cannabisnews.com: Customers Soak in '60s at Levi's in S.F.





Customers Soak in '60s at Levi's in S.F.
Posted by FoM on August 23, 1999 at 06:52:54 PT
Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
You can take a bath with a stranger at Levi Strauss' new megastore on Union Square. Who says the '60s are dead? 
Paying homage to the 1967 Summer of Love, the corporation famous for blue jeans has put a tub in the middle of its new Post Street complex. Customers who buy a new pair of pants can soak themselves in the tub for 10 minutes, free of charge. The idea is to shrink your jeans to a perfect fit, just like the hippies and rebellious teenagers did decades ago, when they frolicked in oceans, streams -- and, yes, bathtubs -- with their pants on. The Levi's tub is in full view of the public and sales staff, so customers can't do anything out of the ordinary. In fact, people who use the tub are encouraged to remain still while they're soaking themselves. ``Keep your knees straight,'' advised assistant store manager Frank Adkins. The tub is proving popular with those who want their jeans to fit just right, including Rachael Jersey, a 17-year-old student from Reno who was encouraged by her mother, Sandra. ``I was shocked when I saw this,'' said Sandra Jersey, who is 43 and grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich. ``When I was her age, (my friends and I) would go sit in a warm bathtub for an hour. . . . We'd sit in really hot water to make them skintight.'' ``It's awesome,'' said Rachael Jersey, who said she didn't mind the stares of the crowd, many of whom have never seen a public bathtub like this one. ``I love the attention,'' she said. Two people at a time can fit into the tub, which Levi's is calling a ``shrink-to-fit tank.'' Customers are given a pair of disposable underwear and don their new jeans in private dressing rooms, which also contain showers. After using the tub, shoppers have their choice of standing in the device called ``The Human Dryer'' or putting their jeans in a commercial dryer. The whole procedure takes about 40 minutes. You'd think that everyone would be happy about this bit of nostalgia, but in San Francisco -- especially on Haight Street, where the '60s were so famously molded -- some veterans of the era were quick to complain that a corporation is co-opting the decade. Gary Rosmini voiced disgust at the new complex, which also features a stitching area where customers can buy instant emblems for their jeans, like the ``Flower Power'' emblem that costs $32 to sew on and the marijuana leaf that costs $20. ``That's all this retro stuff has done -- make standard what we used to do creatively as a survival thing,'' said Rosmini, a 46-year-old carpenter who describes himself as ``an old hippie.'' ``There's none of the social drive (we had). None of the protests. The (consumers of these products) are just marking time by re-enacting what we used to do,'' Rosmini said. ``But we did it to be antiestablishment.'' Just down the block, Brenda Smith, the manager of Mendel's fabric store, also rolled her eyes. ``I think the (bathtub) is ridiculous. I told my daughter, `You'd better not ever do this,' '' said Smith, who is 45 and whose daughter is 18. ``What are they putting in the water for hygiene (purposes)? In pools, they put in chlorine. What's in the (Levi's) tub?'' Store workers take precautions to clean the Levi's bathtub water, changing it every time a customer uses it. But even that fact wouldn't appease Smith. ``Why not just make a pair of pants that people can wear right away?'' she said. And some customers are coming to Levi's for ready-to-wear pants. ``I like a little looser fit now,'' said Robert Townsky, a 37-year-old film student, standing just outside the tub area. ``When I was in high school, I used to wear them tight.'' Jonathan CurielChronicle Staff WriterMonday, August 23, 1999 ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle  Page A17
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