This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

Abercrombie and Fitch stores conquered malls in the late 1990s and early

2000s with gorgeous models, pulsing dance beats, and a fierce scent. But over time,

revelations of exclusionary marketing and discriminatory hiring practices began to engulf the

popular brand in scandal.

What most people don't know is that the company was founded in 1892 in New York City as an outfitter for elite outdoorsman.

Here to tell the whole story is Ashley Lubinsky.

Ashley is the former co-host of Discovery Channel's

Master of Arms, the former curator in charge of the Cody Firearm Museum, and she's the co-founder

of the University of Wyoming College of Law's Firearms Research Center. Here's Ashley.

The name Abercrombie Center. Here's Ashley.

The name Abercrombie and Fitch, especially today, doesn't always invoke the most positive image. If you've been into the store, you know that it's known for being darkly lit and heavily perfumed and not very inclusive.

I always call it the trendy teenage clothing company

that got into a lot of trouble for not necessarily welcoming

a lot of different people into their store.

And I can say that from personal experience

because I work for Hollister and Abercrombie.

But in the recent years, they have decided to do a rebrand. And within that rebrand, the clothing line is a little bit more grown up.

They have real normal sizes that you can wear.

But what's so fascinating to me about this whole thing is that there have been

documentaries about kind of the drama behind the company. But what they often ignore is the fact

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