Were I a member of the tinfoil hat / Sith Lord brigade, I might think that Abercrombie &Fitch's (NYSE:ANF) success was a plot to separate me from my remaining sanity. As I've said before, I sold this stock far, far too soon, and it's an ongoing abject lesson in the dangers of skipping out on a successful idea just because of the week-to-week noise in the retailing sector.

For the third quarter, it seems like it's still full speed ahead. Sales were up 35% with a very impressive 25% increase in same-store sales. Performance was so strong that even the core A&F brand, the laggard for the company, still delivered 16% comps growth, a performance that most retailers (in a normal environment) would love to have. "Little A" -- the abercrombie brand -- saw sales rise 58% and comps increase 62%, while Hollister posted 69% sales growth and comps growth of 27%.

Performance wasn't just tight on the top line. Gross margins improved a bit, and operating margins improved a lot, leading to an increase in adjusted net income of more than 31%.

As is generally the case whenever we Fools write favorably on Abercrombie & Fitch, I'm sure I'll hear once again from the self-appointed guardians of American morality. The screed is always the same -- A&F is responsible for the moral decline of our youth and we're all on the express lane to Dante's inferno so long as we support it. Yeah, whatever.

Actually, I'm glad to hear that sort of nonsense, because it means that the brand will still have some bite with its core demographic. From time immemorial, teenagers and young adults have lived to aggravate their parents and society in general. As long as A&F stays on top with styling and branding, the fact that some adults hate it is only going to make their kids want it all the more.

My only real complaint with A&F is that there are other equally good (and maybe better) retailers that trade a bit cheaper. But having learned my lesson by selling this stock and Chico's (NYSE:CHS) too soon, I'm not about to make a big deal of that. So long as they continue to out-Gap Gap (NYSE:GPS) and continue sucking dollars out of consumers' wallets, the future for Abercrombie's offerings should be pretty bright.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares.