WHO-JEANS?

Calvin Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt may have to move over to make room for identity jeans. Consumers are going through an identity crisis now, according to Luther Hall of Peddlers, a Dallas clothing manufacturer.

Backing up his philosophy, Peddlers is producing identity jeans with pockets bearing the embroidered trademarks for beer and chewing tobacco: “Brewjeans” and “Chewjeans.”

Bob Lilly, former defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys and current owner of a Coors Beer franchise, requested a pair of jeans with a Coors trademark on the pocket. Seizing on the idea, Peddlers got permission from Coors to use their trademark and went on to become licensed to use the trademarks of other beers, including Schlitz, Lone Star, Pearl, Moosehead, Miller, and Carta Blanca. The Red Man chewing tobacco trademark provided the company with a Chewjeans pocket, and Skoal and Copenhagen may be next on the racks. Peddlers has also come up with the Gatlin Brothers Collection to appeal to country/western music fans. Everyone seems to want to get in on the jeans action now, from companies calling up eager to lend their names to Peddlers’ pockets to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, interested in an entire line for the celebrated squad.

Peddlers also owns the rights to the Chicken Ranch trademark, so plans are already under way for T-shirts and jeans that will coincide with the movie open-ing of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Peddlers may well be the busiest little jean manufacturers in Texas, or the country if it continues taking on all those trademarks. – Barbara Pogue