Don't Call It A Comeback

I was out shopping and ran into something that made me say "Noooooo." Urban Outfitters is carrying... Members Only jackets! Seriously. I love the comments on the site - the UO market is way too young to remember these - James Dean? Really?

I was trying to remember the tagline that went along with them so I did some digging and found this classic piece of art:


When you put it on, something does happen: you become TOTALLY AWESOME. I'm so tempted to check eBay for that rockin' teal jacket. How about you? Did you have a Members Only jacket? Would you buy the plain black one from Urban Outfitters?

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Good vs. Evil?

One thing I have to say about myself in the '80s and early '90s is that I owned an obscene number of jackets for different occasions.

I managed to score myself a vintage army jacket and a wool pea coat for under fifteen dollars at the now legendary Udelco , in upstate New York where I grew up, along with various other spectacular finds that quickly filled my closet.

When I went to college, however, I kept one steadfast and tough customer by my side at all times. The J. Crew olive green barn jacket.

Do you remember this gem?

You and everybody in your entire dorm wore it to whatever filthy hovel served drinks to underaged kids near your campus and you inevitably took it off during the night because:

1. you were drunk
2. the greasy heat shack that was destroying your liver and your love life was hotter than a Viking oven on full blast in the middle of August.
   

Then, after your evening was finished and the bartenders were flashing the lights and kicking you out, the "Who stole my barn jacket?" ritual began because you all had the same damn one in varying degrees of distress. (Mine had a frayed left cuff that was easy to locate because it's where my Casio watch had rubbed the material)

Now cut to the boys' floor of the same dorm.

Same getting ready ritual with showers and talk of who you were going to hook up with but the finishing touch was the zipping up of your Members Only jacket. Now, young man, you are ready to conquer the world.

Ahhh, Members Only.

The fashion "don't" that quickly became a "do" with just a whiff of exclusivity wafting off of it. After all, it was for MEMBERS ONLY. What did you have to do to join?

It was ill fitting and terribly unflattering, unlike the J. Crew barn jacket which could hide a multitude of sins underneath, like your freshman 15.

You never knew what you were going to get until that girl you liked whipped off that enormous rugged farmer's jacket and showed you her junk. What a pleasant surprise! Or not.

Recently the Members Only brand has experienced a bit of a resurgence with the relaunch of the brand and I find it hard to believe J. Crew wouldn't follow suit. Here's a guy that understands the real historical significance of the Members Only legend.

So what say you?

Did you own either? Neither?

Is yours still hanging in your closet?