About the Label

It is good for vintage buyers to know about the products that they carry and the history that makes each item unique.
Find out about old clothing labels from the past and present, learn about different clothing labels and manufactures, how they got started and what they are doing today. From classic vintage dresses to hip urban sneakers each brand has and image and each image has a history.

Nike : About the Label

Nike is a classic sneaker label from the day

The style and appeal of Nike sneakers never seam to deteriorate. Over the years the classic Nike swoosh has come to represent not only professional sports, but an urban style that can’t be beat.

Nike was founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. Back before the Swoosh logo and long before the days we were called Nike, there was Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). It wasn’t until 1971 that BRS introduced the concept of the Greek winged Goddess of victory—Nike. “In December 1980 we went public. And the rest is history.” From NIKEbiz.com Nike was one of the first athletic companies to heavily brand and market its athletic shoes, apparel sports equipment and accessories by using famous sports personalities such as John McEnroe, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods to name a few. Their “swoosh” logo and “Just Do It” slogan are easily recognized worldwide.

Nike markets its products under its own brand name as well as Air Jordan, Bauer, Converse, Team Starter and Nike Golf. As of 2007, Nike is the largest sportswear supplier in the world with a revenue worth of $15 billion

Wrangler : About the Label

Wrangler is another classic vintage label

Wrangler is known for their classic vintage denim jeans along with their classic vintage denim jackets. The look and feel of vintage wrangler pieces seams to surpass time in it’s style and vintage authenticity. Because of this many modern fashion designers are continuing to knock off great vintage Wrangler pieces from the past for today’s collections.

Wrangler was started with its roots in the Hudson Overalls Company of Greensboro, NC. Founded, in 1904, it was renamed Blue Bell in 1908. For years they manufactured work clothing for men, and during WWII, they manufactured clothing for military use. After the war, in an attempt to compete with the jeans makers Levi Strauss and Lee, they decided to develop a brand name they had acquired in 1943 when they bought the Casey Jones Company. This brand was Wrangler.

In 1947 Blue Bell hired a renowned rodeo tailor, Ben Lichtenstein, or Rodeo Ben, to develop a line of jeans under the Wrangler name. The line was successful, and so the Wrangler name was also used for other denim clothing, including that for women and children.

In 1986, Blue Bell and Wrangler were bought by the VF Corporation.

Lacostte : About the Label

Izod Lacostte Vintage T-shirts

The Lacoste Crocodile shirt came about in 1933, when then tennis star Rene’ Lacoste joined teams with a French garment maker to manufacture tennis shirts. Later in 1952, Lacoste signed a contract with the David Crystal Company to import, and in 1966, to make Lacoste shirts in the United States. David Crystal was also the owner of Izod and Haymaker, and so the crocodile can be found on garments with quite a few different labels.

These shirts and dresses became very fashionable in the middle 1960s and in the early 1980s, and came to solidify the “preppy” look. The relationship between Izod and Lacoste came to an end in 1992, and today La Chemise Lacoste is the maker and licensee of all Lacoste products.

There are many variations of the Lacoste label, with combinations of Lacoste, Izod, Haymaker and David Crystal names. We are showing just a few of the typical labels.

Adidas : About the Label

Adidas was founded in 1947 by Adi Dassler in Germany. Adi Dassler started making shoes in the 1920′s but did not start Adidas until 1947. In 1948 they came up with the name Adidas – as a shortened version of Dessler’s name. The next year the company registered the three stripes as their trademark logo.

Adidas started to produce sports clothing in the 1967. In the 80′s Adidas was made popular in the United States when up and coming Hip Hop Artist’s Run DMC wrote a song about the brand Adidas, called My Adidas.

In 2005 Adidas purchased Reebok, making Adidas the second largest sportswear manufacture word wide.