...the sandals/ flip flops from the 70's? Well they are now called Pirate Sandals (due to a lawsuit http://www.piratesandals.com/history.html) I think I'm gonna buy a pair. I remember Tiddies as a kid.
my surfer buddy bought a pair about 5 or 6 years ago and raved about them all the time. they were still called tiddies then.
I still saw signs for them in Clear Lake recently. I would buy a pair if they were still Tiddies. The original inventor of Tiddies still lives in the Clear Lake area. He sold the idea and never got rich off it. He was a doctor and used surgical tubing invent the sandals. My wife met him a year ago or so and he told her about it.
I would buy a pair if they were still called tiddies. I hadn't thought about them in a loooong time. At they time they came out I was a kid, and I associated them with Joe Walsh's song, "I like Bit t***", and vice versa.
I had many pair of tiddies when I was younger. and birdwell beach britches and G&S skate boards and Vans custom ordered at the Surf House on 34th at Ella. I skated there every day in the summer as a kid. I love that place and recently bought a 48" street surfer board. I ride it to go check the mail or I skate and take my kids on bike rides. (my kids are into vans now and my 4 year old son is starting to try to skate so we've come full circle)
I used to walk to that Surf House as a kid in the summers since my dad's mechanic shop was literally on the other side of the Surfhouse. It was next to a candy store, right?
I used to get the worst blisters from mine. Right on the inside of my foot where they would tie the surgical tubing together. I still like them way more than Crocs.
....and if you're looking for a little Pasadena nostalgia (don't know why!?), I picked up one of these t-shirts recently. Gilley's It is pretty funny who seems to know Urban Cowboy and Gilley's and who doesn't. Your typical 40 year old redneck won't even notice the shirt, but then some 18 year old female cashier at Pottery Barn will say something.
i remember the "factory" in pasadena very well. i worked at the skatepark of houston at the time. several of the sponsored amateurs of the era (todd prince and gene hare included) worked at the tiddies factory. we'd go by there and hang out before/after skate sessions at the blue ramp (prince's) in the 'dena. good times...
Doesn't sound like he was a Doctor: My brother and I invented "Pirates" sandals in 1973 in Pasadena Texas, while helping our father build a large catamaran known as the Nirvana. We first made "Pirates" for our own comfort, to wear as we stood for long hours working on the construction of a 50 foot wooden catamaran. Don't buy the ones that say "tiddies" (looks like he can no longer, by law ref: "tiddies" so he substitutes "pirates" when talkin' about the old ones too : "This is a brief, yet accurate history, which leaves much of the story of "Pirates" out for now, but which hopefully will help customers understand why the original soft foam surgical tubing sandals known as "Pirates" from 1973 until 1980 and from 1999 until early 2005, have become "PIRATE SANDALS". My brother and I invented "Pirates" sandals in 1973 in Pasadena Texas, while helping our father build a large catamaran known as the Nirvana. We first made "Pirates" for our own comfort, to wear as we stood for long hours working on the construction of a 50 foot wooden catamaran. "Pirates" were given that name by a good friend of ours and I will leave the why of the "Pirates" name to your imagination. "Pirates" quickly became a household name, at least in Texas, and by 1980 my brother and I, being pleased with our success, yet wanting to explore the world outside the "TIDDIE" factory, sold the business to our ex wives. "Pirates" had some rough years, with the death of my ex wife, and the eventual destruction of the "TIDDIE" factory by the city of Pasadena. In 1999, I began to make "Pirates" again, as I believed the trademark had been abandoned (not used for at least 3 years), and at that point it should have been legal for me, or for anyone else, to use the trademark "Pirates" in commerce. After making "Pirates" for more than 5 years successfully, and trying to bring new life to an almost forgotten product, I was sued in federal court for using the trademark "Pirates" and although I had what I felt to be the truth on my side, I lost. Not wanting the soft foam sandals to disappear again, I have continued to make the same sandals you have known as "Pirates", but they are now called "PIRATE SANDALS". " http://www.piratesandals.com/history.html stupid ex-sister in laws!
Sounds like there are 2 sides to every story. From the Tiddies website: Tiddies Inc. was founded in 1977 by two couples after the shoe had been developed and grew to a point where it became necessary to incorporate the company. In 1980, the two men of the company came to the women and asked us to buy the Real Tiddies Sandals Company. We two women agreed to buy the company and a year and a half into the buy-out my partner (sister-in-law) became ill with cancer and unfortunately died. I then owned the Real Tiddies Sandal Company solely and continued to operate the company since 1982. In 1999, unbeknownst to me, my ex-brother-in-law, Kevin Bruce Brown filed a cancellation action against the Tiddies Trademark along with the help of my own Trademark Attorney, Richard Schwartz. This resulted in a six-year court battle in Washington, D.C. at the United States Patent and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and a 3-year court action in the Northern District Court of Texas. I was successful in stopping this unlawful counterfeiting as I had been lawful in my actions and the Federal Judge presiding over the case ruled in the favor of Tiddies Inc. Therefore, Kevin B. Brown was permanently enjoined from ever using the Tiddies Trademark in any type of commerce and anyone acting in concert with him or for him was also enjoined. This is when Kevin B. Brown developed the Pirates Sandals line of products still feeding off of the Tiddies name. However, he was not able to stop the resurgence of the Real Tiddies Sandal and the company is back with a vengeance! We are now prepared to offer a better Real Tiddies Sandal made in Houston, Texas by Texans
