Retro in the Metro

Riding the escalator on my way up from the MTR, I saw something that was equivalent to a time machine that would instantly zap me back to the early 80s.

Lois and Sergio Valente Jeans!

The two girls ahead of me were wearing these two iconic 80s brands. Behind their nicely shaped bottoms lay the tags, so i'm not sure whether it was the tag that caught my eye, or their nicely shaped bottoms. Or then again, it might simply have been because they were standing ahead of me on a steep escalator, with their bums strategically positioned in front of my face.

When I hear the brand "Lois", memories of childhood in front of the television set come to mind. They had these campy ads pretty much like the: "Kerr Jeans fits you right, right from the start... Kerrrrr Jeans!" jingle. Though the Lois ad escapes me right now, it was close to that genre. The brand identity was very distinct, with its bull and almost handwritten font. The brand, I think, was more popular with the female set since the males only wore Levi's back then. My sisters would have a couple of pairs, and they wear it with their Esprit hanging tees. (The one that says "ESP" up front, and "RIT" at the back.)

Sergio Valente Jeans was one brand with a very distinct jingle. It went: "Sergio Valente, Sergio Valente Jeans! Uh-oh, Sergio... Oooh... Sergio... you caught my eye... *fade away".

Aside from its distinct logo, Sergio Valente made really linear jeans. It was straight from hip to hem which worked well on shorter people. It was the type of jeans that made you tall and thin. Though back in the 80s, that wasn't too big a concern since Kate Moss and her supermodel posse weren't in vogue then. But despite that, Sergio had a big cult following - including my Mom. She had a couple of SVs along with her Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans.

It's so nice when you see these retro brands re-emerging. It lends truth to the adage: everything old becomes new again. Tomorrow, I hope to run into someone wearing Texwood: The Apple Jeans. That would really make my week.