BLAST FROM THE PAST: Members Only jacket

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The fashion in the 1980's can be summed up in two words: Members Only

Members Only was a clothing brand that got its humble beginnings in 1975 by Herb Goldsmith. Mr. Goldsmith was inspired when at his country club he saw a sign that said, "Members Only". The name would create the "snob appeal" Herb needed to kick start the brand from a mere piece of cloth to icon status.

Members Only really took off in 1980 when it introduced their distinguished jackets which could be identified by the Members Only tag on the front. Anyone who was anyone owned a Members Only jacket. From kids to grandmas, wearing Members Only meant you arrived! It was like being part of an open secret society. Mr. Goldsmith, being a fashion genius, recruited celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Anthony Geary, Johnny Carson and many more to shill the jackets.  

By the late 1980's, the brand fell out of favor with fashionistas. Personally, I blame acid washed jeans. Then in 2016, the Members Only brand was revived out of its Studio 54 coke-induced coma by iApparel. 

Here's Anthony Geary (aka Luke Spencer of General Hospital) in a commercial for Members Only. I appreciate that he modeled the black version like a poor man's tuxedo - refined suave trashiness.  

BTW, Mr. Goldsmith died this past February at the age of 92.  I wonder if he was buried in a Members Only jacket?

Source:: NY Times, You Tube

 

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