Gen Xers, this is not a drill: Costco is selling Esprit sweatshirts, circa 1980-something, for less than 20 bucks. One of the “it” items of our youth at our favorite grown-up store—for a 2026-economy-friendly price? It almost seems too good to be true. But here we are.
Costco hit the nail on the head with this collaboration. The sweatshirts have been flying off the shelves and quickly sold out on the warehouse’s website. Funny how, decades later, a single piece of fashion nostalgia can spark such instant, insatiable demand.
Even funnier is how little our younger Millennial friends and Gen Z kiddos seem to get it. Their hilariously baffled reactions to Costco selling out of these sweatshirts drive home the fact that you can never truly “bring back” the ’80s. You either lived through it and get it, or you didn’t and never will.
Explaining the Esprit craze to younger generations
Gen X women are doing their best to explain the hype to those under 40. Just look at the responses to this 35-year-old, who asked why so many people are acting like the “E-spirit” sweatshirts at Costco are a “designer drop.”
First, sweet summer child, it’s not “E-spirit.” It’s “esPREE.” An understandable—but still giggle-worthy—mispronunciation from someone born too late to know the ins and outs of ’80s clothing brands.
Second, people in their 40s and older offered a history lesson on the fashion and economics of the ’80s in the comments, which hopefully helped:
“Only GenX would understand the excitement. When I was in high school only rich kids can afford the brand. We’ve all wanted it but can’t afford. Now we have adult money to spend. It’s mostly the nostalgia of it.”
“In 1986, an Esprit sweatshirt cost $36. Today’s equivalent would be a $110 sweatshirt. It was a coveted item that very few GenX could afford. Our parents didn’t spoil us with the latest trends, we got hand me downs and very limited new clothes every year. If we wanted something trendy, we had to work for it to save the money and buy it ourselves. If you showed up wearing Esprit, you were rich. We begged our moms for them but it never happened. There was also a book bag with the logo on it. Just as coveted, even more out of reach. We now have our own money. We can buy what we never got in the 1980’s.”
“I fear the answer is ‘it’s not meant for you.’ Espirit (ess-PREE) was a very cool designer in the 80s and early 90s. It’s peak nostalgia for a lot of us. Stay tuned for the return of Benneton and Umbro.”
“Girl, all of us olds are about to break a hip running to Costco. If they start selling Liz Claiborne purses and/or Swatch watches I will literally die. Just wait until the United Colors of Benetton shows up. Gen X Mob.”
Benetton, Umbro, LA Gear, Swatch, Jordache, Guess, Z. Cavaricci, and more
The chokehold certain brands had on Gen X in our youth is hard to explain. How did we know what was “cool” without viral videos or algorithms telling us what was popular? Was it simply advertising? Teen pop culture magazines? Rich kids cavorting across state lines, swapping brand preferences?
As someone who lived through that era, I genuinely don’t know. It seemed like certain kids were just inexplicably popular, and everyone wanted to wear what they wore. They were the hyperlocal influencers of our time.
A lot of that probably had to do with money, of course. Most of us weren’t aware of actual luxury designer brands the way young people are today, but the “in” brands were still expensive by 1980s household standards. The cool kids had parents with the money—and the brand savvy—to buy them. The rest of us shopped at Kmart and Payless Shoes, hoping an Esprit sweatshirt would magically appear at a thrift store.
Which is why so many Gen Xers are flocking to Costco to relive their youth with their middle-aged money. Simply because they can. And that alone is reason enough.
