Casual Luxury

Abercrombie & Fitch ~ the brand of choice for Gen-X'rs.

Founded in 1882 by David T. Abercrombie on June 4, 1892 as a small waterfront shop at No.36 South Street in downtown Manhattan, New York. Wealthy New York lawyer Ezra Fitch was one of his regular customers. In 1900, Fitch left his law practice and bought a major share into the growing company, thus becoming co-founder.

A&F had been an outfitter of quality sporting and excursion goods. It struggled financially from the late 1960s until it was purchased by The Limited in 1988 and repositioned, under the management of Michael S. Jeffries (current Chairman & CEO), as the "Casual Luxury" lifestyle brand in present day.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was a retail store for New York's elite sporting expeditions, selling products from clothing to firearms. Prominent figures who have patronized the company include Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John French Sloan, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Cole Porter, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway (who is said to have bought the gun he used to commit suicide at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.), John F. Kennedy, Robert Peary, the Duke of Windsor, Ernest Shackleton, and Dwight Eisenhower.