heritage. It is when we take a walk down a dream lane, through the Village, filled with refined, casual cool; literary and modern artistic traditions of bohemian heart; swingin’ jazz clubs where the saxophone and bass make love in melody; and where is addressed that smooth bar down the street – you can hear the clinks of drinks, the laughs, and the murmurs of engaging conversation, amid an enthralling dim-light setting, enveloped by the whirls of light smoke – of where a lover awaits for the night in sensual delight... An exciting new initiative on the blog, 'RUEHL Week' rekindles and brings the romance of this iconic brand to the world!

Eight years ago today, Abercrombie & Fitch introduced its RUEHL No.925 concept to the world. And although the lights remained on for only a little more than five years, the world is still dotted with unwavering passion for this unique and timeless work of art. RUEHL never achieved international expansion, yet it commands a modest crew of fans beyond the borders of Americana. And furthermore, there are A&F Family fans of today that never got to experience RUEHL in some form, or another, but yet they still desire to know and understand of it. So very clearly, there its stands: an abstract monument to the allure of the Post-Graduate, New York fantasy.

Taking advantage of our humble worldwide influence in the A&F Fan community, 'RUEHL Week' is poised to respectfully satisfy the reminiscing RUEHL man and woman and keep the concept alive and in awareness of the thousands of minds across the globe. RUEHL is not exactly gone, and it will never be a faded fad...

I hope you enjoy our modest little RUEHL Week 2012 (September 24 –30). Themed Jazzin’ with Nostalgia..., it is a most fitting premier to what will be a tradition for years to come...

Stay FIERCE!


C.E.R., editor-in-chief


P.S. The blue group image beautifully set as the header of The Sitch on Fitch, for RUEHL Week 2012, is my all-time favorite RUEHL photo by Bruce Weber. To my personal reasoning, it embodies and exudes the entire core essence of the RUEHL concept...it is the brand’s ultimate photographic expression. Why so? Because it is the depiction of young adulthood, in a casually formal light, set in an anachronistic setting of modern bohemianism against time, and displaying the array of looks and moods, casual and professional, sophisticated and poised, of the ideal RUEHL persona...

Letter from the Editor! | The Coming of Fall and a Guy's Favorite Piece Clothing for the Season...

I don't know about you, but the "-ember" (September, October, November, and December) months of the year are the best in my opinion. It's the weather, festivities, scenery and style. I always say that there's no fall-winter season like on the great American East Coast. It's just not the same elsewhere in America. On the East Coast it's all about deep American traditions (centuries old for which we were the proud birthplace) and natural autumn beauty, unique to our region, within which the mood is set for the final moments of the year...

Yes! September has FINALLY arrived to kick off the true coming of fall...a change in the wind...a just welcomed change bringing forth wondrous hues of gold, orange, and red all about. If anything more beautiful is to witness the delightful play and dance of fallen autumn leaves in the cool and crisp wind. Ever more beautiful is it to experience as soft sunset begins to fall... And all a guy has to do is stand there enjoying nature in his favorite Abercrombie & Fitch lightweight khaki jacket.

And so that brings me to my favorite piece of clothing for this fall season...there is nothing more classic from Abercrombie & Fitch than the lightweight khaki jacket. I call it rugged, with a classic masculine style, that goes perfectly with whatever the outfit for the season. Whether it be looking Abercrombie bad-ass in style for school, for the night's anticipated American football game (I have to say "American football" as to not to confuse international readers with "soccer football), for time inside the local art gallery, or for a more loose place...the bar down the street!...it's absolutely perfect for whatever and wherever this season!

To be honest with you, I have never worn the jacket! I purchased it – named the "Cascade Lakes jacket" and retailed for US$120 – last winter season and never got to wear it. It has been awaiting, stored away deep within the small closet of mine, for release from the dark, FIERCE-ly perfumed depths. However, it was not the only piece of clothing which befell to this fate. I bought a lot of A&F gear last year – an obscene amount! – that hasn't been worn since their purchase. (To my defense, I haven't purchased much A&F this year). As I mentioned, this guy – me – has, unfortunately, a small closet which always presents the seasonal herculean task of organizing and storing my personal hoard; and it includes not just tees and jackets and jeans and what not, but also shoes, vintage clothing from years past, fragrance, and a 300+ collection of A&F Family shopping bags. It isn't chaos in my closet – only when it's time to organize again! – but I am afraid of something falling on my head whenever I realize that I have to pull something out... I've had cologne bottles hit me over the head before, and some of the bags have cascaded all over me in this one nasty incident from which I came out very angered at my closet! So this autumn season, I will bravely pull out my Cascade Lakes jacket and enjoy the fall in style without having Colden or Jake hitting me over the head again...

On a more endearing note, we will be paying homage to RUEHL No.925 starting this Monday, September 24. Naturally, we celebrate the birth of the refined, sophisticated, and cool post-grad concept by Abercrombie & Fitch...not its fall. Fans still remain fans of the upscale Greenwich Village, New York, lifestyle to this day....many always wondering about a possible return. I was absolutely madly in love with RUEHL – still am! – and I do not mind sharing that if it were still around, RUEHL would be the only brand I'd wear (sorry A&F!). If you're one of those eternal R925 fans, you know who you are! We keep the spirit alive... For all it was, we remember RUEHL...

You got a favorite piece of clothing or accessory for the fall season? You love the "-ember" months, too? Ah, and you know what I also love? Pumpkin pie! :D

Stay FIERCE, my friends!


C.E.R.
Editor-in-Chief

P.S. I've succeed in bringing out my Cascade Lakes jacket unscathed!

Click on images to view larger!

 

 

" A MAN WITH A GOOD COAT UPON HIS BACK

MEETS WITH A BETTER RECEPTION

THAN HE WHO HAS A BAD ONE. "

– the great English author Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)

Letter from the Editor! | The Sitch on Fitch... Two Years of Being THE HOTTEST BLOG!

The Sitch on Fitch on its two year anniversary, 2012.

Two years...24 months...731 days since that Thursday afternoon on August 19, 2010. Has it really been that lonng? It is almost as if it had been only yesterday! The day is clearly remembered...as are typically memorable moments in one's life marking the start of something special...something cool...something amazing. It was the day one unique A&F fan decided to begin blogging to the world in a manner as aspirational and enticing as the fantasy of his FIERCE passion...and since that landmark day, thousands from around the planet have come to explore and enjoy the fruit of his vision...ladies and gentlemen, THE HOTTEST BLOG!

Today an American-based international fan blog, The Sitch on Fitch is no longer the humble, basic little personal thing it was in its early months. No. It is a global triumph of groundbreaking fanaticism, mixed with distinguished elements of quality work and dedication, which has made it a favorite for followers all over the world. The Sitch on Fitch pushes the boundaries of the meaning of fanaticism...

Incredible and monumental growth and evolution has been witnessed since the launch of this fantastic blog...but, really, we're just getting started! The Sitch on Fitch has turned two! Only two years! And what astounding two years they have been. The vision and devotion continues on forth as energized and beautiful as the iconic Abercrombie & Fitch culture!

It's all about expressing love for the A&F Family...it's all for the readers and for future generations of A&F Family fans! Keep on hanging out with The Sitch on Fitch and we'll experience together future cool to come...

Thank you, reader, for enjoying our content and making us the most preeminent site in the global A&F fan community... And a thunderous round of applause for our wonderful contributors and correspondents! We're doing great, guys! Many friendly hugs and high-fives from good ole America to you all!

And as always, stay FIERCE!

Your editor-in-chief, C.E.R.