Frank Hoffmann - Fashion & Merchandising Fads

Fashion & Merchandising Fads

Fashion & Merchandising Fads

Frank W. Hoffmann, PhD
William G. Bailey, MA

First published 1994 by

The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580

Published 2014 by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

1994 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All photographs are used courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hoffmann, Frank W., 1949

Fashion & merchandising fads / Frank W. Hoffmann, William G. Bailey,

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-56023-031-2 (alk. paper).

1. United StatesCivilization1970- 2. FadsUnited StatesHistory20th century. 3. FashionUnited StatesHistory20th century. 4. NoveltiesHistory20th century. I. Bailey, William G., 1947. II. Title. III. Title: Fashion and merchandising fads.

E169.12.H634 1993

973.92dc20

92-46036

CIP

CONTENTS

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Frank W. Hoffmann, PhD, MLS, is an associate professor in the School of Library Science, Sam Houston State University. His teaching responsibilities include library collection development, reference/information services, and a seminar in popular culture. His publications include The Development of Collections of Sound Recordings in Libraries (Marcel Dekker), Popular Culture and Libraries (Library Professional Publications), The Literature of Rock series (Scarecrow), and The Cash Box chart compilation series (Scarecrow). He received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and his BA in History and MLS from Indiana University.

William G. Bailey, MA, MLS, has worked in the Information Services division of the Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, since 1978. He is currently the head of the Reference Department. Due to his daily routine, he is constantly looking for new writing projects to fill information gaps. A fad encyclopedia appeals to his eclectic mind; he is already the editor/compiler of books on such diverse topics as police, longevity, and Americans in Paris. He holds an MA degree in English and American Literature from the University of Houston, and an MLS from the University of Texas at Austin.

Life devoid of fads is impossible to imagine. For this to happen we would have to live like the Amish: no electricity, no telephone, no radio or television. We would wear the same modest clothing and genuflect throughout the day. Our food would be plain, our homes clean but drab, and our art restricted to quilt-making. The events of our lives would never waver from established routine and we would care nothing for individual freedom. But fads do enter our lives and are mostly vehicles for amusement.

To say that this volume of 140 fashion and merchandising fads is exhaustive would be amiss. This collection represents a sampling of over 200 years of American fads related mainly to our obsession with clothes, hair, and diet, or in a wordappearance. If you are an avid fad-watcher, the number of fads defined here is far too small. Add to that number the fads already collected in three previous volumes: Arts & Entertainment, Sports & Recreation, and Mind & Society, and the total still falls short. Do you recall these fifty fads that made news in 199091?

Fashion

1. thermochromic dresses: Black on a hanger, the dress changes colors on the body. Temperature-sensitive chemicals in the ink screen-printed on the fabric make the rainbow effects.

2. Jesuswear: Sweatshirts read UH-University of Heaven and Gods Last Name Is Not Dammit; license plate frames announce, My Boss Is a Jewish Carpenter; and for kids, a black T-shirt with a yellow dove emblem (Dove Man) counters the Batman craze.

3. baseball caps: With or without the team logo, seen everywhere and worn by all ages, bill either in front or back.

4. camouflage clothing and the American flag: U.S. success in the Persian Gulf War triggered patriot garb. Old Glory materialized on blouses, shirts, shorts, and especially bandannas.

5. torn jeans: Teenagers no longer have to razorcut denim for that peek-a-boo look. Machine-torn jeans can be bought at the mall. An offshoot are shotgun jeans that are actually tossed in the air like clay pigeons and perforated with holes.

6. sculptured haircuts: Lines, zig-zags, initials, peace symbols, a Batman logo, etc., are etched on the head by cutting hair to the scalp to leave the design.

Entertainment

7. karaoke: Means empty orchestra in Japanese. At a karaoke bar, the participant takes the stage to sing popular songs to recorded music. He or she pretends to be Sinatra, Streisand, or Manilow.

8. zany fan clubs: Gumby, Mr. Ed, Bob Elvis McVay, Barbara Eden and other unlikely figures of popular culture attract enough fans to form clubs. Arthur Kent, the NBC correspondent who reported from Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf Crisis, inspired his own band of ardent followers. Nicknamed the Scud-stud, the handsome Kent became the immediate object of worship by 1400 fans.

9. Christos umbrellas: The eccentric conceptual artist took six years and spent $26 million to create another of his fad masterpieces. Christo placed 1,340 20-foot blue umbrellas along a 12-mile stretch in Japan, and 1,760 yellow umbrellas over 18 miles of hills in California. The riotous bumbershoots were removed after a few weeks of open-mouthed wonder.

10. whirlyball: Two teams of five players ride whirlybugs (vehicles similar to bumper cars), scoring points by using a plastic scoop to throw a ball against a wall-mounted target (popular in 17 cities).

11. Kitty Kelley: Queen of the unauthorized biography, Kelly garnered more attention than usual with her life of Nancy Reagan. For her revelations, Kelley became a household name, sold more copies of her libelous chat than Nancy Reagan did of her autobiography, and will host a talk show. In retort, George Carpozi, a former tabloid editor, rushed to print Poison Pen: The Unauthorized Biography of Kitty Kelley.

12. afterlife films: The great beyond beckoned moviegoers with a host of spirit beings in Ghost (the big money-maker), The Rapture, Switch, Ghost Dad, Bill & Teds Bogus Journey, and others. Flatliners, a film about flirting with postexistence, also did well at the box office.

Cosmetics

13. colored braces: Multi-colored bands and wires let shy teenagers smile broadly to show off their fashionable teeth.

14. pectoral implants for men: Wanting total firmness in their sagging chests, men no less than women find support in plastic surgery. Male requests for all types of makeovers are on the rise.

Self-Help

15. mind machines: Flashing lights, electrical pulses, soothing sounds and words, motion and ultrasound waves stimulate the brain. Typical apparatus consists of goggles and headphones. Brand names are: SynchroEnergizer, Graham Potentializer, and MC2.