RETAIL : Hang Ten Styles of Generation Ago Making Comeback With Kids of Today

Why would a kid want to go to school in an old shirt of his dad’s?

Perhaps because it is colorful and comfortable, and nobody else has one like it.

Hang Ten, the brand of striped knit shirts with the little feet, was a mainstay of Southern California school wardrobes in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Now it’s coming back strong.

“This look is completely different from anything else on the market,” said Derby Williams, division manager and chief designer for the Hang Ten boys’ and men’s line, which is manufactured in Orange County.

The reason may be that the garment industry long ago wrote off Hang Ten shirts and their distinctive look.

But Williams and sales chief Frank Swed, both veterans of the surf wear industry, realized recently that they had something when they heard of kids scouring garage sales and parents’ closets to find old Hang Ten tops.

The time seemed right because of the popularity today of “retro” fashions that mirror or mock the 1960s and 1970s. But the true strength of the comeback could not be measured until Swed started taking samples of the line around to Nordstrom department stores and to surf shops. Most, he said, have ordered and reordered. In six months, more than 100 retailers have lined up to carry Hang Ten.

Williams said sales should reach $1 million this year and $2 million next year. What’s next? Try Hang Ten shorts, surf trunks and sweat shirts.