Abercrombie & Fitch Selling Padded Bikini Tops for Tweens

by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts)
Mar 28th 2011 1:00PM

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True

You're taking your 10-year-old daughter to the beach. Sunscreen? Check. Beach blanket? Check. Pail and shovel for building sandcastles? Check. Fake boobies?

Whaaat?

Want to get a head start on puberty? The folks at Abercrombie & Fitch can help. The New York Daily News reports they're offering padded bikini tops for prepubescent girls.

Your kid could be flatter than Fargo, N.D., but she'll be keeping up the Kardashians with the company's latest line of swimwear. Not everyone likes the idea.

"You should be ashamed!" one critic posts on the company's website, the Daily News reports. "Remove the suits from the stores!"

"Shame on you for sexualizing small children," another commenter writes. "In a world where parents work hard to keep their children safe, you go and make little girls look like they have breasts? Perverts."

Abercrombie & Fitch also offers unpadded bikini tops for girls who don't want to work their way through fourth grade at Hooters. However, this is not the first time the company has drawn fire for tarting up tweens. In 2002, the company offered thongs to the My Little Pony crowd.

Executives at Abercrombie & Fitch, who aren't talking to the media, should perhaps take a clue from Primark, a British clothing retailer that tried to sell padded bikini tops to little girls last year.

The London Daily Telegraph reports the firm dropped the line after members of Parliament, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, pitched walleyed fits over the concept.

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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 12)

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3-28-2011 @ 2:24PM

silverwolf sweetheart said...

abercrombie and fitch is always creating things that make girls look slutty like the thin see through tops that even if they dont get wet you can see your bra i've never shopped at ambercrombie 1 their store gives me headaches and 2 i dont want to look like a slutand this bathing suit needs to be putin the teen section at least not sold to 7 year olds

3-28-2011 @ 2:32PM

DJ Do said...

I am curious. Does A & F have a pedaphile buyer. Who is responsible for bring this to the public? So much comes to the forefront of my brain -- being chased through a department store by a pedaphile when I was 9 years old, for one. But the objectification of our children. Once a child becomes an object, IT can be used, exploited, and thrown away like yesterdays trash :(

3-28-2011 @ 2:33PM

Cashman said...

Since liberals gave up on morality for the sake of their endless quest to scratch every itch without delay, this is no surprise. I surprised they are not fully behind teaching young girls that the fastest way to happiness is to be a slut. It's the democrat way.

3-28-2011 @ 4:52PM

Erika said...

I guarantee you that the wealthy executive who OK'd this garment is Republican. My guess is that he likes to keep a good face in public, i.e ( good job, church, wife and family). However, in his private life he is probably one sick bastard.

3-28-2011 @ 5:47PM

mixnmatch said...

Pedo's are loving this!

3-28-2011 @ 9:23PM

Ashley said...

im a 17 year old girl and yes this is not a very good situation but abercrombie is ment for teenagers around my age not 7 year old im sorry but this is the parents fault for even letting the kids buy the bathing suit

3-28-2011 @ 2:40PM

ADZ said...

I think some parents get into rants over nothing. It's the wrong reaction to a stupid idea. It's like those commercials for wigs for bald babies or slimming body suits for fat babies. We should just laugh at fashion creators like we laugh at other fashion ideas.

3-28-2011 @ 2:37PM

Barbara said...

What some people won't do to make a buck! I can remember years ago when A&F was a decent, respectable and classy men's store, primarily. I bought quite a few items of clothing there for my husband. Now they've become pathetic and despicable and exploitative too. Shame, shame, shame!

Bridget said...

Women are morons? Hmmm, maybe we just don't like being objectified or having our daughters objectified. I don't see how people boycotting a store as a result of something like this is a good marketing strategy.

Also - generalizing a whole gender as morons? I wonder how you treat women in general. You must be a joy to be around.

3-28-2011 @ 2:47PM

tghc said...

Justice (For Girls) clothing store for girls has padded bras for the little girls. I just looked at it and laughed and said, "ah, no, you don't need a padded bra". My daughter said, 'but mom, you know I fall down a lot". Had to laugh out loud. Didn't think too much else about it. Ambercrombi and Fitch have always been nuts. Never shop there.

mcinnisja said...

"Horrifying"? Exaggerating the vulgarity of something is as ineffective as ignoring it.

3-28-2011 @ 2:49PM

Frank Wunder said...

And yet how many parents will buy their kids condoms when they are teenagers so that they can have safe sex and yet we are horrified that a clothing store does such a thing. But in a few years it won't matter because teenagers need to make their life choices...

Should be their outrage, yes. I'm glad there is. There should also be outrage at parents who think their kids should have safe sex as teenagers as to learn about choices and sow wild oats. What happened teaching morality and ethics...or is that old fashioned.

Abercrombie is simply selling us our own moral depravity. Maybe it will wisen up some moms and dads to be strong moral leaders rather than nice, cool parents.

3-28-2011 @ 2:52PM

Ray said...

Padded women's bikini for tweens. This concern of it being perverted is a bunch of c-r-a-p! If I had a daugher in that age group and she wanted that padded bikini, I would buy it for her. If you don't like it, that's tough!
Let the free market decide about its appeal. If the bikini doesn't sell, it would be dropped as a product line.

3-28-2011 @ 3:07PM

Briga said...

Ray, please let us know how soon we can be watching your daughter on the local strippers pole. Thanks.

3-28-2011 @ 5:08PM

Very Concerned said...

There are things called morals and common sense. What was said in this post doesn't qualify for either. It sounds to me like you're in favor of influences corrupting children in our culture as long as it turns a good profit, eh!!!

3-28-2011 @ 5:37PM

kyle said...

so briga what your saying is that every girl whose parent buys them a pushup bra will have a stripper for a daughter

3-28-2011 @ 9:53PM

doreen said...

Ray do you live down south? You should not be anywhere near your daughter and I hope your wife sees this. Nasty.

3-28-2011 @ 2:58PM

Margaret Nichols said...

This bikini top is disgusting, just what we need more for our girls to worry about. What is wrong with this store? I would love to know if the c.e.o.'s 7 year old would be wearing one of these tops. They should get together with S.C. Johnson's "The Family Company", they could probably exchange some sick ideas together. mrn

3-28-2011 @ 2:57PM

Leila said...

Why would any company even consider selling something like this? It has to be about money. Do they care they are sending a very destructive message to young girls? They really should be ashamed.

Marve said...

What's wrong with this? Some parents need to "get with it"! the times have changed. get over it!

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