Many of the great preppy stores are no longer recognizable, and the number of people who knew them in their original incarnation are shrinking. If you did shop at the original Abercrombie & Fitch during its pre-mall golden era, do you have any memories of what made it great?
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I haven’t been to A&F for years. Are you telling me I can no longer get a fly fishing rod or a whisky flask
ReplyDeleteIt would be fun to go inside and ask....
DeleteI remember the old A&F. You could get a fly rod and reel, or a shotgun. If you wanted, they would even completely outfit an African safari for you, from guns to pith helmets, tents to boots, every last tittle and tot. Times change. Many merchants don't survive the changes. A&F is one that has. Good for them.
ReplyDeleteThe current “Abercrombie & Fitch” has no connection whatsoever with the original New York City establishment. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes, we know.
DeleteMy aunt bought me my very first down vest from Abercrombie & Fitch sometime in the 70s and I loved that vest to death.
ReplyDeleteMy first Irish fisherman's sweater came from there in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteI have a vague 1950s memory of going into the Madison Avenue store with my grandfather to purchase one of their English (?) croquet sets. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/abercrombie-fitch-when-was-it-founded-know-is-its-history-and-journey/articleshow/104146670.cms?from=mdr
ReplyDeleteA copy of John Henry Patterson's book, The Man-eaters of Tsavo, a true and gripping account of a pair of marauding man-eating lions that terrorized the Tsavo region of Kenya in the 1890s.
ReplyDeleteThose lions are now stuffed and on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. At least they still were when I saw them there a decade ago.
DeleteSome of my fondest memories, are my parents taking me to A & F, in the 1960's, and it truly was a most magical place! I still use, and treasure all the items I have from them. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI was still a child when the A&F in San Francisco closed, but my parents used to shop there. A variety of purchases were made over the years, mostly clothing, but also a croquet set and gifts. I was also familiar with the smaller A&F at the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs. I was in the NYC store once; my dad bought a sweater my brother now wears.
ReplyDeleteBroadmoor
DeleteThe question has launched my nostalgia big time....As a high school student in the 1960s in the middle of January doldrums my parents took me out of school to enjoy the infamous New York Boat Show at the NY Coliseum at Columbus Circle. There we encountered such luminaries as Henry Hinckley, George O'Day and the managers of Wayfarer Marine in Camden. But the show didn't open until 1PM. Nevertheless we boarded an early train from New Haven Station and once in NYC frequently spent the morning at Abercrombie and Fitch. There over the years my parents bought handsome Scottish wool car blankets with their own waterproof cases, a leather picnic case with two thermoses and sandwich containers, sports coats for my Dad, Shetland sweaters and matching skirts for me and for my Mom one year a stunning Scottish wool suit in a lovely shade of greenish-blue with skirt, jacket and matching car coat. Then it was off to have lunch with my great aunt, the boat show, dinner at some cute French bistro and back to Grand Central for the nine o'clock train. We were lucky to be home by midnight, but it was off to the school bus at seven the next morning with a note from my parents explaining my previous day's truancy. My Dad tried to frame our day in New York City as an "educational experience." I always agreed with him...of course!
ReplyDeleteSounds absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteI friend has shot gun that is from A&F. Not sure of year of purchase Very nice engraving. A&F imported Francotte of Belgium, my guess is prewar model.
ReplyDeleteAbercrombie & Fitch was a magical store. I loved the safari department. They had the most interesting and unique items. It was like a museum. My father would always buy a special Christmas present for us from there every year.
ReplyDeleteIt was FAO Schwartz for adults, just as NYC is adult Disneyland.
DeleteAF made very good OCBD shirts.during the 80s I would purchase their shirts while in college at their Cambridge MA store Cambridge Mall by MIT. I took a few with me to the trading floors of NYC and they held up exceptionally well for years. Well made shirts indeed!
ReplyDeleteFond memories of the A&F in San Francisco during the 60's.
ReplyDeleteWhen AF opened a store in the Stamford, CT mall back in the late 70's I purchased all of my OCBD's from then as well as my ties; bypassing the upstairs Brooks Brothers even though I had a BB account. AF offered a better value and I still wear the Norman Hilton tweed sport jacket purchased in the NYC store.
ReplyDeleteLate to the discussion. But, back in the 1960s, my Dad took me to A&F in order to buy a "slurp gun" for one of his larger clients. This client collected rare saltwater fish and a slurp gun was used to capture them for display in aquariums. Of course A&F had such a device, but for me, I was amazed that there really was a store that outfitted the big game hunters and adventurers I saw in the movies.
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