shopping from the past | Archival Clothing blog

Posts Tagged ‘shopping from the past’

Archival Outdoor Life

July 1st, 2016

Summer is passing but it is not too late to bring your campsite and camp wear up to the standards of the Outdoor Life Cyclopedia (1943). Friend Dave Baker brought this amazing sporstman’s guide to our attention. It offers practical advice on everything from training gun dogs to field dressing elk. My favorite sections address how to prepare a campsite (ample use of moss, sticks, wool and canvas) and how to dress for the woods (avoid wearing threadbare business suits). Skim through the wordy instructional prose and go straight to the illustrations:

By Lesli Larson

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Tags: archival camp, backpacks, print ephemera, shopping from the past

Shopping from the US Patent Office – Pruner’s Coat

May 29th, 2016

Ever since UO Digital Arts professor, Craig Hickman, published Apparatus, his clever homage to US Patent Gazette drawings, I’ve been obsessed with browsing the patent archives for long lost product ideas. I’ve amassed a large collection of patent illustrations, primarily focusing on bags, garments and bicycling gear. Here’s a recent, favorite find: a special jacket designed for pruners featuring a “pocket construction for the reception of a pruner’s foldable saw, whereby the saw may be readily placed therin or removed therefrom, the pocket being suitably reinforced to resist wear, and to protect the wearer from contact with the teeth of the saw.”

Given the current chic for axes, knives and hatchets, I’m surprised that a company has not reissued this garment, breaking up the chore coat monotony of hand and chest pockets. Make mine in gabardine or canvas duck, please!

By Lesli Larson

1 Comment

Tags: chore coats, patent drawings, shopping from the past

Shopping from 1987 – Barbour catalog

November 20th, 2013

Thanks to Thornproof for providing me with access to this hard to find, 1987 Barbour catalog. Sharp eyed folks will note all the ways Barbour has tweaked and edited their line over the years. My two favorite models from this era are the Spey Wading Jacket and the Solway Zip – both discontinued. If you’re a Barbour Bedale fan, check out the earlier iteration with two flap pockets and no handwarmer pockets. If you were shopping from this catalog what would you buy?

By Lesli Larson

4 Comments

Tags: 1987, barbour, print ephemera, shopping from the past

Shopping from the Yukon

October 9th, 2013

We’ve always loved Filson’s clothing and its origin story. But what was the Yukon really like when old CC set up shop to equip the prospectors headed north? From the fantastic Design Observer blog comes a collection of photographs from an album recently sold at auction. I’m shopping from the sturdy pullover shirts, the stout jackets, and the wide-brimmed hats, although unless I’m actually prospecting I doubt such a lid would see much wear.

By Tom Bonamici

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Tags: from the archives, pacific northwest, print ephemera, shirts, shopping from the past, waxed cotton

Shopping from the Past: Duxbak Jackets

August 16th, 2013

It may be the wrong time of year to be thinking about jackets, hunting, or hunting jackets, but we can’t help ourselves. Archival reader Burhan sent us some shots of his new-to-him Duxbak, to which he wisely added wool knit cuffs (an Archival favorite) and a few inside pockets.

My father found a great old Drybak at a Eugene garage sale. If I get wool cuffs put on, I hope to use it duck hunting this winter, but in the meantime it’s entrusted to a farrier friend‘s safekeeping. Note the heavy construction and Binghamton, NY origin – that’s our pal Matt‘s hometown.

For another odd duck hunting jacket from the archives, see Lesli’s post on her Beretta.

By Tom Bonamici

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Tags: canvas duck, from the archives, Jackets, shopping from the past

Shopping from 1930: John Rich and Bros.

July 23rd, 2013

By Lesli Larson

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Tags: blankets, shirts, shopping from the past, socks, Wool jackets, woolrich

Shopping from 1982: LL Bean

July 15th, 2013

On the subject of heritage garb for women, here is what was available from LL Bean in 1982. What I love about this era of LL Bean is how many items are offered in unisex sizes and colors (seriously…when was the last time you saw a contemporary catalog listing the exact same item, in the same colorway, “for men and women?”). While some of the clothing items are on the blandly prep side, I would immediately mail order the madras shirt, Chouinard shorts, tassel mocs and the anorak. For a view of the full catalog reprint, see the venerable Heavy Tweed Jacket.

Images courtesy of Heavy Tweed Jacket

By Lesli Larson

7 Comments

Tags: 1982, LL Bean, mail ordering from the past, shopping from the past

Archival Hop Harvest

July 11th, 2013

Here’s an exemplary snap of summer work togs from the OSU Archives flickr set, Hop On, Brewing and Beer. The caption of the image is Coeds with Hoes. I’m going to shop from this photo for my upcoming trip the UK. Look for me in London wearing slant stripes, head kerchiefs, rolled trousers and hop covered loafers. Unsure whether TSA will permit hoe portage past Eugene security.

By Lesli Larson

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Tags: flickr commons, heritage collections for women, kerchiefs, plaid, shopping from the past, stripes

Shopping from 1945: LL Bean Shopping Bags

July 9th, 2013

Archival is working on a design for a collapsible tote for light marketing. We take our inspiration from bags like these plainly named, Bean shopping bags circa1945. We love the idea of stowing bags within bags (in anticipation of impromptu portage). Although we cannot promise that our bag will fold neatly into a women’s handbag, it will be compact enough to stash in our standard Archival Rucksack.

By Lesli Larson

1 Comment

Tags: archival tote, LL Bean, shopping from 1945, shopping from the past