Overview
Call them red bottom, hot bottom or Apple Bottom, but whatever you do, don’t call them fashion disasters. Apple bottom jeans are rock stars in an industry loaded with heavyweight brands, yet they stand alone when it comes to generating attention from women who covet JLo’s assets and want to be the girl who gets the most amount of attention when she walks into a room. Nothin’ to be shy about: a girl wants her well-appointed derriere to be noticed. Apple Bottom jeans do that big time and the story behind their introduction is just as fascinating.
Delicious Designers
You’ve probably never heard of Yomi Martin, but you probably know his cousin Nelly. Yup, the rapper. Like Diddy and other contemporary music greats, Nelly joined forces with his cuz and St. Louis investors to launch Vokal, a garment business that took aim at young, trending chicks and dudes who move to the beat of rap. Inspired by sales and fans, Nelly decided to debut a clothing line for the ladies. His appreciation for a woman in a great pair of jeans launched Apple Bottom. The tag line said it all: “Apples come in all shapes and sizes” and women couldn’t have agreed more. The figure-flattering jeans accentuated curves like no other brand and sales skyrocketed, earning Nelly as much cash as he was making as a music star.
Star A-Peel
When Oprah added Apple Bottom jeans to her “favorite things” list in 2004, the handful of women who might not have heard of the Nelly-owned brand flocked to retailers to pick a pair from the company’s jeans tree. The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie wore ‘em, as did Ashanti and just about every female rapper looking to shake some booty on stage and off. Lyrics in rapper Flo Rida’s 2007 hit single “Low” paid tribute to “Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur,” and the song still remains a popular homage to the brand.
Jean-etics
That big apple logo on pairs of Apple Bottom designer jeans came with a price: the ladies that swore by the brand wanted more and they didn’t care whether it came in denim. Nelly’s design geniuses rolled out an entire crop of Apple Bottom duds to coordinate with his jeans, including shoes, sandals, bags, signature hoodies and a popular collection of plus-sized garments for full-figured women. The dude was on a clothing industry roll that seemed unstoppable.
A Core Collection
Pants, tops, bags and shoes come and go, but those red-hot Apple Bottom jeans are carrying the line into the 21st century as more women discover the curve-hugging styles that Nelly’s designers continue to produce. Expanding to swimwear and kids clothing, the Apple Bottom collection keeps growing, so if you want to see the mother lode of new jeans designs, you’re better off trolling the Internet than chasing around retail stores where a limited number of Apple Bottom jeans designs compete with other brands for shelf space. Some designs on Apple Bottom websites are classics. Others are brand new. One thing’s for sure: They’re as hot as Mom’s apple pie when it comes from the oven.
