For Richer or Poor Wear : KROQ Deejay Has High Hopes for Line of Low-Cost Clothing

If a lot of people buy his new line of Poor Wear, Jim Trenton could go from Poor Man to rich man.

“We could be the Pet Rock of Christmas,” joked Trenton, a disc jockey on KROQ-FM who uses Poor Man as his radio name.

Just in time for a lean holiday season, Trenton has introduced Poor Wear, “clothes for recessionary times.” They’re a collection of inexpensive T-shirts, sweat shirts and baggy pants that come only in white on black or black on white.

“Color costs too much,” Trenton explains.

These are clothes for every man--and woman and child. There’s a Poor Lady T-shirt that has a few flies buzzing around an empty handbag on its front and a Poor Baby T-shirt for infants with a baby clad in sagging diapers and a beanie.

“The timing is good because money’s really tight right now,” Trenton says.

All of the clothes come adorned with one of the Poor Wear logos, including the simple block logo with the Poor Wear name, a drawing of flies circling an empty can of food and a picture of Poor Man lying on a hill eating a piece of bread.

“He’s just content with life,” Trenton says. “We wanted to give the idea that if you don’t have money, that doesn’t mean life is horrible.”

Trenton is anti-fashion. He refuses to use slinky professional models to show his line.

“Our clothing doesn’t have this attitude,” he says.

He calls on people of average height and weight who just happen to be his friends to model Poor Wear.

“We call our models anti-models. I’m not saying they have to be ugly--they’re just normal,” he says. “If you’re a fashion model, you’re not right for Poor Wear.”

In a time of layoffs and low profits, Trenton is banking on the idea that people need a good laugh. His recessionary clothing is a spinoff of his radio personality. Trenton has been known as Poor Man since the early ‘80s, when he wrote two books on low-cost dining. Sample title: “Poor Man’s Guide to Gourmet Dining in Pasadena for Under $6.”

“I wrote these books and I became the Poor Man,” he says.

Trenton has a gift for promotions. He began reviewing cheap meals on KROQ 10 years ago and gradually expanded his duties to become the station’s disc jockey for the busy 6 to 9 p.m. weekday time slot.

Always in search of a bargain, Trenton would instigate “free food frenzies” on the air, convincing restaurants to give away food for three hours to his listeners. He’d start one-on-one gas wars between competing gasoline stations, urging them to cut the cost of gasoline for one hour.

The idea for Poor Wear came about just a couple of months ago, when Trenton and a group of his friends were relaxing on the sand in front of his Newport Beach home.

Somebody--they think it was Trenton--decided it would be fun to come up with a line of low-cost clothing that played off the Poor Man concept.

Trenton called on 360 Designs, a clothing manufacturer in Anaheim, to produce the line.

“We’re still in the neophyte stage,” he says.

The Poor Baby line features T-shirts and baby baggies for infants, inspired in part by Trenton’s 10-month-old son, Nicholas. Trenton figured parents need cheap clothing for their children.

For women there are stirrup pants, sweat shirts and T-shirts with the handbag motif and other Poor Wear logos, and men also have a selection of shirts and baggies.

“Poor Wear is stylish enough to wear to a party and look pretty cool,” Trenton says.

True to its name, Poor Wear isn’t expensive. T-shirts sell for under $10, sweat shirts and baggies for under $20.

“We want to be the cheapest thing the stores have.”

Only one item in the collection sells for more than $20. It’s a polyester/cotton sweat shirt with Poor Wear’s “Tycoon” logo, a man in top hat and tails.

“It’s a rich-guy shirt,” Trenton says.

So far, there’s evidence that Trenton’s line will be worn by the rich and poor alike. Nordstrom has ordered the line for six of its stores, including South Coast Plaza.

“I’m hoping people in Michigan will be wearing Poor Wear. It doesn’t exclude anybody.”

While Poor Wear is making its debut as a Christmas novelty item, Trenton says action trade shows in January that carry casual sportswear will be the true test of the line’s success.

“I’d like to see these anywhere and everywhere, from a Gucci store to K mart,” he says. “As long as it sells at both places for about the same price.”

For more details about Poor Wear, call (714) 722-8785.