If you’re a person of a certain age, you might remember the clothing brand Esprit. For many of us, shirts with that name sat in boxes kept in the garages of our parents. Many tossed a lot of these styles, thinking, “Surely those will never be a ‘thing’ again.” And yet here we are.
In recent articles, we’ve discussed the return of Gen X fashion. From neon fluorescent colors to high-waisted “Hammer” pants, we’re seeing trends come back to both the runway and the streets. But the hard re-launch of Esprit is seemingly resonating deeply with many Gen X-ers, especially women.
Gen X takeover
In a recent Threads post (which has already reached nearly 18,000 likes), Deana Hamby Nall (@deana_nall) shared this thought: “Costco has Esprit shirts. Little House on the Prairie is on TV, Madonna has a banging new album. I just bought my first pair of Keds in 40 years. Everything is falling into place for the Gen X women takeover.”
For a little history, the Esprit brand was originally founded in 1968 by Doug and Susie Tompkins. But it didn’t receive its trademark colorful logo until 1979, when they brought on graphic designer John Casado. (He also happened to co-develop the original logo for Apple’s very first Macintosh computer, which is said to have been inspired by Picasso. This rabbit hole goes deep.) By the mid-’80s, you’d be hard-pressed to find many suburban kids in middle school who hadn’t at least seen someone wearing the brand.
Hot item at Costco
The buzz is true. Not only is Costco selling Esprit fleece crewnecks, popular back in the day, they’re selling out quickly at just under 19 dollars! This was a few years in the making. According to Cale Guthrie Weissman’s piece for Modern Retail, Esprit began their re-launch a few years ago with pop-up stores in New York. It took some time for the trend to spread again, but it has finally happened.
On the subreddit r/Costco, one person joked of the craze, “I saw them and had a flashback right there in the middle of Costco. No, wait. It was a hot flash.”
Back to the Gen X takeover, under the aforementioned Threads post, X-ers were excited to share their memories. One, referencing many popular mall shops, asks, “Can we all meet at the mall by Hot Dog on a Stick wearing our best outfits from Wet Seal?”
Some took the idea of a takeover literally. “We need a Gen X president.” Another noting, “A female Gen X president!” (For those who might have wondered, President Barack Obama was technically a Boomer, having been born in 1961.)
Do Swatches next
A commenter by the name of @sauvblancsubmarine reposted their similar Thread in which they tagged Costco with a request. “Dear Costco, Please do @swatch_us watches from the 80’s next. If this collab comes together, we can reset the timeline, and everything will be better again. Sorry, Aquanet and Baby Soft, you’ll have to sit this one out.”
To this, someone made a brilliant joke referencing a line from the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing. “Nobody puts baby(soft) in the corner.”
Millennials support it too
A few Millennials chimed in, as well. “Do it! As a Millennial, you are the cool aunties who taught us how to swear.”
Another deeply supports the Gen X revolution. “As a young millennial that has always enjoyed Gen X; I’m here for the Gen X woman takeover.”
