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Abercrombie announces line of gender-neutral children's clothes

Posted at 2:31 PM, Jan 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-18 14:31:03-05

Abercrombie & Fitch is launching a line of gender-neutral children's clothes.

The line, called the Everybody Collection, is an assortment of children's clothes in 25 styles, including camouflage prints, bomber jackets and crew neck sweatshirts. It will also include tees influenced by "skate culture" and clothes with pale pink and dip dye colors, according to the company.

The clothing sizes will be standard, but not differentiate between boys and girls.

The line, for children ages 5-14, was created in response to customer demand, according to Abercrombie.

"Parents and their kids don't want to be confined to specific colors and styles, depending on whether shopping for a boy or a girl," said Stacia Andersen, Brand President of Abercrombie & Fitch and Abercrombie Kids.

The Everybody Collection will be available online and in stores that sell Abercrombie Kids' apparel beginning mid-January. Items will range from $19.95 to $69.95.

Abercrombie is the latest retailer to employ a gender neutral approach in their stores.

In March of last year, H&M launched a unisex denim collection. Target began dropping references to "boys" and "girls" in toy, home and entertainment aisles in 2015, instead grouping toys by categories such as dolls, action figures and building sets.

Retail expert Carol Spieckerman says that while the design of the children's clothes is not "radical," the move to advertise gender neutral apparel in stores is groundbreaking.

"That type of clothing has existed before, but it's just been on the racks for consumers to make their own choice," Spieckerman said.

For the consumer, it takes the guess work out of deciding whether clothes in a boys aisle could be worn by a girl, and vice versa.

"Instead of trying to guess what certain clothes look like from a binary perspective, they can choose buy gender neutral clothing," Spieckerman said. "Retailers are no longer dictating fashion...consumers are."

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