Aeropostale is a teen clothing store that is commonly grouped with
Abercrombie & Fitch,
Hollister Co., and
American Eagle. However, it is also regarded as the "cheapest" of the group. This may or may not be true, because they are generally the same in quality, but the other three's original prices on their items are much higher (especially A&F and HCO, which sell T-shirts for $38 in a heartbeat).
Aero sells clothes and other items (jewelry, sunglasses, bags, etc.) for both females and males. From personal experience, I notice that a lot of people well above their teen years still shop here, for some reason. Although most styles are meant for younger people, the simpler and more basic things can be stretched to people of at most 8 years older.
Lately, it seems that Aeropostale has been taking cues from the other three main teen retailers. They have removed
the monkeys and
butterflies from their clothes and general image, and instead replaced it with a more clean and "mature" "A87" logo. Their models and
advertisements generally use the same people all the time, unlike the other stores (probably more cost-effective). Also, they are always fully clothed and doing fun, G-rated things instead of a more romantic and mature theme like A&F and HCO use. This new advertising (as well as the logo) is probably
used to attract more of the customers that go to the other three, rather than thinking of Aero as a monkey-butterfly-glittery-kiddish brand. Their original selling price can also hurt your wallet if you are on a tight budget.
Their sales are much better than A&F and HCO, however. Stuff can get extremely cheap, especially near the ends of the seasons. Aero hires people of all shapes and sizes and doesn't hire based on looks, as A&F and HCO are known to do.
Seeing as most people were slightly disturbed by the butterflies and monkeys, I'm guessing Aero will make an even bigger name for itself in teen retail in the near future. It's a good place to shop, in my opinion.