“Uh-Oh, O! Sergio…”
And certainly there were a number of women (and guys!) who gave that sigh of defeat when they had a little trouble laying down and sucking it in to get these tight little numbers zipped up! In the late 70s and early 80s, denim moved from casual wear to high fashion with the help of Sergio Valente jeans. To many on the other side of the Iron Curtain, jeans were already a symbol of western decadence, so it only made sense when we saw the transition to designer jeans like Sergio Valente, among others.
Slim, tight butt-huggers were all the rage and Sergio Valente was its champion. Introduced in 1975, these designer duds came with embroidery on the back pocket, a distinct change from the laid back look of the flower-power generation. Sergios were as perfect for the dance floor as they were for everyday wear and looked best with wedge sandals, tube tops and dangly earrings for the girls and slick polyester shirts opened practically to the belly button for guys.
The look was popularized by the ever-glamorous Charlie’s Angels who poured themselves into Sergio Valentes before fighting the bad guys. And really, the idea wasn’t so ludicrous. Sergios were tough and delivered action with style. With the fierce rack of horns and the stylized V on the back pocket, these pants weren’t to be messed around with and were sexy, sexy, sexy!
These super-slim pants were so tight that many a gal had to devise ways to get them on. Of course, there is the famed lie-down-on-the-bed-and-hold-your-breath approach, but even that wasn’t always enough. Some employed tools and hangers to loop through the button hole in order to yank the pants up… but, that was only good if you had friends around to help you in. Then, there was always the damp option. Just before they’re finished drying in the dryer, take them out and put them on – they were guaranteed to shrink down to a second-skin fit. The idea wasn’t to look comfortable; the idea was to look dy-NO-mite!
As the disco divas left their stages and as clubs like Studio 54 started closing their doors, the market for designer jeans was put on ice. We were headed into an anti-disco mood and that meant leaving your Sergios in your closet for another day or decade, as it were. By the 1990s, the trend for designer jeans re-emerged with new names, as well as our favorite, Sergio Valente! The original vintage versions were snatched off of thrift store shelves and started showing up on the bottom halves of stars like the Spice Girls and even alterna-pop guru Beck. For her video, “Butterfly,” Mariah Carey featured her Sergios prominently, causing a teenage rush to the shops in the hopes of getting a pair of their own.
It wouldn’t take long for Seattle Pacific Industries to take notice, as they re-launched the Sergio Valente line, which included their classic cuts along with newer denim styles, meant to fit a new generation. Other designers, such as True Religion, Citizens of Humanity and the like have come on the scene to propel the industry. Tight, dark denim is back in a big way – and thanks to stretch denim, we can ditch zipper struggles and keep working the skin-tight look. Oh, oh, Sergio!
And certainly there were a number of women (and guys!) who gave that sigh of defeat when they had a little trouble laying down and sucking it in to get these tight little numbers zipped up! In the late 70s and early 80s, denim moved from casual wear to high fashion with the help of Sergio Valente jeans. To many on the other side of the Iron Curtain, jeans were already a symbol of western decadence, so it only made sense when we saw the transition to designer jeans like Sergio Valente, among others.
Slim, tight butt-huggers were all the rage and Sergio Valente was its champion. Introduced in 1975, these designer duds came with embroidery on the back pocket, a distinct change from the laid back look of the flower-power generation. Sergios were as perfect for the dance floor as they were for everyday wear and looked best with wedge sandals, tube tops and dangly earrings for the girls and slick polyester shirts opened practically to the belly button for guys.
The look was popularized by the ever-glamorous Charlie’s Angels who poured themselves into Sergio Valentes before fighting the bad guys. And really, the idea wasn’t so ludicrous. Sergios were tough and delivered action with style. With the fierce rack of horns and the stylized V on the back pocket, these pants weren’t to be messed around with and were sexy, sexy, sexy!
These super-slim pants were so tight that many a gal had to devise ways to get them on. Of course, there is the famed lie-down-on-the-bed-and-hold-your-breath approach, but even that wasn’t always enough. Some employed tools and hangers to loop through the button hole in order to yank the pants up… but, that was only good if you had friends around to help you in. Then, there was always the damp option. Just before they’re finished drying in the dryer, take them out and put them on – they were guaranteed to shrink down to a second-skin fit. The idea wasn’t to look comfortable; the idea was to look dy-NO-mite!
As the disco divas left their stages and as clubs like Studio 54 started closing their doors, the market for designer jeans was put on ice. We were headed into an anti-disco mood and that meant leaving your Sergios in your closet for another day or decade, as it were. By the 1990s, the trend for designer jeans re-emerged with new names, as well as our favorite, Sergio Valente! The original vintage versions were snatched off of thrift store shelves and started showing up on the bottom halves of stars like the Spice Girls and even alterna-pop guru Beck. For her video, “Butterfly,” Mariah Carey featured her Sergios prominently, causing a teenage rush to the shops in the hopes of getting a pair of their own.
It wouldn’t take long for Seattle Pacific Industries to take notice, as they re-launched the Sergio Valente line, which included their classic cuts along with newer denim styles, meant to fit a new generation. Other designers, such as True Religion, Citizens of Humanity and the like have come on the scene to propel the industry. Tight, dark denim is back in a big way – and thanks to stretch denim, we can ditch zipper struggles and keep working the skin-tight look. Oh, oh, Sergio!
