At least that's what Neil Cole, brother of shoemaker Kenneth
Cole, is betting women seeking the retro-1970s look will
think.

Cole, working with his brother and father Charles, created the
Candie's brand in 1978. It sold 14.5 million pairs through
1981,making it one of the most successful shoe designs
to hit the streets.

The Coles sold the brand to the Pentland Group in 1986 for about
$50 million. While Kenneth Cole went on to build his own
brand of higher-price shoes and a retail chain, Neil Cole started
the No Excuses jeans line.

In 1991, Neil Cole bought the Candie's operation back for $4
million, shut the business and spent the following two years
creating a growth plan. The Candie's shoes, which sell under the
name Candie's, Bongo and Lucky, resumed production in
1993 and are being sold in department stores nationwide. Last
year, Cole's Purchase company sold $38 million worth of
shoes. The brand has been expanded to include men's outdoor
shoes, casual sneakers, trendier shoes and a line of designer
shoes that has yet to hit the market.

Last weekend, the Armonk resident opened the first Candie's store
in the Galleria mall in White Plains. He plans to open three
or four more in area malls in the coming year and 50 in the next
three to four years.

"It's a good prototype of a good suburban mall," said Cole, 39.
"Our customer is a fashion-oriented suburbanite between 15
and 30 years old who wants to spend under $50 for footwear. Where
Payless leaves off and Nine West begins, there's a void
we can fill."

What remains to be seen is whether Cole can recapture the
popularity with Generation X girls who are more accustomed to
wearing layers of drab oversize clothing -- or with women who
already wore out a pair or two of Candies as teen-agers.

In 1978, it was the release of "Grease" starring Olivia
Newton-John in skin-tight black spandex and sexy slip-on wood
high heels (actually the Charles Jourdan brand) that caught the fancy
of young women.

But if fashion magazines are an indication, the Candie's classic
slide shoe is getting a footing in the fashion world. This
summer, the shoes made it onto fashion pages in Harper's Bazaar and
Glamour magazines.

"There is tremendous value attributed to brand names," said
Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a
retail financial-consulting firm in Manhattan. "There's room in
that fashion niche."

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