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I suffer from nostalgia for things I never experienced. I day dream it’s 1990- I’m opening a present, a large pillowy shaped object wrapped in paper. Behold, a puffy, shiny, satin (insert team here) Starter jacket. Its billowy sleeves and rotund body shape envelop you like some kind of life jacket or a suit of armor. But in reality, I look like one of those cake pops from Starbucks, in the coolest way of course. Too bad I was born four years after 1990, now I get to scour eBay listings and skim through old photos on Pinterest.

Starter had existed since 1971, but came into prominence in the 80’s and 90’s. Although fans and athletes were wearing these jackets, the real craze began after various celebrities, actors, musicians, even political figures were seen sporting them inevitably leading to a boom for Starter within pop culture.

And yet, all good things must come to an end. By the mid 90s Starter’s sales had declined severely, some attest this to the 1994 MLB lockout, or the brand finally going public resulting in less control, and to no surprise, a decline in production quality.

Although the brand exists today in some capacity, the products produced during its peak is what really gives Starter undeniable staying power.