Fashion 87 : L.A. Shows Offer Post-Preppy Menswear for Baby Boomers

The latest menswear wisdom has it that the aging baby boomer--by all logic in his prime--doesn’t much like facing his 30s, much less the prospect of ever turning 40.

Neither does he want clothes that cheat him of his youth.

At two major menswear shows here last weekend, the new fall menswear seemed calculated to return men to their glory years--to high school sports, camping trips and the perfect bodily form some can only recall from old photos.

“These clothes bring yuppies back to the best years of their lives,” boasts Doug Arbetman, president of Reebok’s apparel division, which for fall ’87 features macho sweats, letterman sweaters and among the snuggest-fitting workout gear ever to adorn the male form.

“As a joke, I put on our unitard. I look great in the stuff. It pulls you right in,” says Arbetman, 39.

The theme of forever young turned up repeatedly at the Men’s Apparel Guild in California (MAGIC) fall market, which ended Tuesday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The four-day event gave more than 1,800 exhibitors (including 150 California firms) a chance to tout their winter wares for fashion buyers. The show overlapped with the California International Menswear Market (CIMM) at the California Mart, in which many of the same firms participated.

Collections focused on the simple, baggy, rumpled and familiar. Last year’s noisy prints all but disappear in a new pre-washing frenzy that leaves many lines blending to a haze of faded pastels. Denim moves beyond stone washed to the even more distressed acid-wash finish. Sportswear is in a “dressed down” phase, which Ocean Pacific Vice President Jerry Crosby calls “an overreaction to preppy.”

Fall menswear also shuns the safari fad for newer fashion subplots, such as Russian chic, cyclist’s racing stripes and a touch of field and stream. The dressed-up sweat shirt is the biggest copycat item of the season: It’s fleece-turned-fancy with paneling, raised letters, patches and appliques.

A whole cast of companies are speaking to the guy who no longer, in good conscience, can buy from the young men’s department. Newly formed Bench Co. of Seattle makes a kind of North Woods-weekend collection for the 25- to 40-year-old: “We’re going after a credit-card customer as opposed to a cash kid,” designer Joey Rodolfo says.

Similarly, Trekka, out of New York, creates a rugged line for the over-25-year-old who “likes to look as if he climbs mountains,” designer Michael Stein says.

Industry giants are also courting the post-25-year-old. Orange County-based OP added its Newport Blue menswear subsidiary one year ago, which takes fashion inspiration from OP’s more central young man’s look.

Likewise, New York-based Bugle Boy, a young men’s trousers firm, which company brass describe as “a Ralph Lauren taste level brought down to the mass market,” created a menswear division 10 months ago. President Michael Nesi anticipates that in two years, Bugle Boy menswear will snatch a quarter of the firm’s business.

Honing in on the established man of means is a new line called Changes/Man, by Beverly Hills retailers Herb and Norma Fink, owners of Theodore on Rodeo Drive. Herb Fink refers to the toned-down sweats, leathers and suedes as “international, sophisticated junk clothes.”

“I hope I’m selling snob appeal,” he says good-naturedly. “I hope that reflects in everything I do.”

The surf-wear crowd also is attempting to snag a few aging jocks. Designer Ben Serebreni of L.A.-based Hoopla notes that his knit pants “can be very forgiving of the guy who no longer has a true athletic body.”

Despite the winter season, the Southern California klatch presented sportswear with the usual warm-weather flavor. These companies discovered a few years ago that they needn’t look autumnal to attract fall business.

At Commerce-based PCH, the fall season means lightweight, light-colored knits and canvas.

“We sold black like crazy for spring, and we’re selling white like crazy for fall,” Senior Vice President Gary Dawson says.

Orange County-based Jimmy’Z makes its biggest fall push to date with a collection of suede-finished cottons and faded prints. One back-to-school shirt is covered with photos from an eighth grade year book--circa 1958. The line, sometimes dubbed “loose clothes for loose people,” isn’t just aimed at Southern California.

“One of our strongest selling areas, believe it or not, is the New Jersey coast,” Jimmy’Z national sales manager Kate Renzo admits.

Though many regard the new fall fare as the most casual in ages, some went against that tide. Seattle-based International News, usually a champion of graphics on sweat shirts, presented refined jackets and trousers, mixed with sweat shirts, sweaters and oversize shirts.

“We did our research. We think we hit a main artery that the industry needs,” says designer Michael Alesko, uncharacteristically wearing a suit.

“We try not to be a me-too company.”