Code Green, Tan and Brown

By Richard Zoglin

From tots on up, the hot wrinkle in military chic is camouflage

Howard R. Smith, who runs the Old Sarge Army-Navy store in Atlanta, likes to quote a maxim of his business: "If you can't sell it, spray it olive drab." Indeed, military-green duds have come in and out of fashion vogue with regularity since World War II. Of late, however, the old reliable color scheme has been supplanted by splotches of green, tan and brown. At Smith's store and dozens of others across the country, camouflage wear has become an undisguised rage. In the weeks before Christmas, camouflage outfits for children sold nearly as fast as Cabbage Patch dolls in some locales. And adults, whose need for protective coloration on city streets might seem to be minimal, are snapping up everything from camouflage-colored pants and shirts to jackets, caps, belts, wallets, bandanas, jogging shorts and men's bikini underwear.

"We sold everything we had in the store from size four on up," says Phyllis P. Dixon of Bob's Army Surplus in Raleigh, N.C. "Usually the hunters buy it, but this is the first time we've had bare walls because of the younger kids." Sales increased tenfold over the previous year during the holiday season at Dug-Out, a Chicago store specializing in military garb. Burk Manufacturing Co. of Shreveport, La., one of the nation's largest commercial manufacturers of military-style clothing, has increased its production of camouflage wear by 70% since last August, and is starting to ship it to boutiques and department stores as well as the traditional military-surplus shops.

Nowhere has the "camo" craze been more noticeable than in Washington, where Redskins mania has been epitomized Running Back John Riggins' off-field military garb. Sales of military gear have "broken all records," according to Laura Loeb, manager of Washington's U.S. Military store. A city bus was even decorated in camouflage as a promotional stunt for the National Guard. Meanwhile in Hollywood, stars like Priscilla Barnes of Three's Company are donning camouflage and more exotic military wear. "I've sold flight coveralls to Raquel Welch," reports Jeff Stein, owner of the Camp Beverly Hills store. "She looks terrific in them."

Though camouflage-colored uniforms have been worn by U.S. forces in the field since World War II, the recent surge in sales may be a response to U.S. military actions in Lebanon and Grenada. The symbolism seems more upbeat than it was in the mid-1960s, when college students opposed to the Viet Nam War wore combat gear largely to express their scorn for the military. Today, says Allen Schreck, national sales manager for Schreck Wholesale Inc. in Chicago, a manufacturer of military clothing, "I think many people wear military clothes because they feel proud of the U.S. and the way it is acting in world affairs."

Some of the clothes are authentic military issue, sold as surplus or as substandard in some way. But increasingly they consist of commercially made imitations, usually cheaper than the real McCoy but not as durable. Most popular is the so-called Woodland pattern, one of two camouflage styles, along with Desert, currently being worn by U.S. troops in the field. The relatively low price (as little as $13 for a commercial knockoff of four-pocket pants, one of the hottest sellers; from $23 to $30 for the Government version) and the antichic chic have obvious attractions. Robin Figaro, 26, a Chicago computer operator, bought her camouflage jumpsuit "because I like to be noticed." She adds, "I always tell people that my Army jacket was worn in Viet Nam. I think that is pretty cool."

Some parents find it less cool that their children are obsessed with war-related clothing. But most consider the fad relatively harmless. For youngsters, moreover, the protective coloring can have its uses. Phyllis Dixon, of Bob's Army Surplus in Raleigh, recalls one mother who came home to find her entire neighborhood dressed in camouflage. Says Dixon: "She couldn't find her own kid because they all looked alike." --By Richard Zoglin. Reported by Carol Fletcher/Chicago and Stanley W. Robblns/Atlanta

With reporting by Carol Fletcher/Chicago, Stanley W. Robblns/Atlanta