(November 1, 2005) — Waking up one particular Tuesday after my usual first period nap, my eyes were greeted by a startling sight: a grey half-naked torso belonging to a man-boy staring off into the distance. What? Where was I? Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was, in actuality, a large Abercrombie & Fitch bag. Later that day, I saw the same bag at least seven different times held by seven different girls. What type of fad was this? One that has been becoming surprisingly rampant, and to my dismay, surprisingly rampant amongst teens. People ask me, “Just what do you have against A&F, huh? Is it because you can’t afford the clothes?” Well, while the egregiously high prices do play some part in my detestation for the brand, another more socially-crippling reason is responsible for the bitter taste in my mouth. I was perusing the A&F catalogue one day (a semi-pornographic catalogue I might add) when I came across a particular jean jacket that cost $140. “Okay,” I thought, “that’s not too unreasonable for a high quality jacket.” But then, I came across its caption: (Note: the following has not been edited in any way.) 100% premium cotton selvage, fully lined soft brush twill interior, inconsistently hand destroyed with blown out holes , reconstructed collar, heavy abrasions , random paint splatters, ground in dirt …” And it goes on like this. Hopefully I am not the only one that sees the blatant problems in a $140 jacket that is INCONSISTENTLY HAND DESTROYED. I’m sorry, but I could probably buy the same quality jacket with the same features from a bum for a bagel. Surely if we teens are literally buying into these fads, what does this say about us? We are quick to complain about adults bashing our lifestyles and commenting on our choices, yet at the same time we buy into things like Abercrombie & Fitch. Even though A&F may not be the only brand responsible for such clothing, it surely is part of the problem. The Ezra Fitch Premium Destroyed is not the only example of our downfall as teenagers, however; take, for example, the certain shirt—or “attitude tee”—for girls that I will leave you with. Smeared across the chest, a bright white caption reads: “Who needs brains when you have these ” (Think about it, you’ll get it). Swish that one around in your mouth a bit. How does it taste? Tastes like the setting-back of the women’s-rights movement 200 years to me. Go teens!