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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.           )

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Preliminary Proxy Statement

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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

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Definitive Proxy Statement

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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

CHEROKEE INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
         
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(1)
 
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CHEROKEE INC.
6835 Valjean Avenue
Van Nuys, California 91406

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held On June 14, 2005

        NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of Cherokee Inc. will be held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90401, on Tuesday June 14, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) for the following purposes:

        Stockholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2005 will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting or any adjournments thereof. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting will be available for examination by any stockholder for any purpose germane to the annual meeting during normal business hours for ten days prior to the annual meeting.

        The Board of Directors urges each stockholder to read carefully the enclosed proxy statement, which is incorporated herein by reference.

    By Order of the Board of Directors,

 
 
LOGO
    Carol A. Gratzke
Secretary

Van Nuys, California
April 20, 2005


IMPORTANT

Whether or not you expect to attend the annual meeting in person, please complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy card in the enclosed envelope, which requires no postage if mailed in the United States. Your proxy will be revocable any time prior to its exercise either in writing or by voting your shares personally at the annual meeting.

CHEROKEE INC.
6835 Valjean Avenue
Van Nuys, California 91406


PROXY STATEMENT
2005 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held On June 14, 2005


GENERAL INFORMATION

        This Proxy Statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors of Cherokee Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Cherokee" or the "Company"), of proxies to be used at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California, on June 14, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) and at any adjournments or postponements thereof. A form of the proxy is enclosed for use at the annual meeting. Stockholders are being asked to vote upon the election of five directors to the Board of Directors, and to transact such other business as may properly come before the annual meeting. The approximate date on which this Proxy Statement and form of proxy are being mailed to the stockholders is May 3, 2005.

Record Date, Outstanding Shares and Voting

        The Company's Board of Directors has fixed April 15, 2005 as the record date to determine stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting. As of the record date, there were 8,722,565 shares of common stock outstanding. Each stockholder of record at the close of business on April 15, 2005 is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock then held on each matter to come before the annual meeting, or any adjournments or postponements thereof.

Quorum and Voting Requirements

        A majority of the votes eligible to be cast at the annual meeting by holders of common stock, or 4,361,283 votes, represented in person or by proxy at the annual meeting is required for a quorum. Under Delaware law, shares represented by proxies that reflect abstentions or "broker non-votes" will be counted as shares that are present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Broker non-votes are shares held by a broker or nominee which are represented at the meeting but with respect to which such broker or nominee is not empowered to vote on a particular proposal. Under the rules that govern brokers, brokers who have record ownership of shares have the authority to vote on certain "routine" matters even when they have not received instructions from the beneficial owners of such shares. Brokers that do not receive instructions are entitled to vote on the election of directors. Directors will be elected by a favorable vote of a plurality of the shares of common stock present and entitled to vote, in person or by proxy, at the annual meeting. The nominees receiving the five highest number of votes will become directors. Abstentions will not affect whether the election of any nominee to the Board of Directors is approved at the annual meeting. No other proposals are expected to be presented at the annual meeting. The Company's Certificate of Incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting.

Voting and Revocation of Proxies

        If no instructions are given on the proxy, all shares represented by valid proxies received pursuant to this solicitation and not revoked before they are voted will be voted FOR the directors nominated by the Board of Directors, and as recommended by the Board of Directors with regard to all other matters or if no such recommendation is given, in the discretion of the proxy holder. Proxies marked

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"withhold" and/or "abstain" will be counted towards the quorum requirement but will not be voted for the election of the Board of Directors' director nominees.

        A proxy may be revoked at any time before it is exercised by giving written notice of revocation to the Secretary of the Company or by submitting, prior to the time of the meeting, a properly executed proxy bearing a later date. Stockholders having executed and returned a proxy, who attend the meeting and desire to vote in person, are required to so notify the Secretary of the Company prior to the beginning of the annual meeting.

Security Ownership of Principal Stockholders

        The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of common stock as of April 15, 2005 by each person believed to own beneficially five percent or more of the Company's common stock. Unless noted otherwise, the holders listed below have sole voting power and dispositive power over the shares beneficially held by them. Under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in calculating percentage ownership, each holder is deemed to beneficially own any shares subject to options exercisable by the holder within sixty days of April 15, 2005, but options owned by others are deemed not to be outstanding shares even if the options are exercisable within sixty days. Percentage ownership is based on 8,722,565 shares of common stock outstanding on April 15, 2005.

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner
   Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership
   Percentage
of Class
  
Robert Margolis
6835 Valjean Avenue
Van Nuys, CA 91406		   1,328,274(1)   15.2 %(1)

Wellington Management Company, LLP
75 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
 
797,500(2)
 
9.1
%

FMR Corp.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
 
688,800(3)
 
7.9
%

First Manhattan Co.
437 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
 
507,999(4)
 
5.8
%(4)
(1)
Includes 383,541 shares owned by The Newstar Group, Inc. d/b/a The Wilstar Group ("Wilstar"). Mr. Margolis is the sole shareholder of Wilstar. Includes 150,000 shares contributed to the Robert Margolis Foundation, Inc. Mr. Margolis expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares in the Robert Margolis Foundation.

(2)
As reported in a Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2005 by Wellington Management Company, LLP.

(3)
As reported in a Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2005 by FMR Corp. and affiliated entities.

(4)
As reported in a Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 12, 2005 by First Manhattan Co. Number includes 42,580 shares owned by family members of Senior Managing Directors of First Manhattan Co., which are being reported for informational purposes. First Manhattan Co. disclaims dispositive power as to 7,150 of such shares and disclaims beneficial ownership as to 35,430 of such shares.

Security Ownership of Management

        The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of common stock as of April 15, 2005, by each director and nominee for director, the Chief Executive Officer and each of the four other most highly compensated executive officers as of January 29, 2005, and all directors and

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executive officers as a group. Unless noted otherwise, the holders listed below have sole voting and dispositive power over the shares beneficially held by them. Under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in calculating percentage ownership, each holder is deemed to beneficially own any shares subject to options exercisable by the holder within sixty days of April 15, 2005, but options owned by others are deemed not to be outstanding shares even if the options are exercisable within sixty days. Percentage ownership is based on 8,722,565 shares of common stock outstanding on April 15, 2005.

Name of Beneficial Owner
   Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
   Percentage
of Class
  
Robert Margolis(1)   1,328,274   15.2 %
Jess Ravich   13,316   *  
Keith Hull   10,000   *  
Timothy Ewing(2)   160,378   1.8 %
Dave Mullen   5,000   *  
Howard Siegel(3)   82,946   1.0 %
Sandi Stuart(4)   53,333   *  
Russell J. Riopelle(5)   18,666   *  
Larry Sass(6)   11,666   *  
All Executive Officers and directors as a group(7)   1,683,579   19.3 %
*
= less than 1%

(1)
Includes 794,733 shares held individually by Mr. Margolis, 383,541 shares owned by Wilstar, and 150,000 shares held by the Robert Margolis Foundation. Mr. Margolis is the sole shareholder of Wilstar, and expressly disclaiming beneficial ownership of the shares held by the Robert Margolis Foundation.

(2)
Includes 123,978 shares held by Mr. Ewing directly; 11,294 shares held directly by Endurance Partners, L.P., and 25,106 shares held directly by Endurance Partners, (Q.P.), L.P. (Endurance Partners L.P. and Endurance Partners, (Q.P.), L.P. together, the "Funds"). Mr. Ewing is the sole member of the Ewing Asset Management, L.L.C., which is the general partner of Endurance General Partners, L.P., which in turn is the general partner of the Funds. Mr. Ewing disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein, and this report shall not be deemed an admission that Mr. Ewing is the beneficial owner of these shares for the purposes of Section 16 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or for any other purpose.

(3)
Includes 38,583 shares which may be acquired pursuant to options that are currently exercisable or will be exercisable within sixty days of April 15, 2005.

(4)
Includes 3,333 shares which may be acquired pursuant to options that are or will be exercisable within sixty days of April 15, 2005.

(5)
Includes 16,666 shares which may be acquired pursuant to options that are or will be exercisable within sixty days of April 15, 2005.

(6)
Includes 11,666 shares which may be acquired pursuant to options that are or will be exercisable within sixty days of April 15, 2005.

(7)
Includes 70,248 shares which may be acquired pursuant to options that are or will be exercisable within sixty days of April 15, 2005.


ITEM 1. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

        At the annual meeting, stockholders will be asked to elect five directors to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their respective successors are elected and qualified. All five incumbent directors have been nominated for re-election for one-year terms. Mr. Margolis has been nominated pursuant to the terms of a management agreement between Mr. Margolis and the Company. See "Executive Compensation—Employment and Management Agreements—Management

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Agreement." None of the nominees has any family relationship to any other nominee or to any executive officer of the Company. Directors will be elected by a favorable vote of a plurality of the shares of common stock present and entitled to vote, in person or by proxy, at the annual meeting.

        In the event that any nominee for director should become unavailable, it is intended that votes will be cast, pursuant to the enclosed proxy, for such substitute nominee as may be nominated by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has no present knowledge that any of the persons named will be unavailable to serve.

Information Concerning Directors and Nominees for Board of Directors

        The following table sets forth the principal occupation or employment and principal business of the employer, if any, of each director and nominee for director, as well as his age, business experience, other directorships held by him and the period during which he has previously served as director of the Company. Each nominee has consented to being named in this Proxy Statement as a nominee for election as director and has agreed to serve as a director if elected.

Name, Age and
Present Position with the Company
   Principal Occupation for Past Five Years;
Other Directorships;
Business Experience
Robert Margolis, 57
Director, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer		   Mr. Margolis has been a director since May 1995. Mr. Margolis was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer on May 5, 1995. Mr. Margolis was the co-founder of the Company's Apparel Division in 1981. He had been the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer since June 1990 and became Chairman of the Board of Directors on June 1, 1993. Mr. Margolis resigned all of his positions with the Company on October 31, 1993 and entered into a one-year consulting agreement with the Company. Subsequently, Mr. Margolis rejoined us as Chairman and CEO in 1995. Mr. Margolis' services as Chief Executive Officer are provided pursuant to the terms of a management agreement between Mr. Margolis and the Company. See "Executive Compensation—Employment and Management Agreements—Management Agreement."

Timothy Ewing, 44
Director
 
Mr. Ewing has been a director since September 1997. Mr. Ewing, a Chartered Financial Analyst, is the managing partner of Ewing & Partners and manager of Value Partners, Ltd., a private investment partnership formed in 1989, and of the Endurance Partnerships, formed in 2001. Mr. Ewing sits on the board of directors of Harbourton Capital Group, Inc. in McLean, Virginia and TransWorld Corporation in New York, New York. In addition, he is Chairman of the governing board of the Dallas Museum of Natural History and sits on the board of trustees of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation and The Dallas Opera, and the advisory board of the University of Texas at Dallas' Holocaust Studies Program.
     

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Dave Mullen, 70
Director
 
Mr. Mullen has been a Director since May 2000. For more than nine years, he was the President and CEO of Robinson's-May in North Hollywood, California and retired from The May Department Stores in July 1999. He joined The May Department Stores in March 1988 and from March 1988 to June 1988 was the President and CEO of Goldwater's in Phoenix, Arizona. From June 1988 to January 1991 he was President and CEO of Filene's in Boston, Massachusetts and in January 1991 became the President and CEO of Robinson's-May in North Hollywood.

Jess Ravich, 47
Director
 
Mr. Ravich has been a Director since May 1995. Mr. Ravich is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Libra Securities, LLC, a Los Angeles based investment banking firm that focuses on capital raising and financial advisory services for middle market corporate clients and the sales and trading of debt and equity securities for institutional investors. Prior to founding Libra in 1991, Mr. Ravich was an Executive Vice President at Jefferies & Co., Inc. and a Senior Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Ravich serves on the board of directors of the Continental AFA Dispensing Company and the board of managers of OpBiz, LLC. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mr. Ravich is also on the Undergraduate Executive Board of the Wharton School and the Board of Trustees of the Archer School for Girls.

Keith Hull, 52
Director
 
Mr. Hull has been a director since June 1995. For eight years, Mr. Hull was President of Avondale Fabrics and Corporate Vice President of its parent, Avondale Mills Inc. In 2004, Mr. Hull was named President and COO of Avondale Mills. Avondale Mills is a diversified manufacturer of textiles.

Meetings and Committees of the Board of Directors

        The business affairs of the Company are managed under the direction of the Board of Directors, although the Board of Directors is not involved in day-to-day operations. During the fiscal year ended January 29, 2005 ("fiscal 2005") the Board of Directors met four times and took action on eight occasions. Each director attended at least 80% of all Board of Directors and applicable committee meetings during fiscal 2005. The Company encourages all of its directors to attend annual meetings of stockholders. All directors attended the 2004 annual meeting of stockholders.

        The Board of Directors does not currently provide a process for stockholders to send communications directly to the Board of Directors. However, communications may be sent by stockholders to the Secretary c/o Cherokee Inc., 6835 Valjean Avenue, Van Nuys, California 91406, who will forward any received communications to the Board of Directors.

Audit Committee

        The primary functions of the Company's Audit Committee are to select, evaluate and, where appropriate, replace a firm of independent certified public accountants to conduct, among other things, the annual audit of the Company's books and records; to review with the independent accountants the scope and results of the annual audit and quarterly reviews prior to the filing of a report on Form 10-K or 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission; to meet with the independent accountants and

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management in connection with each annual audit to discuss the scope of the audit and the procedures to be followed; to review and discuss the Company's financial statements with the Company's management; to consult with the independent accountants and management with regard to the adequacy of the Company's system of internal accounting and financial controls; to discuss with management and the independent accountants the Company's practices with respect to risk assessment, risk management and critical accounting policies; to receive from the independent auditors the report required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 as in effect at that time and discuss it with the independent auditors; to review and reassess annually the adequacy of its charter; to prepare a report each year for inclusion in the Company's annual Proxy Statement; and to preapprove all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for the Company by its independent accountants. The Cherokee Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for the Audit Committee, which was attached to the 2004 Proxy as Annex A. In addition, the Board of Directors has determined that all of the members of the Audit Committee are "independent," as defined by the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.

        Representatives of the Company's independent public accountants are invited to attend meetings of the Audit Committee and certain members of management may also be invited to attend. In fiscal 2005, the Audit Committee consisted of three non-employee directors: Mr. Hull, Mr. Mullen and Mr. Ravich, and Mr. Ravich is the Company's designated Audit Committee Financial Expert. The Audit Committee met five times during fiscal 2005. Two members of the Audit Committee attended all of the Audit Committee meetings, and one member attended four of the five meetings in fiscal 2005.

        Any stockholder or employee may submit at any time a complaint or concern to the Audit Committee regarding any questionable accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters concerning the Company by writing c/o Keith Hull, Cherokee Inc. 6835 Valjean Avenue, Van Nuys, California 91406.

Compensation Committee

        The Company's compensation program for executive officers is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee is responsible for setting and administering executive officer salaries and the annual bonus and long-term incentive plans that govern the compensation paid to the Company's executives. The Compensation Committee consists of Mr. Ravich, Mr. Ewing and Mr. Hull, all of whom are non-employee directors and outside directors within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, respectively. The Board of Directors has determined that all of the members of the Compensation Committee are "independent," in accordance with Rule 4350(c) rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. The Compensation Committee met once during fiscal 2005 and took action on five occasions during fiscal 2005.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

        Except for Mr. Margolis, who is a director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, as well as the sole shareholder of Wilstar, none of the executive officers of the Company has served on the Board of Directors or on the Compensation Committee of any other entity, any of whose officers served either on the Board of Directors or on the Compensation Committee of the Company.

Nominating Committee

        The Company does not have a standing nominating committee, which the Board of Directors determined is not necessary given the relatively small size of the Company's Board of Directors and management team, limited scope of operations and simplicity of the Company's business. In accordance with the Nasdaq rules, commencing in fiscal year 2004, only the members of the Board of Directors

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who qualify as "independent directors" within the meaning of Rule 4200(a)(15) of the Nasdaq Rules will perform the functions of the nominating committee. These functions include reviewing and recommending to the full Board of Directors issues relating to the Board's composition and structure; establishing criteria for membership and evaluating corporate policies relating to the recruitment of Board members; and making recommendations regarding proposals submitted by stockholders. The independent directors will evaluate nominees recommended by stockholders in the same manner as they evaluate other nominees. The independent directors will review each potential candidate's qualifications, including the following criteria: personal and professional integrity, ethics and values; experience in corporate management, such as serving as an officer or former officer of a publicly held company; experience in the Company's industry and with relevant social policy concerns; experience as a board member of another publicly held company; academic expertise in an area of the Company's operations; and practical and mature business judgment.

        All of the nominees for director being voted upon at the Annual Meeting are directors standing for re-election.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

        The Company has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to the Company's directors, officers (including the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Controller and persons performing similar functions), employees, agents and consultants. This Code satisfies the requirements of a "code of business conduct and ethics" under Rule 4350-7 of the Nasdaq Rules and a "code of ethics" within the meaning of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and applicable SEC rules.

Directors' Remuneration and Stock Options

        For their services on the Board of Directors during fiscal 2005, each non-employee director was paid a retainer fee of $25,000 per annum. The fees are paid in quarterly increments. On February 6, 2003, the directors voted to start paying committee members fees for their service on committees. Therefore, beginning in fiscal year 2004, in addition to the general retainer for board service, each Audit Committee member received $5,000 and each Compensation Committee member received $2,500 per each formal meeting. Each Audit Committee member also received an additional retainer fee of $15,000 per annum, bringing the aggregate retainer for such individuals for board and Audit Committee service to $40,000 per annum. These same costs were incurred during fiscal 2005.

        In addition, during fiscal 2005 none of the current directors exercised any stock options to purchase common stock of Cherokee Inc.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE
FOR EACH OF THE DIRECTORS NOMINATED IN ITEM 1.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table(1)

        The following table includes information concerning annual and long-term compensation earned by the Chief Executive Officer and the other four most highly compensated executive officers as of January 29, 2005 (collectively, the "Named Executive Officers"), for services rendered during each of the Company's last three fiscal years. The underlying option awards for fiscal 2004 were approved by our Board of Directors on April 7, 2004 and were considered to be part of the compensation paid to key employees for their service during fiscal 2004. The options awarded for fiscal 2004 expire in seven years from the date of grant, and vest ratably over three years. There have not yet been any stock option awards for performance in fiscal 2005.

 
   Annual Compensation
   Long Term Compensation
Name and
Principal Position
   Fiscal
Year
   Salary
$
   Bonus
$
   Securities
Underlying
Option Awards
#
   All Other
Compensation
$
Robert Margolis
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer		   2005
2004
2003		   734,000
720,746
647,564

(2)		 3,472,353
3,053,473
2,836,502		   —
—
—		   —
—
—

Howard Siegel
President—Operations
 
2005
2004
2003
 
150,000
150,000
150,000
 
303,797
271,313
255,000
 
—
10,000
—
 
—
—
—

Sandi Stuart
Executive Vice President
 
2005
2004
2003
 
280,000
280,000
280,000
 
125,000
60,000
60,000
 
—
10,000
40,000
 
—
—
—

Russell J. Riopelle
Chief Financial Officer
 
2005
2004
2003
 
225,000
 
75,000
 
—
50,000

(3)
—
—

Larry Sass
Senior Vice President
 
2005
2004
2003
 
190,000
190,000
190,000
 
50,000
50,000
40,000
 
—
5,000
—
 
—
—
—
(1)
None of the Named Executive Officers received any compensation reportable as Other Annual Compensation during the period covered by the Summary Compensation Table, except for perquisites, which did not exceed the lesser of $50,000 or 10% of total annual salary and bonus of such Named Executive Officer, and as a result, the corresponding column was omitted. Additionally, none of the Named Executive Officers received restricted stock awards or long-term incentive plan payouts during the period covered by the Summary Compensation Table and, as a result, the corresponding columns were omitted.

(2)
The executive management services of Mr. Margolis as the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are provided pursuant to a management agreement originally between Wilstar and the Company. Mr. Margolis is the sole stockholder of Wilstar. On January 3, 2001, Wilstar assigned the management agreement to Mr. Margolis. Under the management agreement, Mr. Margolis is eligible to receive both base compensation and annual cash bonuses for providing management services. See "Employment and Management Agreements—Management Agreement" below for a further description of the management agreement.

(3)
Russell J. Riopelle joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer on February 20, 2004, and received a grant of 20,310 stock options in February 2004 and a grant of 29,690 stock options in April 2004.

Option Grants in Last Fiscal Year

        Set forth below is further information on grants of stock options during fiscal 2005 to the Named Executive Officers. The underlying option awards were approved by our Board of Directors on April 7,

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2004, except where noted otherwise (see footnote 3). The options expire in seven years from the date of grant, and vest ratably over three years. There have not yet been any option grants for performance from fiscal 2005.

 
   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Options
Granted(1) #
   Percentage of
Total Options
Granted to
Employees in
fiscal 2005
    
    
   Potential Realizable Value
at Assumed Annual Rates of Stock Price Appreciation
for Option Term ($)(2)
Name
   Exercise or
Base Price
($/Share)
   Expiration
Date
  5%
   10%
Robert Margolis   —   —   —   —     —     —
Howard Siegel   10,000(1)   8.0 % 23.12   4-07-2011   $ 94,122   $ 219,343
Sandi Stuart   10,000(1)   8.0 % 23.12   4-07-2011   $ 94,122   $ 219,343
Russell J. Riopelle   20,310(3)   16.2 % 20.61   2-09-2014   $ 263,248   $ 667,123
Russell J. Riopelle   29,690(1)   23.8 % 23.12   4-07-2011   $ 279,447   $ 651,231
Larry Sass   5,000(1)   4.0 % 23.12   4-07-2011   $ 47,061   $ 109,672
(1)
All option grants were made pursuant to the Company's 2003 Incentive Award Plan, as approved at the 2003 annual shareholder meeting, except for 20,310 shares granted to Russell J. Riopelle, our CFO, upon his arrival at Cherokee in February 2004, which were available under our 1995 Plan, as noted in footnote 3. Under the 2003 plan, in the event of a liquidation, merger, reorganization, or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation in which the Company is not the surviving corporation or the Company becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of another corporation (the "Corporate Transaction Triggers"), each option granted under the plan, to the extent not fully exercised, will be cancelled unless the surviving corporation in any such merger, reorganization or consolidation elects to assume the options or to grant substitute options in place thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, vested options will remain exercisable until the date of any such liquidation, merger, reorganization, or consolidation and any unvested options will become exercisable for a ten-day period ending on the fifth day immediately preceding any such liquidation, merger, reorganization or consolidation. Under the plan, the plan administrator has the power to provide in the terms of each individual option agreement the vesting and exercisability of the options. Such individual option agreements have typically provided that in addition to the Corporate Transaction Triggers, in the event of the acquisition by another corporation or person of all or substantially all of the Company's assets or 80% or more of the Company's then outstanding voting stock in which the Company is not the surviving corporation or the Company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of another corporation, the options granted thereunder, to the extent not fully exercised, will be cancelled unless the surviving corporation in any such acquisition elects to assume the options or to grant substitute options in place thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, vested options will remain exercisable until the date of any such acquisition and any unvested options will become exercisable for a ten-day period ending on the fifth day immediately preceding any such acquisition. The Company's plan administrator recently determined that should the Company be acquired as a result of its hiring UBS to explore the Company's strategic options and enhance shareholder value, all stock options previously granted under the 2003 Plan would automatically vest and become exercisable in connection with the acquisition.

(2)
The dollar gains under these columns result from calculations assuming 5% and 10% growth rates as set by the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not intended to forecast future price appreciations of the Company's common stock. The actual value, if any, the Named Executive Officer may realize will depend on the excess of the stock price over the exercise price on the date the option is exercised, so that there is no assurance the value realized by the Named Executive Officer will be at or near the value shown.

(3)
The total 50,000 options granted to our CFO during fiscal 2005 are comprised of (i) 20,310 options from our 1995 Plan granted in February 2004 which have an exercise price of $20.61 per share and expire in February 2014, and (ii) 29,690 options from our 2003 Plan granted in April 2004 which have an exercise price of $23.12 per share and expire in April 2011.

Option Exercises and Fiscal Year-End Values

        Set forth below is certain information concerning exercised and unexercised options to purchase common stock granted prior to January 29, 2005 to the Named Executive Officers, and held by them at January 29, 2005. This table includes the option awards for fiscal 2004 which were approved by our

9


Board of Directors on April 7, 2004. This table does not include any option awards for performance in fiscal 2005—which as of April 15, 2005 had not yet been determined.

 
    
    
   Number of Unexercised
Options at
January 29, 2005
   Dollar Value of
In-the-Money Options at
January 29, 2005 $(1)
 
   Shares
acquired
on Exercise
(#)
    
Name
   Value
Realized
($)
  Exercisable
   Unexercisable
   Exercisable
   Unexercisable
Robert Margolis   —     —   —   —     —     —
Howard Siegel   20,000   $ 294,640   56,406   10,000   $ 1,323,539   $ 102,700
Kyle Wescoat   10,154   $ 43,459   —   —     —     —
Sandi Stuart   22,248   $ 255,225   —   23,334     —   $ 374,727
Russell J. Riopelle   —     —   —   50,000     —   $ 564,478
Larry Sass   10,000   $ 147,791   —   15,000     —   $ 255,360
(1)
The value of unexercised in-the-money options at FY-end was calculated based on the market value of the underlying securities, minus the exercise price, and assumes the sale of the underlying securities on January 28, 2005, the last trading day in fiscal 2005, at a price of $33.39 per share, which was the closing price of the Company's common stock on the NASDAQ National Market System on that date.

Employment and Management Agreements

        The Company obtains the management services of Mr. Margolis as the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to a management agreement with The Newstar Group, Inc. d/b/a The Wilstar Group ("Wilstar"), which was entered into as of November 29, 1999. The current management agreement replaced a similar management agreement with Wilstar that was entered into on May 4, 1995. Robert Margolis is currently the sole stockholder of Wilstar. On January 3, 2001, in accordance with the terms of the management agreement, Wilstar assigned the current management agreement to Mr. Margolis. The principal terms of the current management agreement are set forth below:

        Base Compensation and Performance Bonuses.    The management agreement provides for payment of base compensation that initially was set in 1999 and is subject to automatic annual cost of living increases. Pursuant to the management agreement, Mr. Margolis was paid $734,000 as base compensation for services rendered under the management agreement in fiscal 2005.

        The management agreement also provides for payment of an annual performance bonus for each fiscal year in which the Company's EBITDA is no less that $5.0 million equal to (x) 10% of the Company's EBITDA for such fiscal year in excess of $2.5 million up to $10.0 million, plus (y) 15% of the Company's EBITDA for such fiscal year in excess of $10.0 million. For purposes of making such calculations, EBITDA will be determined based upon the financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and is reduced by all accrued compensation expenses attributable to any compensation paid or payable to Mr. Margolis under the management agreement, including base compensation and performance bonuses payable to Mr. Margolis.

        Initial Term and Extensions.    The initial term of the management agreement was until February 2, 2002. However, if the Company's consolidated pre-tax earnings, as set forth in its audited financial statements for any of its fiscal years during the term of the management agreement, commencing with fiscal 2000: (a) are no less than 80% of the consolidated pre-tax earnings contained in the budget submitted to and approved by the Compensation Committee for such fiscal year, and (b) are also no less than the consolidated pre-tax earnings for the immediately preceding fiscal year, then the termination date of the management agreement will automatically be extended an additional year.

10


There may be any number of such extensions if the foregoing tests are met on multiple occasions. During fiscal 2005, fiscal 2004, fiscal 2003, fiscal 2002, fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2000 the foregoing tests were met and therefore the term of the management agreement has been extended to February 1, 2008.

        Composition of the Board of Directors.    The management agreement provides that if the Company's board is comprised of five directors, the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure (a) that one director is nominated by Mr. Margolis (the "Wilstar Director"); (b) that one director (the "Investor Director") is nominated by the members of the group, other than Mr. Margolis, that filed a Schedule 13-D, dated April 24, 1995, with respect to the purchase of the Company's common stock (collectively, the "Outside Investors"); and (c) that three directors are nominated by the non-Wilstar non-Investor Directors (the "Other Directors"). If there are seven directors, the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure that a second Investor Director is nominated by Outside Investors and four directors are nominated by the Other Directors. If there are nine directors, the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure that, in addition to the Wilstar Director and the Investor Directors described above, one director is nominated by Mr. Margolis and the Outside Investors together (the "Wilstar/Investor Director") and five directors are nominated by the Other Directors. If the Board of Directors is expanded, the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure that Mr. Margolis is able to maintain his proportionate representation. The management agreement also provides that the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure that the Board of Directors will have an audit and a compensation committee, each of which will be comprised of three members, one of whom shall be an Investor Director and two of whom shall be selected by the entire Board of Directors from all of the remaining directors, other than the Wilstar Director.

        In addition to the events of termination described below under the title "Events of Termination," Mr. Margolis may elect to treat the following events relating to the composition of the Board of Directors as a breach of the management agreement by the Company:

        Mr. Margolis has waived any rights under the management agreement with respect to the nomination, election or appointment of an Investor Director on the Board of Directors or on the audit or compensation committees until the 2006 annual meeting of stockholders.

        Events of Termination.    Mr. Margolis may terminate the management agreement if the Company materially breaches any of the terms and conditions of the management agreement or fails to perform its material obligations thereunder. Unless initiated or consented to by Mr. Margolis, the occurrence of any of the following will be deemed to be a material breach of the management agreement:

11

        The Board of Directors may terminate the management agreement at any time without cause. If appropriate, the Board of Directors may also terminate the management agreement "for cause." "For cause" is limited to the willful misfeasance or gross negligence on the part of Mr. Margolis in connection with the performance of his duties pursuant to the management agreement, which willful misfeasance or gross negligence directly causes material harm to the assets, business or operations of the Company. The management agreement will terminate immediately upon Mr. Margolis' death and may be terminated by the Board of Directors if Mr. Margolis fails to render services to the Company for a substantially continuous period of six months because of Mr. Margolis' physical or mental disability during such period.

        Payments to Mr. Margolis if the Management Agreement Is Terminated.    If the management agreement is terminated for any reason by either the Company or Mr. Margolis, the Company will:

        In addition to the payments and other compensation described above, if the Company terminates the management agreement without cause or Mr. Margolis terminates the management agreement after the Company materially breaches any of the terms and conditions thereof or fails to perform its material obligations there under, the Company will pay Mr. Margolis, within 60 calendar days after the date of termination, a lump sum in cash equal to three times the sum of (a) Mr. Margolis' base compensation at the rate in effect at the date of the termination and (b) the "Previous Performance Bonus." The "Previous Performance Bonus" means an amount equal to the performance bonus received by Mr. Margolis under Section 3.3 of the management agreement in the Company's last full fiscal year ending prior to the date of termination. Mr. Margolis' annual base compensation in fiscal 2005 was $734,000 and his performance bonus for fiscal 2005 was approximately $3.5 million and, based on those amounts, the lump sum payment referenced above would be approximately $12.6 million.

        Cap on Payments Contingent on a Change in Control.    If any payments to Mr. Margolis under the management agreement are determined to result in the non-deductibility of some or all of such payments under Section 280G of the Code, the payments to Mr. Margolis will be reduced to the maximum amount that is payable without causing such payments to be nondeductible by the Company.

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        For fiscal 2005, a bonus pool equal to approximately 4% of the Company's EBITDA in excess of $2.5 million was established and all of the Company's employees participated in the bonus pool. Mr. Siegel was entitled to 25% of the bonus pool, and the Chief Executive Officer allocated the remainder of the bonus pool among the fifteen other employees based upon their individual performance during fiscal 2005. This approach is designed to motivate the Company's employees to meet the business and financial objectives of the Company because the bonuses are tied to the profitability of the Company.

        There are no other compensation arrangements with current employees.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

        On November 7, 1997, the Company entered into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale of Trademarks and Licenses with Sideout Sport Inc., pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase all of Sideout Sport Inc.'s trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and associated license agreements. Steven Ascher, a former Executive Vice President of the Company, beneficially owns 37.2% of Sideout Sport Inc. Mr. Ascher's father and father-in-law beneficially own 8.9% and 5.0%, respectively, of Sideout Sport Inc. Pursuant to the agreement with Sideout, the Company paid $1.5 million at the closing of the acquisition and agreed to pay an additional $500,000 upon release of liens on the assets that were purchased. Most of the liens have since been released and $495,000 of the $500,000 holdback has been paid. Under the terms of the agreement with Sideout, the Company also agreed to pay Sideout Sport Inc., on a quarterly basis, contingent payments of 40% of the first $10.0 million, 10% of the next $5.0 million and 5% of the next $20.0 million, of royalties and license fees received by the Company through licensing of the Sideout trademarks. Upon the earlier of such time as the Company has paid Sideout Sport Inc. total contingent payments of $5.5 million or October 22, 2004, the Company will have no further obligation to pay Sideout Sport Inc. During fiscal 2005, the Company made payments of $163,000 to Sideout Sport Inc. and since January 1999, the Company has paid in total over $4.8 million in contingent payments to Sideout Sport Inc. The Company made its last contingent payment due under this agreement in the third quarter ended October 30, 2004.

        For information with respect to other transactions and relationships between the Company and certain executive officers, directors and related parties, see "Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation" above and "Employment and Management Agreements" above.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

        The Company currently maintains two compensation plans, the Cherokee 1995 Incentive Stock Option Plan, and the 2003 Incentive Award Plan. Both of these stock option award plans provide for the issuance of common stock to officers and other employees and directors, and has previously been approved by the Company's stockholders. The following table sets forth the information regarding

13


outstanding options and shares reserved for future issuance under the 1995 Incentive Stock Option Plan and the 2003 Incentive Award Plan as of January 29, 2005:

Plan category
   Number of
securities to be
issued upon
exercise of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
   Weighted
average exercise
price of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
   Number of
securities
remaining
available for
future issuance
(excluding
securities
referenced in
column (a))(1)
 
   (a)

   (b)

   (c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders—1995 Plan   120,832   $ 12.53   —(1)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders—2003 Plan   104,690   $ 23.12   145,310(2)
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders   —     —   —
   
       
Total   225,522   $ 17.45   145,310
   
       
(1)
Unless sooner terminated by the Board in its sole discretion, the Cherokee Inc. 1995 Incentive Stock Option Plan will expire on July 24, 2005. In the event that any outstanding option under the plan expires or is terminated, the shares of common stock allocable to the unexercised portion of the option shall again be available for options under the plan as if no option had been granted with respect to such shares.

(2)
Of the total 145,310 shares shown available for grant as of January 29, 2005 under the 2003 Incentive Award Plan, it is possible that a portion of these stock options will be granted before June 30, 2005 to employees for performance during fiscal 2005. It is expected that such options would: (i) have an exercise price equal to the closing price of the stock on the day of the grant, (ii) vest ratably over three years, and (iii) expire in seven years from the date of grant. In the event that any outstanding option under the plan expires or is terminated, the shares of common stock allocable to the unexercised portion of the option shall again be available for options under the plan as if no option had been granted with respect to such shares.

Compensation Committee Report

        The following Report of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors covering fiscal 2005 and the performance graph that follows are included herein pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in any of the Company's previous filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, the information contained in this report and the performance graph that follows shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference, in whole or in part, into any future filing under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, and such information shall be entitled to the benefits provided in Item 402(a)(9) of Regulation S-K.

        General.    The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is currently composed of three non-employee directors of the board, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Ravich and Mr. Hull. The Compensation Committee reviews the performance of the Chief Executive Officer whose services are provided pursuant to the management agreement with Mr. Margolis, and when appropriate makes recommendations to the Board of Directors as to the terms of the management agreement. As appropriate, the Compensation Committee reviews and approves the recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer regarding compensation for other executive officers, including salary and cash bonus levels and the stock option grants under the Company's 1995 Incentive Stock Option Plan, as amended, and the 2003 Incentive Award Plan. During fiscal 2005, the Company had six executive officers and sixteen total employees.

14


        Compensation Policies.    The Company's executive compensation policies are designed to attract, reward and retain executive officers who contribute to the Company's success, to provide economic incentives for executive officers to achieve the Company's business and financial objectives by linking the executive officers' compensation to the performance of the Company, to strengthen the relationship between executive pay and stockholder value and to reward individual performance. The Company uses a combination of base salary, cash bonuses and stock options to achieve these objectives.

        In carrying out these above listed objectives, the Compensation Committee considers, among others, the following factors concerning the individual performance of executive officers: (1) their ability to perform their given tasks; (2) knowledge of their jobs; and (3) their ability to work with others toward the achievement of the Company's goals. The Compensation Committee also evaluates corporate performance by looking at factors such as the Company's performance relative to the business environment and the success of the Company in meeting its business and financial objectives. In reviewing the above listed factors regarding both individual and corporate performance, the Compensation Committee relies on its subjective evaluations of such factors.

        Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code limits the deductibility of certain otherwise deductible compensation in excess of $1.0 million paid to the Chief Executive Officer and the next four most highly compensated executive officers. It is the policy of the Compensation Committee to attempt to have all executive compensation treated as tax-deductible compensation wherever, in the judgment of the Compensation Committee, to do so would be consistent with the objectives of the compensation plan under which the compensation is paid. However, this policy does not rule out the ability to make awards or to approve compensation that may not qualify for the compensation deduction. The Compensation Committee may elect to approve awards or grant compensation to executive officers which are not deductible by the Company under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

        Components of Compensation.    The annual base compensation and performance bonuses payable to Mr. Margolis for providing his executive management services as the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are governed by the management agreement. See "Employment and Management Agreements—Management Agreement" above. The Company seeks to pay its other executive officers salaries that are commensurate with their qualifications, duties and responsibilities. In reviewing and approving the Chief Executive Officer's recommendations regarding the annual salaries of the other executive officers, the Compensation Committee considers the individual and corporate performance factors outlined above, and puts particular emphasis on the success of the Company in meeting its business and financial objectives and the overall contribution of each executive officer in helping to meet those objectives.

        For fiscal 2005, a bonus pool equal to approximately 4% of the Company's EBITDA in excess of $2.5 million was established and all of the Company's employees participated in the bonus pool. Mr. Siegel was entitled to 25% of the bonus pool, and the Chief Executive Officer allocated the remainder of the bonus pool among the fifteen other employees based upon their individual performance during fiscal 2005. This approach is designed to motivate the Company's employees to meet the business and financial objectives of the Company because the bonuses are tied to the profitability of the Company.

        The Company's 1995 Incentive Stock Option Plan and the 2003 Incentive Award Plan authorize the Compensation Committee to grant employees stock options. Stock options are granted under the plan with exercise prices equal to or above the market price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant and generally vest in annual installments over two or three years. Since stock options have value only if the price of the Company's common stock increases over the exercise/grant price, the Compensation Committee believes that stock option grants to executive officers provide incentives for executive officers to build stockholder value and thereby align the interests of the executive officers with the stockholders. The Compensation Committee also believes that these grants, which may vest

15


over a period of two or more years, provide incentives for executive officers to remain with the Company. In determining the numbers of options granted in any fiscal year, the Compensation Committee considers such factors as the seniority of the executive officer, the contribution that the executive officer is expected to make to the Company and the size of prior grants to the executive officer. The remaining shares available for award under the 1995 Plan were fully awarded on February 20, 2004, concurrent with the hiring of our Chief Financial Officer, Russell J. Riopelle.

        Of the 250,000 shares initially available for award under the 2003 Incentive Award Plan, a total of 104,690 shares were granted on April 7, 2004, leaving 145,310 shares available for future award. This grant vests ratably over three years from the date of grant. There has not yet been a grant of options to employees for performance pertaining to fiscal 2005, but such grant may be determined in the future.

        Compensation of the Chief Executive Officer.    Compensation in return for the services of Mr. Margolis as Chief Executive Officer of the Company is governed by the terms of the management agreement.

        The management agreement was approved by both the Compensation Committee and the disinterested members of the Board of Directors. The provisions of the management agreement regarding the annual cash performance bonus and the performance goals related thereto were submitted to and approved by the stockholders of the Company in January 2000. The material terms of such management agreement are summarized above under the section "Employment and Management AgreementsManagement Agreement." The terms of the management agreement resulted from several months of negotiations between Wilstar and the Company. The primary basis for the Compensation Committee's determination to approve the terms of the management agreement was to retain the services of Mr. Margolis as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and to provide a strong incentive for him to continue to increase the long-term value of the Company for its stockholders. Under Mr. Margolis' leadership, the Company's revenues have grown from approximately $8.7 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 1997 to approximately $38.9 million in fiscal 2005, an increase of over 447% during that time period. Mr. Margolis' performance is further highlighted by the performance graph on the next page, which compares the Company's stock performance with the stock performance of other companies, as measured by broad market indices. Mr. Margolis was Chief Executive Officer of the Company during the entire period covered by the performance graph.

        Under the management agreement, Mr. Margolis' base compensation was $734,000 in fiscal 2005. The performance goals under the management agreement were achieved in fiscal 2005 and, as a result, Mr. Margolis earned a cash bonus from the Company of $3.5 million for fiscal 2005.

Respectfully submitted,

Compensation Committee
Mr. Timothy Ewing, Chairman
Mr. Jess Ravich
Mr. Keith Hull

16

Common Stock Performance

        Due to the nature of the Company's business being that of a licensor of its Cherokee, Sideout and Carole Littlebrands to retailers and wholesalers, which in turn put those brands on various products including but not limited to footwear, apparel, accessories, watches, eyewear, home textile products and sporting goods, the Company does not believe that a comparable peer group of publicly-traded licensing companies exists; hence, the Company's return on investment was compared to the S&P 100-LTD and NASDAQ INDEX COMPOSITE.

        The graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company's common stock with the cumulative total return on the NASDAQ INDEX COMPOSITE and the S&P 100-LTD for the period commencing January 28, 2000 and ending on January 28, 2005. The data set forth below assumes the value of an investment in the Company's common stock and each Index was $100 on January 28, 2000. The data set forth below also assumes the reinvestment of all dividends.


Comparison of Total Return
Since January 28, 2000
AMONG CHEROKEE INC., THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE AND THE S&P 100-LTD

 
   FY 2000
1/28/2000
   FY 2001
2/2/2001
   FY 2002
2/1/2002
   FY 2003
1/31/2003
   FY 2004
1/30/2004
   FY 2005
1/28/2005
Cherokee Inc.   100.00   122.13   183.61   198.69   269.78   487.98

NASDAQ Composite Index
 
100.00
 
68.17
 
47.11
 
32.87
 
51.15
 
50.59

S&P 100 Stock Index
 
100.00
 
96.57
 
78.96
 
61.04
 
80.55
 
82.16


COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE FIVE YEAR TOTAL RETURN

GRAPHIC

17


COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 16(A) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT

        Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company's directors and executive officers and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered class of the Company's equity securities to file various reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers concerning their holdings of, and transactions in, securities of the Company. The Securities and Exchange Commission rules also require that copies of these filings be furnished to the Company.

        To the Company's knowledge, based solely on its review of copies of such reports received or written representations from certain reporting persons that no other reports were required during fiscal 2004, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to its officers, directors and ten percent stockholders were met during fiscal 2005.


AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

        The following Report of the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors is included herein pursuant to Item 306 of Regulation S-K. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in any of the Company's previous filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, the information contained in this report shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference, in whole or in part, into any future filing under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, and such information shall be entitled to the benefits provided in Item 306(c) of Regulation S-K.

        The Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors is comprised of independent directors as required by the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors.

        The role of the Audit Committee is to oversee the Company's financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors. Management of the Company has the primary responsibility for the Company's financial statements as well as the Company's financial reporting process, accounting principles and internal controls. The Company's independent public accountants are responsible for performing an audit of the Company's financial statements and expressing an opinion as to the conformity of such financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles.

        In this context, the Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended January 29, 2005 with management and the Company's independent public accountants. The Audit Committee has discussed with the Company's independent public accountants the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61 (Communication with Audit Committees), as currently in effect. In addition, the Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from the Company's independent public accountants required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Discussions with Audit Committees), as currently in effect, and it has discussed with the Company's independent public accountants their independence from the Company. The Audit Committee has considered whether the independent accountants' provision of non-audit services to the Company is compatible with maintaining the independent public accountants' independence.

        The members of the Audit Committee are not engaged in the accounting or auditing profession. In the performance of their oversight function, the members of the Audit Committee necessarily relied upon the information, opinions, reports and statements presented to them by management of the Company and by the Company's independent public accountants. As a result, the Audit Committee's oversight and the review and discussions referred to above do not assure that management has maintained adequate financial reporting processes, principles and internal controls, that the Company's financial statements are accurate, that the audit of such financial statements has been conducted in

18


accordance with generally accepted auditing standards or that the Company's independent public accountants meet the applicable standards for independent public accountants independence.

        Based on the reports and discussions described above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the audited financial statements be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2005, for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Respectfully submitted,

Audit Committee
Mr. Jess Ravich, Chairman
Mr. David Mullen
Mr. Keith Hull


INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTING FIRM

        Since May 30, 1995, the Company has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, formerly Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., to serve as its principal independent registered public accountant to audit its financial statements. A representative of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is expected to be present at the annual meeting. The representative will have an opportunity to make a statement during the annual meeting if the representative desires to do so and the representative is expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Fees Paid to Independent Public Accountants

        The fees paid by the Company to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company's independent public accountants, during fiscal 2005 and 2004 are as follows:

 
   Fiscal 2005
   Fiscal 2004
Audit Fees(1)   $ 154,000   $ 58,780
Audit-related Fees   $ —   $ —
Tax Fees—includes compliance, tax advice and tax planning(2)   $ 115,000   $ 43,612
All Other Fees   $ —   $ —
(1)
Audit Fees were for professional services rendered for the audit of the Company's consolidated annual financial statements and review of its consolidated financial statements included in quarterly reports, review of a comment letter from the SEC, and also include fees incurred by PWC in connection with the Company's compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404.

(2)
Tax Fees were for professional services for federal and state tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

PricewaterhouseCoopers did not use any non-permanent employees in the auditing of the Company's financial statements during fiscal 2005.

The Audit Committee annually reviews and pre-approves certain audit and permissible non-audit services that may be provided by the independent auditors and establishes a pre-approved aggregate fee level for all these services. Any proposed services not included within the list of pre-approved services or any proposed services that will cause the Company to exceed the pre-approved aggregate amount requires specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

19


OTHER MATTERS

Additional Information

        A copy of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2005, including financial statements, is being mailed with this proxy statement to each stockholder of record on the record date for the annual meeting. Additionally, copies of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2005, including financial statements and financial statement schedules, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available free of charge upon written request to the office of Investor Relations, Cherokee Inc., 6835 Valjean Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91406.

Date for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for the 2006 Annual Meeting

        Any proposal relating to a proper subject which a stockholder may intend to be presented for action at the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received by the Company no later than January 1, 2006, to be considered for inclusion in the proxy material to be disseminated by the Board of Directors in accordance with the provisions of Rule 14a(8)(e)(1) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Copies of such proposals should be sent to the Corporate Secretary at the Company's principal executive offices. To be eligible for inclusion in such proxy materials, such proposals must conform to the requirements set forth in Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act.

        In addition, if the Company has not received notice on or before March 17, 2006 of any matter a stockholder intends to propose for a vote at the 2006 Annual Meeting, then a proxy solicited by the Board of Directors may be voted on such matter in the discretion of the proxy holder, without a discussion of the matter in the proxy statement soliciting such proxy and without such matter appearing as a separate matter on the proxy card.

Other Business of the Annual Meeting

        The Board of Directors is not aware of any matter to be presented at the annual meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof, which is not listed on the Notice of Annual Meeting and discussed above. If other matters should properly come before the meeting, however, the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote all proxies in accordance with the recommendation of the Board of Directors, or if no such recommendation is given, in their own discretion.

Cost of Soliciting Proxies

        The expense of soliciting proxies and the cost of preparing, assembling and mailing material in connection with the solicitation of proxies will be paid by the Company. In addition to the use of the mail, proxies may be solicited by personal interview, telephone or telegraph, by officers, directors and other employees of the Company, who will not receive any additional compensation for such services. The Company has retained U.S. Stock Transfer Corporation to assist in soliciting proxies with respect to shares of common stock held of record by brokers, nominees and institutions. The Company does not anticipate that the costs of such proxy solicitation firm will exceed $15,000, plus its out-of-pocket fees and expenses. The Company will also request persons, firms and corporations holding shares in their names, or in the names of their nominees, which are beneficially owned by others, to send or cause to be sent proxy materials to, and obtain proxies from, such beneficial owners and will reimburse such holders for their reasonable expenses in so doing.

Van Nuys, California
April 20, 2005

20

\*/ DETACH PROXY CARD HERE \*/

CHEROKEE, INC.

1.
Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the nominees.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS   o FOR all nominees
listed below		   o WITHHOLD AUTHORITY to vote
for all nominees listed below		   o *EXCEPTIONS

Nominees: 01 Robert Margolis, 02 Timothy Ewing, 03 David Mullen, 04 Jess Ravich and 05 Keith Hull.

(INSTRUCTIONS: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee, mark the "Exceptions" box and write that nominee's name in the space provided below.)

EXCEPTIONS       

        IF SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ARE INDICATED, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREIN BY THE UNDERSIGNED STOCKHOLDER. IF NO DIRECTION TO THE CONTRARY IS INDICATED, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR THE ELECTION OF ALL NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR LISTED HEREIN. If any nominees for director should be unavailable, the persons named as proxies herein may vote for substitute nominees in their discretion.

        THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY REVOKES ANY PROXIES HERETOFORE GIVEN BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO VOTE AT THE 2005 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OR ANY ADJOURNMENT THEREOF. THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES RECEIPT OF A COPY OF THE NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS AND PROXY STATEMENT, BOTH DATED APRIL 20, 2005, AND A COPY OF THE COMPANY'S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JANUARY 29, 2005.

o I DO            o DO NOT expect to attend the Meeting.

Number of Shares:       

PLEASE SIGN AND DATE BELOW.

   


(Please print Name)

Dated:       
   , 2005

   


Signature(s)

Note: Your signature should appear the same as your name appears hereon. In signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please indicate the capacity in which signing; when signing as joint tenants, all parties in the joint tenancy must sign. When a proxy is given by a corporation, it should be signed by an authorized officer and the corporate seal affixed. No additional postage is required if mailed within the United States.

Please Detach Here
You Must Detach This Portion of the Proxy Card
Before Returning it in the Enclosed Envelope

PROXY

CHEROKEE, INC.
THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF CHEROKEE INC.

2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, June 14, 2005

        The undersigned hereby appoints Robert Margolis and Keith Hull, and each of them, proxies for the undersigned with full power of substitution, to vote all of the shares which the undersigned is entitled to vote, with all powers the undersigned would possess if personally present at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Cherokee Inc. (including any adjournment or postponement thereof) to be held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California, on June 14, 2005 at 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time, on all matters that may come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

(Continued, and to be marked, dated and signed, on the other side)



QuickLinks

IMPORTANT
PROXY STATEMENT 2005 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS To Be Held On June 14, 2005
GENERAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Comparison of Total Return Since January 28, 2000 AMONG CHEROKEE INC., THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE AND THE S&P 100-LTD
COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE FIVE YEAR TOTAL RETURN
COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 16(A) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTING FIRM
OTHER MATTERS