Earlier this year, Andrea and I were watching one of the morning news shows when the style segment came on. The correspondent was doing a piece on the return of Swatch to vogue prominence. Back in high school, sporting a Swatch was one of the ultimate fashion statements you could make. I later asked Andrea if she wanted a Swatch back in the day. She laughed, "Hon, I wanted all the stylish things." We both laughed at my rhetorical question. She then asked, "Did you want a Swatch?"
I smirked, "Nope. Back then they weren't vintage enough." I laughingly added, "But they're vintage now." I actually checked out the Swatch website. I'm not gonna lie, I liked some of what I saw. There's a chance I may actually start wearing a Swatch - thirty-five years after the initial trend.
That's not to say I was a total fashion Luddite in high school. I was astute enough to recognize trends - I just didn't always follow them. Blue jeans, for example, came into style with the Boomer generation and never left. However, my class of Gen X'ers put its stamp on them by having them come from the factory with holes and rips. Just a plain, non-trendy pair for me, please. I'll put my own signature spin on the distressed look. It may take a couple of years, but I'll eventually get there.
T-shirts were a thing. Again, my generation kicked it up a notch from the plain white tees showcased by the Boomer crowd like Marlon Brando in The Wild One. The ones I favored had a beachy theme. My drawer was full of Panama Jack shirts and Jack's coastal cousin, Jamaica Joe.
In the south Mississippi heat, shorts weren't just trendy, they were a requirement. To fill that niche, just about everyone was sporting Hobie and Ocean Pacific (OP if you were particularly hip). These shorts worked great as casual shorts for cruising the strip or the mall and transitioned instantly to swim trunks for spur of the moment beach or poolside visits.
Cooler weather actually did make an appearance, eventually, even in Long Beach. For a while, everyone was doing the jean jacket - hooded sweatshirt combo. I actually liked this look. It was a good melding of form and fashion. Another way we staved of the chill was Members Only jackets of which I proudly still have one.
Following Swatch's example, I'm calling for a resurgence of the old brands. Hobie, OP, and Members Only survived the grunge '90s and emo 2000s and stand at the ready to transform you into your '80s self. However, as I see names like Jamaica Joe and Panama Jack continue to be viable brands today, I'm thinking there may be room for another beach centric fashion house.
Rather than a dude in a coat and tie wearing a monocle or sitting in a rattan chair, this new iconic logo would be a guy in his 50s sporting a 'stache, wearing a Hawaiian print shirt, Miami Vice Ray-Bans, holding a scotch in one hand, and a cigar in the other. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the next, great American brand: Waikiki Wayne.
While my classmates may have taken fashion cues from the Brat Pack back in the day, Crockett and Tubbs were who I aspired to. A soundtrack that's been heavily featured in this blog is from Miami Vice, a fact that shouldn't surprise people who know my proclivity for casual beachwear. While both appearances to date, once in Rock-tober 2013 and again in Rock-tober 2014, featured Phil Collins, there's still so much to unpack in that masterpiece of '80's Americana both musically and fashion-wise. One track in particular still gets heavy playtime from me. "Crockett's Theme" is perfect for those pensive moments with a cigar and bourbon, or cruising the streets at 2 AM to clear your head, or standing in front of your closet trying to decide which linen jacket you're wearing for the day.
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