( CNN ) -- The answer to J. C. Penney 's endless woes is right in front of its corporate eyes . The answer is wearing a plain white T-shirt . And the answer has a name : . James Dean . Penney 's -- the century-old chain of midmarket department stores that were once a solid downtown presence in big cities and small towns in every state -- is floundering . It seems to be in utter turmoil , and has been for a while . Some members of its board of directors have been at each other 's throats ; one of those directors , William Ackman , resigned last week after publicly upbraiding the others . The CEO 's office might as well have a revolving door . Last fiscal year , according to The Wall Street Journal , Penney 's lost $ 1 billion as sales dropped 25 % . After a previous CEO was fired , the company took out advertisements apologizing to its customers for what the shopping experience had become . The in-store staff was reported to be demoralized and confused as the once steadfast and prosperous chain struggled to figure out what it even is . What Penney 's needs right now , more than anything else , is some defining . Enter James Dean . He died in an automobile crash in 1955 at the age of 24 . He had made just three movies : `` Rebel Without a Cause , '' `` East of Eden '' and `` Giant . '' But his mystique and glamour have only become bigger over the decades . James Dean , now and forever , is the very picture of youthful cool . He never grew old -- so he never grows old . What does this have to do with J. C. Penney ? For years after Dean 's death , there were young men all over the United States who went to Penney 's for one reason : . They believed -- the rumor was widespread -- that the T-shirt for which Dean was known was a Penney Towncraft T-shirt . Plain . White . No logo . No words on it . No special tailoring . It was what James Dean -- born in Marion , Indiana , smack dab in the middle of J. C. Penney country -- favored . Or , at any rate , that was the legend -- what today might be called an urban legend . It was passed from one guy to another , without anyone being quite sure where he 'd first heard it . Back then -- I can vouch for this -- young men fervently believed it , and it brought them to Penney 's . Penney 's , at least in their minds , was James Dean Land . Their conviction about Dean and the Penney Towncraft T-shirt was like the unshakable conviction among young Americans in the early 1960s that the lyrics to `` Louie Louie '' were dirty . Because of the pervasiveness of the belief , it became accepted reality . To quote from `` The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance '' -- which starred another beloved James , James Stewart -- `` When the legend becomes fact , print the legend . '' Penney 's should aggressively embrace this . It should print the legend . It should pay whatever it takes to the estate of James Dean to purchase the rights to an image of him in a classic white T-shirt . And he should become the face of the chain . What has it got to lose ? Nothing else is working . It has struggled with various strategies to lure shoppers , especially young shoppers . It all has failed . But James Dean is everlastingly young , perpetually rebellious . `` Live fast , die young , and leave a beautiful corpse '' is a phrase often associated with him , although he did not originate it . If Penney 's were to make Dean the consistent image of the company , the stores themselves might find a fresh chance at life in the victory lane . Let Walmart and Kmart and Target and Sears and Macy 's and Sam 's Club and all the faceless stores in all the faceless malls be just that : faceless . Penney 's needs to separate itself from the pack . James Dean , and that T-shirt , are the antithesis of , even the antidote to , so much of what ails contemporary culture . Frantic self-promotion and garish logos and slogans plastered on every surface and the `` look-at-me '' attitude of modern life -- what is a more stark rejection of that than a plain white T-shirt ? If you can get customers into your store to buy one thing , they just may stay to buy other things . The trick is getting those customers to come back through the front door . James Dean did it once for Penney 's , without even trying . The chain ought to roll the dice and see if he can do it again . As it is , the recent face of Penney 's has been the face of its feuding board of directors , bickering with each other as if they are auditioning for a movie called `` Rebels Without a Clue . '' As James Dean once cried out from a movie screen : `` You 're tearing me apart ! '' That has to come to an end . The stores deserve to survive and thrive , to be the reliable part of American life that they were when they were steady on their feet . Right now , J. C. Penney 's problem is that no one really knows what it stands for . Let it decide it wants to stand for that which is eternal and cool . And let it turn for help to He Who Is Eternally Cool . Would it be a risk for Penney 's ? Would it be taking a big chance ? Sure . But , as Dean himself once reportedly said : `` Dream as if you 'll live forever . Live as if you 'll die today . '' That goes for businesses , too . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene .
Bob Greene : J. C. Penney is in trouble ; could James Dean be the answer ? He says urban legend was that Dean wore Penney 's plain , white Towncraft T-shirt . He says Penney should use that ; adopt Dean as face of its brand , win back customers . Greene : Penney 's , a stalwart of American retail , could break from pack with Dean 's help .