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Lifestylers call the above jacket a ‘UNI’ patch ski jacket. I wonder if that is because the earlier iterations of the logo appeared to have winged horse, a Pegasus, which folks in the ‘hood considered to be a unicorn. The ‘hood don’t want to know the physical difference between Pegasus and a unicorn. The ‘hood just want to know how much it cost.

That is why the Polo ski goose is such a transcendent item in my collection. Before the rugby and the knit shirt with the polo player you have to recognize how the ski jacket was a ruthlessly coveted winter staple. You see, even before the Gerry G and the Polo goose you had kids dying over leather V goose jackets. Nobody would dare get in a kids way who wanted this jacket.

Unless you were the kid wearing it.

This dude went to Art & Design, or maybe it was Humanities, or Norman Thomas, or some high school where Black kids felt comfortable wearing their high end fashion. I followed him from the Queens Plaza subway station. My eyes were fixated on the Mondrian colored puffy ski jacket like I were hypnotized. Not like, I was. I peeped the colors and was like, “Oh shit!”

At the very same time dude peeped my steez and bolted off the train at 59th and Lex. Me and the Whips was chasing dude thru the station at the early morning rush hour time thru hundreds of commuters. Dude was throwing people off the platform to get away and we was throwing people off the platform who got in our way. On the streetside above the tunnel dude had escaped us. We were young and fast but sonn was faster. Mannnn, I wanted that jacket.

No ‘Lo pieces represent the lifestyle to me harder than the ‘UNI’ and ‘Cookie’ patches, but moreso the ‘UNI’ badge. Brothers lived and died for their ski jackets here in NYC. They tore into each other because they knew better than laying a hand on that white with the ‘Lo goose on and the lift ticket on the zipper. Still and all everyone could be a vic if they were caught sleepin’. I see people asleep on the C train now and these aren’t homeless people, they’re hipsters.

Living lavish in the 80s meant you had better be living trife as well unless you wanted to get tested.