The look policy

A 22 year old law student from west London was confined to the stockroom of a Savile Row shop because management found out about her disability. It seems her prosthetic arm clashed with the company's 'look policy'. Abercrombie & Fitch employees have to pass a veritable fit test to tread the boards of their stores. I walked into their New York City store with my friend and we assumed they were all models. It's a cunning marketing ploy. Women queue up to have their picture taken with actual male models perched in the doorway with buff bodies and winning white-toothed smiles. We found ourselves wondering around the store, full of stunning employees, not sure where to look or what exactly we were supposed to pick up. The look policy dictates that workers must wear a 'clean, natural, classic hair style' and 'look great whilst exhibiting individuality'. In short, it's their job to present the American ideal - an ideal portrayed through TV shows and airbrushed images. Riam Dean didn't fit the American ideal. Born without her left forearm, she has worn a prosthetic limb since she was three months old. Her plight follows that of a disabled children's TV presenter, who was the victim of a campaign by parents who complained she was scaring toddlers. They said Miss Burnell, who only has one arm, was not suitable to appear on the digital children's channel. The fickle world of fashion and showbiz dictating that nothing less than perfect is good enough.