Sex Sells for Abercrombie and Fitch

jesse.verner — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:03:00 GMT

So for how long, I wonder, will I enjoy a first shopping trip to Abercrombie and Fitch. I had never heard of it until I saw the ads on the buses recently - and I am wondering; is this going to be a ‘one night stand’ type of shopping experience or a more long lasting relationship?

But seriously please tell me I am not the only person who has noticed the gorgeous man with ‘that bum’ photo on nearly every bus in London?

And they say sex sells…well whoever ‘they’ are quite right. The new Abercrombie and Fitch
store opens on Saville Row on the 22^nd of March and the sizzling UK website was launched recently too. How marvelous – and having been visually tantalized by the ads - I was straight in to shop, online that is.

From my initial creative glance the website is clean, fresh, simple, minimal, easy to use and navigate. There are images of beautiful people everywhere (in a 90’s-Chris-Isaak-Wicked-Game-music-video sort of way) and the whole experience is rather enjoyable... so far!

What I like:
The landing pages and video really do set the scene, its all sweet and American - dripping with Dawson’s creek. It’s white picket fences, apple pie and smooth salty tanned skin in summer and I get all of this from a nice photo and a small piece of video. Maybe I am just imaginative...

The photography is gorgeous and sexy - black and white images of beautiful people that remind me of 90's Calvin Klein ads. The product imagery is brilliantly shot and really crisp, however I prefer seeing it on a mannequin, at least, so I get a more realistic idea of what its really going to look like on. And those hot pants I have added to my basket are rather quickly removed when I start to realize this... I was nearly duped!!!!

I love the product details page its oh-so-clean....and when I add product to my basket I san see it happen visually (with a small delay). Nice touch.

The x-selling is done well - with a subtle 'complete the look'...which I am a total sucker for. What is nice about the A&F clothing is that practically everything goes with everything else. And its GAP with the edge - something GAP try to do but fail - we all know they really should stick to the 'basics'.

The Shopping bag and Checkout is again - clean and simple. I feel comfortable and at ease looking at screens that so many e-commerce sites overcomplicate and scare away customers. And again there is nice imagery used... its getting a little syrupy..

What I don't like
On the category pages e.g. TANKS/TEES - I am seriously not sure about the horizontal scrolling. For some reason I always feel nervous about going right off a screen....I feel I won't be able to get back for some reason. Topshop did this before they re-designed, same thing.

I leave and come back to the website a few hours later but the site forgot what I had added to my bag. Poor show - I expected it to remember what I had already spent time selecting..?

The 'KIDS' section - goes to a separate website that I thought would be for children - but alas no... Its off to the American site - and quite frankly I am a little dubious about the same photography used for this website, it does feel a little distasteful. The 'girls' sections video has a slightly 'Lolita-esque' feel about it. I half expect Humbert Hubert to be the one watching from far away....yuck!

Even though I am signed in - I have to re-type ALL my details which is very boring...

Lack of sizes. The site pretty much only has size small left in everything.

Did I actually buy anything?
Well not yet - but I have returned a few times so there is hope. I feel its all a bit overpriced and I stick to what I know best like the SALE section in www.net-a-porter.com. And in truth A&F its all a bit young...plus summer is SO not here yet...

So I will wait till it gets a bit hotter...and who knows A&F might have the potential to be a summer romance!

My Second Life Experience

jesse.verner — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 18:04:00 GMT

‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages’.
William Shakespeare

'2ND LIFE’ is a curious yet obvious name for a virtual social networking arena. This is not a game. This is a virtual world in which you can inhabit and exist. You can choose who you are, who you want to portray, what you look like, and what you do. In essence ‘2^nd LIFE’ enables you to live out an entirely separate life in another world – virtually.

When discussed by the BBC on breakfast news the other morning, the thing which aroused my curiosity was the discussion about a woman who was a housewife. On Saturday nights she had organized a live gig which she performed from the comfort of her own home. Not only that, her avatar (a 3D humanoid persona) looked like Carmen Electra and nothing like the woman she is in reality. So I asked myself what fascinated me more, the thought of doing anything I wanted in a virtual world unconstrained by conventions or the possibility of being a 6 foot tall Heidi Klum look-a-like – virtually?

Now I realise that Japan have been way ahead of us for years in the world of virtual reality and that this is not a new concept. However, from a social networking perspective ‘2^nd LIFE’ is light years ahead of the competition. Only last year I joined Myspace and the transition from a dull HTML page to a 3D world that I can fly in is dramatic.

Either way I was hooked by the idea. I began by downloading the software this weekend, which was easy to use and quicker than I anticipated. It all happened in minutes. But what I found really difficult was choosing a name; who am I going to be, if not me? I was only offered a short list of surnames which I found really difficult to choose from; was I suddenly going to have brothers, sisters in this new world I would find myself in?

I started today by setting up an account. Much like other applications, once I had downloaded all the necessary software, I had to ‘agree’ to the usual T&C’s. What I found interesting are the community guidelines set down as the ‘Big Six’ (Intolerance, Harassment, Assault, Disclosure, Indecency, Disturbing the Peace). These act as the society rules of engagement - standards by which to conduct yourself and live out your 2^nd Life.

The first thing I wanted to do when entering the 2^nd Life World was to do something about my avatar. I proceeded to spend a full hour deciding what I would look like, from choosing my ethnicity, what my body shape would be, how I would dress….the entire lot. I could determine everything, from the size of my nostrils to what size heel I would like on my black pumps. I could change the fabric of my shirt or the texture of my hair. Fabulous! Trinny and Susannah would have been proud.

Now I have never been a huge gaming fan but for me 2^nd life’s look and feel does seem similar to an old version of Tomb Raider. The movement is similar with the ability of adjusting arrows and walking around but the difference is not having the intrepid fear of turning a corner and finding someone firing a gun. It does not take long to get the hang of things. I could fly, zoom in and out, teleport to another places, use the search to find events. I can IM people around me listen in on others conversations or just hang out. It's really just alot of fun and quite addictive.

There are huge commercial implications too. With 2^nd life’s own currency and ways of enabling you to buy and sell it seems there is great potential and the possibilities are endless.

All in all the experience was fascinating and I am definately hooked, but I wonder how happy my husband will be with my spending copious amounts of time on the computer. But that said maybe I could find a virtual husband while I am there?

he he he

Jessica Beere's Blog

Sex Sells for Abercrombie and Fitch

My Second Life Experience