Abercrombie & Fitch Selling Padded Bikini Tops for Tweens
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.
Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!











ReaderComments (Page 4 of 12)
3-28-2011 @ 3:03PM
Jerry said...Anything for a buck,anything.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:05PM
pearl said...This is just wrong in so many ways and for so many reasons. We have to worry enough about preditors watching and grabbing our children. Why give them a more incentive to want to.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:24PM
klarissa said...I SO AGREE!
3-28-2011 @ 3:06PM
J said...SICK!
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:08PM
sondbr said...Some companies and people will do ANYTHING to get publicity even if it's very negative. It draws attention to an individual or company and people are always curious, so will check it out. If they don't buy the awful product maybe they'll buy something else. A&F is a company that should definitely be boycotted. If my kids were young I would not allow them to buy anything there. When I think back to what a wonderful store A&F used to be with beautiful outdoor wear such as lovely sweaters. They are nothing but trash crap these days.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:11PM
Blonde Ambition said...How sad that A & F still have to use shock tactics & other "fun" things to get millions of overgrown kids to pay attention to them. Can't they find other ways to not find things to be "boring"?
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:12PM
mander said...If you don't like it DON'T BUY IT. There is nothing wrong with telling your child NO. So what if they get dissapointed THATS LIFE. Parents need to start taking responsiblity for their children instead of companys or the government telling parents what their child can and cannot eat, wear, say, go etc. Growup and be parents!
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:24PM
Klarissa said...I agree it all comes back to the parents! Be the solution not the problem! Set the standards, then these type of products would not be able to make a buck and companies will get the point that we dont want our children to be exposed as whores and dont want to give any pervert the opportunity to have a disgusting,horrid thoughts about our BABIES
3-28-2011 @ 3:24PM
Klarissa said...This is just wrong!!! I understand the if you dont like it dont buy it but what message is this sending to our precious babies? Its ok to be a whore? We wonder why kids now a days are becoming more sexually active and babies having babies. At the age 7 they are still innocent and that's the way it should be. I agree with lining on the inside, but making it padded to give the look of a big bust is not right. Children should be able to have their childhood and not pressured into growing up so fast. This would only spark some child's curiosity and from then on its make up at earlier ages its hard now with all the Hanna Montana and Brittney spears "role moles" to not influence our children and that is where it is the parents responsibility to teach their children whats appropriate and whats not. As for my my children they are not to watch Miley or i Carly she is only 6 she needs to be molded to educational things or up building material as she gets old she will be able to understand more of that age groups content but as for now its my job to let her know what is acceptable or not. Now to each their own but ill be damned if i let my child not experience a childhood of innocents as long as i have that control and right.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:17PM
jake said...ok ok ok seriously people upset with these types of things are being a little too overboard now everyone is entitled to their own opinions but if you dont want your child to wear this item fine and if you want your child to wear this item fine but thats all the control you have people selling will always have people to buy weather or not you like it is too bad nothing will change this but for all the gripers out there your child will be exposed to this in one way or another it is life get on the train with everyone else and deal with it or leave America if it is your home. I hear Afghanistan has one heck of a fashion you may be interested in.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:12PM
ktboom said...I can not believe that any mother or father would allow their daughter to wear on of these! They would have to have a few screws loose to even consider it!
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:15PM
Ralph Pearce said...Now that there has been all thus furore on TV and in the press many more people now know about this garment. Hypocracy
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:18PM
jake said...get over it your a freaking immagrant maby irish english italian polish russian miss any
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:17PM
CM said...I'm not saying any of this is "Okay" but I do want to point out that adults buy from this store, for themselves as well. I know because I worked there. The prices are cheaper than the "adult" store and some people are just obscenely tiny, they fit kids store clothing better. (I was wearing it at 18-20 years old as well)
Still! I'm not saying it's okay because clearly the market is targeted to little girls age 7-14. But it's just something interesting I remembered from working there.
Reply
3-29-2011 @ 6:30AM
Tyler said...What kind of horrible world are our children being born into? This is a shame in today's age.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:26PM
Beni said...I do not understand why everyone is getting so upset. Why do you think this company is a multi-million dollar business? Because you, the shopper buys their stuff. Your kids like the stomach showing, the boobs showing and cracks or thongs showing. Why wouldn't you think they would come up with push up suit tops? There are nude movies on in the middle of the day and young girls on tv acting like grown ups. Parents aren't watching who their kids text to, who they are online with and they certainly aren't going to be with them when they sneak and buy this top with grandmas birthday money and then hide it.
Abercrombie is selling what sells. People are buying what is out there. No one uses the word "No" any more. Many of you created this mess, now live with it.
Reply
3-28-2011 @ 3:34PM
colossus12290 said...agreed you are a scholar and a gentleman
3-28-2011 @ 4:03PM
SIMPLY ME said...BENI ITS SUPPLY AND DEMAND. NO MATTER HOW BAD GOOD OR IMMORAL YOU ARE SO RIGTH ON. WE PEOPLE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMYS AND BAD EXAMPLES FOR THE CHILDREN.
3-28-2011 @ 4:38PM
Addison DeWitt said...Right on, dude! I especially like the part about "you created this mess, now live with it!"
3-28-2011 @ 3:29PM
ziaaaaaaaaa said...Abercrombie & Fitch just lost my business. Hit them where it hurts....in their wallet and write a letter to their CEO! Complaining about it on here doesn't cut it, I highly doubt it that anyone at Abercrombie's headquarters is spending their time reading these comments.
Reply