I wonder what twisted mind came up with them. Create a line of children’s unisex clothing, all of which is too ugly for girls to feel comfortable in, and too fruity for boys to feel comfortable in, then sit and watch every kid’s self-image plummet.
For me, they were torture. There was one orange pants/orange-and-white striped polo ensemble that made me want to stay home. Total Lileks. And they weren’t as practical as they could have been, either. Supposedly, they stood up to more wear and tear, and I suppose they did, but they were terrible in the heat!
Of course, if you wore Garanimals willingly, by all means share your memories!
I remember wearing a lot of Garanimals brand clothes. Tank tops and shorts mostly.
Orange and white striped shirt with orange shorts was my favorite outfit because it made me think of push-ups. I had a pair of white sandals with white flowers that I wore with them.
I remember having at least one Garanimals shirt and perhaps the matching pants. I think I was in sixth grade, which would make it about 1971. I’m a guy, and the shirt was a khaki color, so the only nerdy/kiddie thing about it was the little green animal on the left breast.
Anyone know when they came on the market? When did they stop selling them? I’m also curious about what class of stores carried them. I got mine at a Venture store (think slightly upscale Kmart) in central IL – probably on sale.
In the late 80s, I had a man tell me about a basically-Geranimals line of clothing for the taste-challenged man. Match the shapes on the tags, and you would match the clothing. What was that?
So that’s where Richard Simmons got his fashion ideas from!
They were mostly sold in “value-focused” chains: Here in the Northeast you’d find them at Ames, Zayre’s, and maybe Caldor. If they were still made today I suspect they’d be at Target and Wal-Mart.
I’m not sure when they were discontinued. For that matter I only recently learned that Cabbage Patch Dolls & Power Rangers were still going strong (the joys of a childless house).
I don’t remember them being that bad, and from what I saw on the link nyctea scandiaca posted, they look like pretty normal kid’s clothes. Maybe it’s not the brand torturing you, Rilchiam, but your parents taste in clothing. Maybe they went just bought all the ugly stuff!
I had one set of garanimals clothing which I don’t remember anything about, but ALL my clothes were polyester and it was always matching outfits. My mom loved the polyester and was very proud of how spiffy her kids looked while all the other kids were walking around in comfortable cotton jeans and tee shirts.
I had one outfit when I was around 10. It was red overalls and a red & white striped turtleneck. I think I have you all beat in the ugly outfit department. But wait! That’s not all. The overalls were polyester.
I had a pair of greenish pants (think Mr. Greenjeans) and a matching striped green pullover shirt that went with them. I remember the tag had an elephant’s face; you match the elephant pants to the elephant shirt, and brother, you look sharp.
There was always an extra swagger in my step on the days I was sporting my Garanimals.
You have my sympathy. I remember my mother telling me I looked “smart” in some greenish-brown slacks and rugby shirt combo. I remember feeling pretty stupid, not to mention sweating like a pig. The ceiling of my closet had a trapdoor to our attic, though, and one afternoon, I pushed the Garanimal outfit up into the rafters. As far as I know, it’s still there. Waiting…
Because it’s exactly the kind of outfit some kid would be wearing in a '70s-era photo on his site. I got Interior Desecrations for Christmas, and I’m still having flashbacks.
I remember Garanimals!
I never had them, sadly–my mother believed in Serious, Rowboat and Co. The Lemon Frog Shop was the name of the day–and I longed for the day when I would be old enough to get stuff from Lemon Frog. All I remember was being a 6x at Sears…
I do remember the matching tags–had no idea that the tags were to make it easy for the kids–I thought they were for the parents!
Up until about three minutes ago, I had never heard of garanimals, so, of course, I googled the term. The second link was called “Profile of a Pedophile”. Just though that I would share.
