"Ho-ho-ho" - Bruce Weber | Photo: Richard Guaty

Photos: Homotography, Male Model Scene, Bellazon

Photo: Richard Guaty

Michelle Madonna, in a cotton vintage floral print button up (True Religion), stone washed denim shorts  (LF), and brown suede sandals (Sam Edelman).

Yours truly from FashionIndie,  in oversized sunglasses (Gucci), vintage wash tank top (True Religion), white denim cut offs (Abercrombie).

Renee from Denim Therapy balances our her cuffed denim shorts (Banana Republic) with a cotton print button up (True Religion) and a pop of bold orange lipstick (NARS Heat Wave).

- And this is a sure fire sign that you’re company is on the brink of disaster. American Apparel‘s resident sex criminal/CEO, Dov Charney, bought six million shares of his own company in an attempt to inject a little more cash into the much-beleaguered retail giant. Shouldn’t he be using that money for his inevitable legal fees? [WWD]

- Abercrombie and Fitch — you know that company that apparently sells clothes with models who don’t wear any — felt a little pressure after releasing their push-up bikini top for girls as young as 7 years old from like…everyone and have thus taken the only logical step: removing the word “push-up” from the description, of course! It’s good to know with American Apparel on shaky ground, we can always depend on Abercrombie & Fitch to maintain fashion’s moral integrity. [The Globe and Mail]

Sadly, this will NOT send a message to counterfeiters.

Known for rodeos and corn conversations at the local Wal-Mart, Abilene isn’t exactly a fashion capital of the world.

Three stores were responsible for trademark infringement on brands including Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Polo and Tommy Hilfiger, among others.

This is a start in the counterfeiting fight. But next time, the Feds need to focus on a more fashion savvy locale.

The only ones intimidated by this shake down were a handful of sleepy cattle.

[Link Love: WWD]

William Lounsbury/Senior Staff Photographer For a source of urban aperal check out the newly relocated New York Fashion.

The New York Post reports that the financially troubled brand recently fired a model off their shoot when he was caught eating a croissant. 30 male and female were recently hired for a Montauk based shot with famed photog Bruce Weber. The girls were apparently paid $2500 and dudes $1500 for a weeklong shoot that included 13-hour work days. In addition they were given $13-a-day meal stipends which doesn’t buy much eating in the Hamptons.

The Post reports that the job was so strict that Belgian model Florian Van Bael got kicked off for eating a croissant. Considering that Abercrombie is already in the shitter for racist hiring practices and bed bugs, I can’t imagine encouraging eating disorders is a smart move for the brand that just seems to continue to alienate shoppers.  What’s next, sweatshop labor?

It’s hard to believe but this is Lane Carlson. It’s been over 10 years an he’s back to modeling, this time for a soccer apparel. His hair is longer and he’s got a mustache, but it’s the same old Lane. Wonder what his brothers been up to?

Good to know Lane’s not afraid to take it off an go black and white in homage to his days with Bruce Weber.

He tries to hide the meat, but we already know what the butcher’s salami looks like….

About as "ethnically diverse" as Abercrombie wants to get

I guess you can add Muslim to the “Not Welcome Here” members on Abercrombie‘s no hire list. The retailer has recently been sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for refusing to hire a woman because of her Muslim headscarf.

This is the second time the retailers been sued for this exact reason. The first time was in June 2008 when a Muslim teenager was told her hijab violated Abercrombie’s “You Don’t Look Like Me, So I Hate You Policy” “Look Policy”.

WWD Reports:

In the lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that during an interview with an 18-year-old woman who applied for a job stocking merchandise in a California abercrombie kids store, the store manager asked the applicant if she was Muslim and was required to wear a head scarf. The woman was wearing a head scarf during the interview, according to the EEOC. The complaint alleged that the manager wrote “not Abercrombie look” on the woman’s application. The alleged incident took place at a store in the Great Mall in Milpitas, Calif.

Let’s also mention the fact that in February 2010, a 19-year-old was fired from Hollister (also owned by Abercrombie) for wearing a headscarf to work, even though it was in compliance with the store’s “Look Policy” which required her to wear “either a white, navy or gray-colored scarf.”

Also, keep in mind that Abercrombie has already paid $40 million to black, Hispanic and Asian employees in a discrimination case which claimed the company promoted white boys and girls at the expense of minorities.

Abercrombie has claimed that they make every possible effort to provide equal employment opportunities to people regardless of race or religion, but their track record on this matter doesn’t look like it’s going to help them much this time and considering they plan on closing 60 stores in the US to focus on expanding internationally, it might be time for them to reconsider their hiring strategy and begin embracing a little ethnicity…

What are your thoughts on this Abercrombie mess? Do you think the store is racist or should they have the right to choose whoever they want to hire?

Big surprise. One black dude and one black/spanish woman. Good job proving you’re not completely devoid of racial equality!!!

Check out 100 photos from past issues of A&F Quarterly

Leave it to Bruce Weber to make a chair look sexy. The photographer who is most famous for his Abercrombie work took some time to shoot the 2010 campaign for Dedon, a German outdoor furniture brand which can be seen at nearly every 5 Star Hotel in NYC. We’ve got the “happy” photos after the jump.

Abercrombie is feeling a pinch in their perfectly toned abs.

They just suffered a $26.7 MILLION DOLLAR LOSS.

The Solution: Lower prices.

Now even the underprivileged can look like douchebags.

LINK LOVE: wwd.com

Don’t you just love male models, especially when they are photographed Abercrombie style….

LINKAGE: Fashionisto

GALLERY: Siwy Denim: Spring 2009 Collection

Check Out Siwy Denim here! 

Thanks for the heads up, Fashion Copious!

Naturally distressed Converse sneakers are almost as sentimental as great grandma’s baked macaroni recipe passed down through several generations. The thing I love about seeing someone sporting a nice beat up pair of these kicks are the stories behind them…the tragic bleach spill at the laundromat, the pit bull who mistook the chucks for a steak, the mud pit at Lollapalooza. The stories are endlessly entertaining. So, why one earth would you buy Chucks that already have tears, stains and battered laces? Not only are you sacrificing the story behind the timeless sneaker, you resemble the loser who actually coughed up money for torn Abercrombie jeans! I despise this instant gratification era we live in and Converse is just feeding the flame by pre-beating their shoes. Really people, have some patience, take your time with a natural distressing process…Chucks aren’t going out of style anytime soon.

Thanks Arquivo Urbano!