Kids today, eh? With their Primarks ‘n’ TopShops ‘n’ their ThisWeekI’veBeenMostlyWearingDolchay&Gabaaarna, it’s hard to keep up.
When I were a lad, we measured our obsessions in years rather than hours. Levi’s 501 jeans were mine. These are still available, but in a bewildering variety and alongside numerous other 5-series variants which severely dilutes their iconic value.
I remember being obsessed with the red tab, the label on the outside of the waistband, the buttons, how the seam looked when it was turned up (as it often was in the 80s), and the precise look of the fading – not too dark, not too light, and with visible signs of distress.
Any other 501 related memories or that of other iconic brands welcome.
Oh, and it goes without saying that Ms. Minogue in 501s represents the absolute zenith of female allure…
School bags with “Adidas” on them (or similar) are now all the rage among the hipster set. Why men in their early 20s want to copy the style of 10 year olds 40 years ago is beyond me.
They had a very, very nice smell when new. I wanted an Ipswich Town one…but they weren’t available in Woking shops, so I was given a QPR one on the basis that it didn’t really matter what team was on there(!).
I had a Gola one… I worked in Record Scene in Woking btw ?
The decision with jeans was whether to put the belt through the waist label or not…
Brutus Gold were the jeans to covet round our way in 1977. The tv ad featured Lord David Dundas amending his Blue Jeans hit with the lyrics “I put my Brutus Jeans on”
When Chic and Sister Sledge were at their peak then Fiorucci jeans were top of the must have pile.
Nowadays it’s whatever fits out of the Next catalogue!
Name-checked in Sister Sledge’s He’s The Greatest Dancer;
‘Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci, he looks like a still’
Here’s another ad for 501s – and half-way through you get the parody version…
This just reminded me that when I was in the sixth form, two mates and I stripped down to our boxers in the local laundrette to the strains of ‘I heard it through the grapevine’. Not just randomly, it was for Comic Relief. Dozy little prats that we were.
I’ve always been a scarecrow when it comes to clothes, either not understanding or hating most of what’s in fashion but I did some work for Levis in the late 80s when black 501s were the thing to have a they gave me a pair of silver tabs to wear. Still the best jeans I ever had.