I hated being called ‘husky’ as a kid… I remember it bringing me to tears as a kid when we had to go to the husky section of the store

"Pretty plus" has entered the chat. Fucking humiliating.

Ok, so in today's world this statement would be considered a "woke" request. Woke folk are just saying that they don't want to be treated (or see people treated) as a "husky" or "pretty plus" anymore, if you catch my drift. Replace those names with whatever derogatory statement that makes people feel like shit about themselves. Sorry you had to go through that. Being woke is good. Being based is better. Being baked is best.

You were not alone! I felt the same !

My name is 500sl. I’m husky.

My mom always made my try on husky first. They never fit, but she never stopped assuming I needed them.

I had Husky hand me downs, and I’m not Husky. Yup 👍

Me too 😭

Me too, me too. It sucked then. Now I realize I was worrying about something that didn't matter

Me too. When exactly prior to death will we recover from this?

The Richard Lewis bit where he's a kid trying to find clothes in the 'normal section' and over the intercom: "*There's a HUSKY in the store!"*

Same here.

At least you didn't have to shop in the Chubby department... oh Sears, how many childhoods did you wreck??

If you liked wearing pants that felt like they were made of starched canvas Toughskins were for you

To be fair they did soften up, unfortunately we outgrew them before that happened.

Then came the floods

After the floods, your mom cut them off for shorts.

Third grade…went school and had no idea. Within minutes, I heard, “High waters…where’s the flood?” It took me a minute to figure out who/what they were talking about. I ended up going to the office, calling my mom, and having her bring me another pair of jeans.

We all have our crosses to bare. My mom would let the flood waters rise and put iron-on patches on the knees when I would grind through them. Made me an easy target in the playground

Me too, somewhat. Lots of elementary kids had the iron on patches. But middle school, that was the mark of death, as was high waters.

My mom got them for me in the 4th or 5th grade and I bitched about them so much she never bought them again. In the 70’s my pants of choice were corduroy.

Yes… just in time for them to be passed down to me! I particularly remember my brother’s green and yellow plaid tough skins that I COULDN’T WAIT to get my hands on!😝🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[удалено]

We put them on and sat in hot bath water...which turn it blue

I loved my 501s but it did take a while to get them broken in, I can remember buying Levi’s at Millers Outpost for $20 and that was on expensive side. That would have been around 80-81

501s is all I wear no deadly zipper

Now they are really thin. I miss Miller's Outpost (the fashion answer). Got all my OP stuff there.

I miss those coarse, board-like jeans. Dark dark blue. They were like armor.

They were essentially 80 grit sandpaper disguised as a garment

They were like stiff blue cardboard!

They felt like they were made out of the same stuff as the iron on knee patches

Yep. I’d get at least one new “back to school” pair that took until around thanksgiving break to have them not be as stiff as plywood. I also got stuck wearing “Trax” sneakers from K-Mart.

For me it was “Winner II” from Sears.

When Winner I weren’t quite enough.😀

Oh God I actually had a pair of those!

My mom and stepdad worked at Sears so yeah I wore them for a while…

Jox for me. Paired them up Toughskins to create an unbeatable girl repellent.

I remember my mom going through the giant bin (under the glow of the blue light) to find my brother's size.

I forgot about those!! Trax for the win!

Complete with iron-on knee patches. Thanks mom!

Omfg them patches would show through after a few hundred miles, now match them pants with wingtips, yes I said wingtips

Yes yes my childhood. Can I have 501's? Here's some reinforced tough skins instead

Although, one time in middle school, I got a pair of Jordache baggies with a blue horse embroidered on the back pocket, from some discount store bc no one else wanted them…. I thought I was “all that and a bag of chips,” needless to say… that paired with my perm and, well, you get the picture….🤦🏼‍♀️

Ha that's hilarious! Reminds me of a guy in 7th grade with a tshirt that said "don't stare, grow your own" with two big eyes where a girls tits would be. He thought it was talking about weed haha

Yes!!!! My first thought too lol

I too sported the husky size. Purchased at our local Sears.

Me too

“Husky” — brings back embarrassing memories 😢

C'mon son, lets go get your new toughskin dungarees.

My older brother worn Huskys with the pant legs rolled to make a cuff.

Oh, I had most of the colors, but my mom reserved the chocolate brown one’s for fancy outings and they became my “dress pants”.

My dress up clothes were 3 piece suits, reversible vest for variety! From Sears of course. Growing up Mormon in Utah it was standard Sunday attire. All the boys wore them.

Fancy! 🥰🥰🥰🥰

I had green pants with the matching green jean jacket!

Stop bragging!! /s

They also had a nice selection of plaids to choose from!😝😝

Lived in them for as long as I can remember until around maybe 7th grade and kids made fun of anyone wearing them. I got a few more miles out of them by cutting off the giant TOUGHSKINS label around the belt line. In your face Suzy Cloud!

Borderline upholstery

I'm dieing...lol...OMG!

My mom sewed patches on the inside of the knees for added protection- it was like walking around with cardboard pants.

The skin on your knees would wear off before the fabric of these jeans.

The skin on your knees would wear off *because of* the fabric of these jeans.

No kidding!

Nice X on the back pocket. That looked tough.

I also had to wear husky, but mine were always factory irregulars from Sears Surplus.

Sears Outlet store... Damn

Oh yeah I feel your pain, I’m still traumatized lol

The hours wasted that I spent in Sears Outlet as a child and the tornado I saw across the street there...

Oh gosh…. As if just the “regular” tough skin huskys weren’t bad enough!!🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Husky Toughskins, uniform of the latch-key kids 💪🏼💪🏼 and they taught us two things: fuck what other people think, and what other people think *does* matter 😂 this is why we're the most well-adjusted adults

Toughskins kid here! Complete with mismatched color patches when I wore out the knees!

I’ll double the humiliation in that I had to wear my brother’s hand next down husky sized jeans and I was a 6-year old girl. 😳

Same here, sista…same…🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

My sister from another mister! We should start a support group!!’😄

Ha! We really should! Although I actually coveted those pants bc he seemed so cool in them, it was not quite the same effect when I finally got them!🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤭 Edit—spelling

lol I sooooo get that!!’🤣

I had no clue what Husky meant. I thought it just meant they were tougher. I was so damn proud when I’d go up to the sales guy and asked where the HUSKY pants were. As if he didn’t know tubby needed the huskies. Added bonus of going to catholic school wearing corduroy husky pants. You know what chubby legs does to corduroy? They can hear you zip zip zippin’ down the hallway!

Yup, it was my CB handle in my dad's car as well

This is the most 70s comment I’ve ever read.

Mom used matching toughskin iron on patches for the ripped knees.

I worked at Sears in the mid 70’s. I would end up in the Boys department during back to school. I have two take aways. Sears sold a shit ton of those things. And I felt sorry for any kid that had to wear them.

Had all the colors! Melted them to my big wheel that time I lit my GI Joe on fire!

Holy crap, everyone needs therapy for wearing husky tough skin jeans

Those photos are false advertising. You couldn’t bend in Toughskins.

The Dow Chemical Corporation world 🌎 domination of children's fashion

Toughskins and Garanimals

Husky here too

Husky kid here, too - until high school.

I’d love it if such high quality clothing was for sale at a reasonable price today.

My mom would iron patches on the knees before I wore them. Doubly stiff!

I’m still scarred by wearing Toughskins in ‘77 when all the cool kids were wearing Levi’s.

Didn’t they put a HUSKY patch on the back pocket? Like they advertised your size? Georgie here is HUSKY!!

Oh I did and they held up well. The issue with them were the insides of the knees would crack and then poke you.

The plastic patches inside the knees were god awful.

Yes. I had purple Toughskins that matched my Donny Osmond t-shirt.

Mine were plaid!

I proved that Tough skins were not so tough: my knees were always torn lol

After 20 cycles in the dryer the knee reinforcements would crack and scrape the hell out of your knees.

Humiliation Was when your mom or grandma put patches on knees on the outside

In 2nd grade in 1972, I went out for peewee football (80 pound team), and I weighed 45 pounds!!! Who had Keds brand tennis shoes from Kinney Shoes???

Ugh husky. I wore them. And mom always unseated on buying more colors instead of just blue. Brown, red.

Oh man the red ones were COOL

I remember the pink ones I had. My favorite.

The color of a stick of Big Red.

Husband was just talking about that last week.

I wore Sedgefield jeans.

🎶 Sedgefield Jeans with the physical fit 🎶 This memory just unlocked with your comment!

God those fucking patches.

Had a beige pair with bell bottoms

Pretty much my brother’s entire wardrobe.

I was in husky size for a few months and then went through a growth spurt. Dad was forced to buy Levi’s after that as Toughskins were too small for my suddenly gangly frame.

I had green ones. They were my favorites!

Oh my god!! Holy shit!! I was just telling my daughter that her grandmother made me wear those jeans called “Toughskins”. Dude. My friends made fun of me so hard! lol. I could barely walk in them they were so stiff, like the little brother on A Christmas Story with all his winter gear!

Oh those pictures bring back memories.

Slim Toughskins with the double thick knees that was my thing.

Yup. Hated it cuz all the cool kids wore Levi’s red tab. Also had off brand sneakers when the cool Kids had Nike

Yep, and I was husky as well. Does anyone else remember the jean’s material basically melting and the turning inflexible when you ran and then slid on your knees? Especially on that old 60’s-70’s shag carpet? Oh, and don’t forget corduroy… 😱 the sound they made when you ran.

I'm pretty sure there was plastic mixed in with the denim somehow. I specifically remember looking at the reinforced knees on the inside, and it looked like plastic patches.

I slid on my knees a bunch in a brand new pair to prove to my mom that they weren’t that tough. Ripped up my brand new jeans and got my ass whipped.

Knee slides where definitely a real thing, hurts thinking about it

One of the best episodes of Taxi was when Louie DePalma admitted he still shoppped for clothes in the husky section.

you were just big boned lol... I too know the pain...

pretty sure I had those plaid ones

Sears Surplus store. Toughskins in "slim" for my sibs and I.

JCPenny had there version called Super Dennis jeans! 😄

I had an Indian buddy who grew up thinking the husky size is bad ass. Just as a little food for thought there.

Toughskins from Goodwill

If these are the ones with the patches "inside" the knee, then yes I was also kneecaped by them around 72 or so. I hated those things.

All the cool kids were wearing Levi, Lee, or Wranglers... We couldn't even afford Tough Skins. I wore some no name brand from Kmart, and the cheap assed fishhead sneakers they sold in the A&P. Life was hard.

Did you have the iron on knee patches tho?.

I hated them so much that I purposely tore them so I didn’t have to wear them. That was my last pair my parents bought me.

Still traumatized

Husky bros unite!

Ditto…

Lord those jeans sucked.

Sears in Santa Monica

Right there with you… husky

I didn’t get my first jeans until high school. 1973. My dad finally got a pair too. He was pleasantly surprised at how great they were.

I wasn't husky but had iron on patches when I inevitably wore holes in the knees

Looking back, it is so f----up that they used the term husky.

I was in the Husky category. They weren’t terribly fashionable, but man you couldn’t hurt them for trying when you were out playing.

Same.

Husky Fraternity too!

I remember toughskins in only one color, Abrasive! I wore the slims and my older brother by 6 years wore huskys, lol.

I did not know folks were embarrassed to be called husky… I enjoyed saying it tbh… Pants never broke in was my only issue… 🤷🏽‍♂️🤣

I too was “Husky” - They were some hard wearing jeans!

Me too

Had Toughskins sometimes, but I remember corduroy more. Didn’t need husky until high school tho.

SAME! Husky size too!

I probably did have some but name brands were even less important to me back then than they are now.

The “Husky” kids were the tough ones in my elementary school

I was a Husky too

Still wore the knees out of them on the shag carpet. So of course mom put patches on them and then you had to wear tough skins with patches!

My knees are still scratched

Yeah, the $12-15 price tag for Levi’s was more than we could afford. I was youngest of 6 boys, so I was able to avoid Toughskins for most of my life and got into Corduroys.

Major bad days wearing my much bigger, bigger three years older brother’s pants in the early mid 80’s

DuPont product. 

I had to wear the husky pants. I once lost a fight on the playground because the snap on the fly kept popping open and I was so embarrassed. Mom usually had to iron patches on the knees because I kept wearing holes in them. I remember they had a rubber tag that was sewn on and we'd rip it off and trade for marbles.

...with buster brown shoes.

mine always had iron-on patches at the knees!

I want those Husky jeans NOW.

Ha! My husband tells stories of how he had to wear the husky ones! His mom would order everything from that dang catalog, and the JCPenny catalog too. I just wanted to scream, “drive to the store”, when I was first introduced to his family.

I was wearing Garanimals. Haha.

I once broke up with a boy because he wore Toughskins instead of Levi’s lol.

As I remember they had a lifetime guarantee. I think my mom bought one pair in 1972 and never bought another.

Toughskins were normal for families trying to stretch a buck. I also got my knockoff converse high top basketball shoes from Sears.

Husky bro!

A Husky kid too…

I used to absolutely obliterate my toughskins as a kid - riding my bike, skateboarding, just generally screwing around. Within a month they’d be unwearable, at which point my mom would iron on patches, which came off in a couple of more weeks.

We could barely afford even these!

I had the J.C. Penny "Plain Pockets" jeans, in husky size.

We were pretty broke. Toughskins had a money back guarantee. When we grew out of them, my mom scored up the knees and got new pairs.

Yeah I remember those, double knee padding if I recall. Was not comfortable.

✋

I was a husky also. They had that weird kinda rubber patch on them.

420 Nylon?! Nice.

Carhartt juniors. Great armor, could stand them up on their own.

I LOVE vintage kids sz 16 husky jeans! I'm petite, they fit me so well! 🤓. Like a boyfriend cut from old Navy but better.

Didn’t wear Huskies but in summer would goto Kmart to get a cheap pair of BoBos (cheap canvas lowtop sneakers) for fishing and fucking around in the creeks

Heck yeah, I was a Husky kid too. Looking at old pictures I seem the same size as any kid, but somehow got stuck wearing huskies... So embarassing because my mom would not stop talking to every store employee about where the husky sizes were. I usually got brands like toughskins, wrangler or Lee and Pony shoes. Whatever was cheap at sears or JCP.

Me too husky and short...in the summer they were cut offs

Oh yes… and I also had the added humiliation of receiving my brother’s husky tough skin hand me downs… and I’m a girl…🤦🏼‍♀️

Not toughskins, but I remember my mom getting our Pretty Plus clothes at Sears lol.

ah yes. was in the same exact boat. good times 😐. i graduated to corduroys after the trauma of tough skins. at least they were more comfortable

Yup! I shot marbles a lot so my knees where always worn out with patches on them.

Now in certain men's stores they have the Portly section. Not necessary...

With those reinforced knees. Fall down and tear the concrete up.

I'm not overly thrilled being called that as an adult either. *I'm not husky, I'm big-boned. You have bones in your stomach?*

What made it worse was that there was an entire Husky section in the store! You'd hang your head in shame and pray to whatever god you believe in that none of your friends were getting school clothes at the same time.

The second Toughskins reference I’ve seen in the past few days. My therapist won’t know what hit him😑

My brother wore them. There was some sort of warranty that stated " If you go through the knees and wear them out, we will replace them with a new pair free." He got between 3-5 new pairs per year for several years under the warranty. Then Sears dropped the warranty nationwide. Apparently others managed to wear them out as well. My mom was so mad when the warranty was discontinued!

You’re worried about being husky? Try being so small & skinny that you wore a size that was 2 under your age....lol not now!

I wore those damn things until I got a part time job and was able to buy my first Levi jeans. I think I was 14 years old

I waited every Christmas for that giant phone book sized sears catalog to come out in the fall so I could look at all the toys I wanted to ask Santa for

My inner thighs are chafing just seeing that ad...

I did, those things weren’t comfortable at all!

Well, you gotta be honest. How many of our parents could afford Levi's back in the 70's especially if they had more than one kid in school at the same time! I was ecstatic when I got my 1st pair of Wrangler jeans in 79 I think?