Heaving Bosoms and all That

I went clothes shopping today, whee! One of the big attractions was the recently-opened Abercrombie and Fitch store at the Eaton Centre, so I headed over there knowing full well that I am way too old to wear that stuff.

Imagine my surprise when I was greeted by an absolutely gorgeous, muscled, sinewy young man clad in nothing except a pair of extremely low-rise jeans. He was standing under a spotlight, for god's sake! I blushed, giggled, and ran through the store JUST IN CASE there was something age-appropriate for me -- but all that was to be found were denim short-short-shorter-than-short-shorts, so I left. I didn't mean to look again, but Mr. Naked Torso was clearly enjoying the attention and specifically said good-bye to me (I don't know, maybe I reminded him of his mother?), so I looked. Then I looked again.

Then I found a reason to walk by the store two more times.

I am somewhat disturbed and/or amused at this whole situation. A&F is notorious for pushing the limits of appropriateness in their clothing ads and catalogues. First of all, the clothing is clearly targeted to a very young crowd -- perhaps too young for all of this blatant sexuality. This man was very, very blatant in his sexuality. This greeter, though somewhat different than the ones at Wal-Mart, was present to entice people into the store, and he was also very young -- no more than 22, I'm guessing. The saleskids (and believe me, they were kids) were also provocatively dressed. The girls wore mini-minis, and the boys had their shirts unbuttoned to their navels. It makes me wonder, do they dress like this of their own accord, or is the "dress code" dictated by management?

It was also amusing that the object of desire in this case was a fine young male specimen. There was not a scantily-clad female greeter anywhere to be seen. I wonder if this was deliberate. We're allowed to ogle the young men, but I'm willing to bet my new boots a nearly-adolescent female greeter would have sparked outcry.

I think I need a reason to go back to the mall...