A Lifestyle Guide for San Pedro, California
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Originally published Saturday, October 13, 2007
| JEANS GONE WILD |
Clothing shop relives its starring role
in th Dittos madness of the '70s
as the brand mounts a comeback
in th Dittos madness of the '70s
as the brand mounts a comeback
Generation X has a nostalgic fondness for the 1980s.
Nightclubs that play '80s music are en vogue with thirtysomethings. Tonight's "'80s Flashback Prom Party"
in the downtown L.A. fashion district is expected to draw 1,000 people, complete with taffeta dresses
and all the styles of the time.
But, in San Pedro and throughout Southern California, memories of the 1970s fashion trends burn even
brighter, thanks to Norman's Clothing Shop on West Sixth Street and Ditto's jeans.
If you were young and female in the '70s, you probably wore Dittos jeans. Your closet was a rainbow of
bright- and pastel-colored curve-hugging jeans that ushered in the designer denim phenomenon.
Guess what? They're back.
Dittos were reintroduced this spring in the eye-catching colors and snug fit that dazzled consumers and
inspired methodical shopping trips for more and more Dittos.
Girls in the know went straight to Norman's, a downtown San Pedro fixture for nearly 70 years.
Norman's was one of the first stores to carry Dittos and rode the wave of the wildly popular trend. The
wave crested in 1976, when Norman's achieved record-setting sales.
The San Pedro shop sold more Dittos than any other single store in the United States.
That year, Dittos was the corporate sponsor of the Grammy Awards and invited Norman's co-owners,
Nick D'Ambrosi and Mike Mazzella, to the show to celebrate their record-high sales.
"We sold thousands and thousands," said D'Ambrosi. "We were one of the first shops to pick them up.
We had an exclusive in the South Bay.
"Girls came from everywhere to buy them. They bought seven, eight, 10 pairs because they came in all
different colors."
D'Ambrosi said his once-thriving sales of Dittos were due to the company's lock on the market,
something difficult to repeat today.
"Nothing was like Dittos," It was the craze. There will never be another trend like it. D'Ambrosi said. "
"Today, there are so many more trendy brands," he added. "All the popular brands today are what
Dittos were then.
"At the time, people didn't have a problem all wearing the same jeans. I don't know if everyone would
want to look the same today."
Dittos' advertising tagline was "feel the fit." The jeans were skintight through the seat and hips,
loosening to a wide bell-bottom leg.
Some styles bore a distinctive saddle-seat design, composed of stitching in an upside-down U shape
across the back of the jeans.
Cathy Coppa is among the San Pedro women who remembers Dittos.
"I had them in every color," said Coppa, a longshore clerk who used to work the holiday season at
Norman's as a gift-wrapper in the '70s. "Dittos were the big brand. They're like what 7 for All Mankind,
Citizens of Humanity and Rock & Republic are today. It's what we wore."
Shopping at Norman's gave Jeanne D'Ambrosi more than dozens of jeans. She found a husband there,
too.
She'd make weekly trips to Norman's from her job at the former Pacific Bell office on Fifth Street. Her
co-worker, Lucia, was Nick D'Ambrosi's wife.
Nick's brother, Frank, was the store's accountant. Lucia decided to play matchmaker and introduce
Jeanne to Frank. The couple married in 1981.
Before and after their courtship, Jeanne was wild about her Dittos.
"They fit perfectly," she said. "I'd wear them with a cropped top and big wedge, platform shoes.
"I'd buy a scarf to match all my colors of Dittos. I loved my blue Dittos the most. They were a cross
between a royal blue and a cobalt, but more royal."
Norman's, founded by San Pedro merchants Norman and Ida Frumes, no longer carries women's
clothes.
These days, Norman's focuses on casual and business clothes for men and boys, as well as boys' and
girls' school uniforms. Men often come in for a "sporty casual" outfit by Tommy Bahama or Quicksilver to
wear out to dinner.
Original fans can stroll down memory lane - and introduce their daughters to their old favorites - at
South Bay Dittos retailers, including Free People in the Del Amo Fashion Center and the Beehive, a
Manhattan Beach boutique.
The styles have changed a little. The prices have changed a lot. What was then about $15 is today
upwards of $150.
Nightclubs that play '80s music are en vogue with thirtysomethings. Tonight's "'80s Flashback Prom Party"
in the downtown L.A. fashion district is expected to draw 1,000 people, complete with taffeta dresses
and all the styles of the time.
But, in San Pedro and throughout Southern California, memories of the 1970s fashion trends burn even
brighter, thanks to Norman's Clothing Shop on West Sixth Street and Ditto's jeans.
If you were young and female in the '70s, you probably wore Dittos jeans. Your closet was a rainbow of
bright- and pastel-colored curve-hugging jeans that ushered in the designer denim phenomenon.
Guess what? They're back.
Dittos were reintroduced this spring in the eye-catching colors and snug fit that dazzled consumers and
inspired methodical shopping trips for more and more Dittos.
Girls in the know went straight to Norman's, a downtown San Pedro fixture for nearly 70 years.
Norman's was one of the first stores to carry Dittos and rode the wave of the wildly popular trend. The
wave crested in 1976, when Norman's achieved record-setting sales.
The San Pedro shop sold more Dittos than any other single store in the United States.
That year, Dittos was the corporate sponsor of the Grammy Awards and invited Norman's co-owners,
Nick D'Ambrosi and Mike Mazzella, to the show to celebrate their record-high sales.
"We sold thousands and thousands," said D'Ambrosi. "We were one of the first shops to pick them up.
We had an exclusive in the South Bay.
"Girls came from everywhere to buy them. They bought seven, eight, 10 pairs because they came in all
different colors."
D'Ambrosi said his once-thriving sales of Dittos were due to the company's lock on the market,
something difficult to repeat today.
"Nothing was like Dittos," It was the craze. There will never be another trend like it. D'Ambrosi said. "
"Today, there are so many more trendy brands," he added. "All the popular brands today are what
Dittos were then.
"At the time, people didn't have a problem all wearing the same jeans. I don't know if everyone would
want to look the same today."
Dittos' advertising tagline was "feel the fit." The jeans were skintight through the seat and hips,
loosening to a wide bell-bottom leg.
Some styles bore a distinctive saddle-seat design, composed of stitching in an upside-down U shape
across the back of the jeans.
Cathy Coppa is among the San Pedro women who remembers Dittos.
"I had them in every color," said Coppa, a longshore clerk who used to work the holiday season at
Norman's as a gift-wrapper in the '70s. "Dittos were the big brand. They're like what 7 for All Mankind,
Citizens of Humanity and Rock & Republic are today. It's what we wore."
Shopping at Norman's gave Jeanne D'Ambrosi more than dozens of jeans. She found a husband there,
too.
She'd make weekly trips to Norman's from her job at the former Pacific Bell office on Fifth Street. Her
co-worker, Lucia, was Nick D'Ambrosi's wife.
Nick's brother, Frank, was the store's accountant. Lucia decided to play matchmaker and introduce
Jeanne to Frank. The couple married in 1981.
Before and after their courtship, Jeanne was wild about her Dittos.
"They fit perfectly," she said. "I'd wear them with a cropped top and big wedge, platform shoes.
"I'd buy a scarf to match all my colors of Dittos. I loved my blue Dittos the most. They were a cross
between a royal blue and a cobalt, but more royal."
Norman's, founded by San Pedro merchants Norman and Ida Frumes, no longer carries women's
clothes.
These days, Norman's focuses on casual and business clothes for men and boys, as well as boys' and
girls' school uniforms. Men often come in for a "sporty casual" outfit by Tommy Bahama or Quicksilver to
wear out to dinner.
Original fans can stroll down memory lane - and introduce their daughters to their old favorites - at
South Bay Dittos retailers, including Free People in the Del Amo Fashion Center and the Beehive, a
Manhattan Beach boutique.
The styles have changed a little. The prices have changed a lot. What was then about $15 is today
upwards of $150.
By Andrea Adleman
SPECIAL TO MORE SAN PEDRO
SPECIAL TO MORE SAN PEDRO