JCPenney · 1902–present (Big Mac from 1922, Foremost jeans from the late 1940s, Plain Pockets from the mid-1970s)
JCPenney built its clothing business on house brands. Big Mac work clothes came first in 1922 and became the store's oldest private label, covering overalls, work shirts and, by the 1950s, jeans. From the late 1940s into the 1960s the denim name was Foremost, a Sanforized, copper-riveted Western jean Penney's sold for the whole family and denim historians count among the cheaper rivals to Levi's and Lee. In 1971 the company adopted the JCPenney logo in honor of its founder. By 1976 it was selling Plain Pockets, a 100% cotton jean pitched against Levi's with the line that the only difference was the pocket and the price. Plain Pockets ran into the 1990s. Collectors rarely chase them, which makes them good-value everyday denim.
2 models we cover.
Check the store name on the label first. Older pieces say Penney's, and the JCPenney logo dates from 1971. Then look for the line name, Big Mac on work clothes and overalls, Foremost on 1950s and 60s jeans with copper rivets and orange stitching, and Plain Pockets on 1970s to 90s jeans with plain back pockets.
Kemmerer, Wyoming. James Cash Penney opened a Golden Rule store there in 1902, and the business became the J. C. Penney Company in 1913.
JCPenney · Straight leg
Plain PocketsMid-1970s to the late 1990s
How to date it and what to check →
JCPenney · Slim
ForemostLate 1940s to the mid-1960s
$80–$250 typical ask
48 on eBay