[damnstraight]

> consumers (especially kids) didn't want "department store brand" clothing from Sears/JCPenney because they were "uncool"

FWIW all my clothes were from Sears and JCPenney, my taste be damned. I know a lot of other kids my age (grew up in the 90s and 00s) were the same way, at least until quality tanked in the mid 00s.

[WalterBright]

I still buy my jeans from JCPenny. Of course, I never was cool and still ain't.

[jasode]

These days, a store brand of clothes with respectable cachet is "Kirkland" from Costco. Basics like Kirkland jeans, underwear, sweatshirts, etc. I don't know if the kids like them, but a lot of adults wear Kirkland with pride. (Sort of like a billionaire driving an ecogreen Toyota Prius... an adult wearing Kirkland as a badge signaling "I shop at Costco which means I can afford Ralph Lauren but I'm smart enough to know that Kirkland is better quality for the money.")

[bluedino]

You might not have been 'cool' but you were a step above the kids who's "mommas shopped at Kmart"

[damnstraight]

Actually (I got clothes there too) I wouldn't say the quality was much worse. The shirts, underwear, socks, etc were all fine for a kid.

Nonetheless, I had those quality jeans—you're absolutely right.