/\ interesting tie but I never saw anybody wearing one like it '78-'82 ... personally I like the pattern and would definitely like to have a blanket in it .....
always enjoyed seeing the Faces and other bands wear their tartan gear
^they are definitely throughout Brooks catalogs by early to mid 80s, i think
looked through a few old Brooks catalogs from the early '80s, saw only two madras cotton ones few spring/summer 1980, paired with short-sleeved ocbds, none from any fall/winter '80-'83 .......
certainly the tartan ties have been out there for years, see Bean's Fall 1942 catalog at p. 20, but they were not a big part of the '70s prep that I saw, not arguing, just based on personal experience
repps and emblematics, and then later, when people graduated and got jobs, foulards
I also had some wool/cotton and wool/alpaca/mohair square-end horizontal striped ties woven in England for J. Press in winter, just checked on them
for summer I had a couple of great slubbed raw silk repps from J. Press from India
the plaid ties just weren't that big a thing in those years according to my recollection, I think they were actually made more prominent in the '80s by Polo, which was not considered hardcore preppy in those years
^ idk, maybe mid to late 80s, or faulty recollection. pendleton made them as well, and viyella. i had the latter in a 55/45 wool/cotton blend in that particular tie.
/\ but I dig that tartan plaid for a blanket or a scarf, without a doubt
one person who wore tartan ties publicly with (pinpoint?) button downs (and cardigans, and tie pins) throughout the late 70s and 80s was Mr Rogers
/\ never used my Bean boots for hunting, mine have never leaked, but I've just worn mine on the street and also in the garden, got them in '79, finally had to replace the soles in maybe '10 or '11, they replaced the rubber soles perfectly, the Bean boots continue to rock on .....
Bean boots or Maine Hunting Shoes have never really been considered serious hunting shoes though regardless of the stories of L. L. Bean hunting in them a hundred years ago
they're for puddles on campus on a rainy day
My Bean boots have leaked, but I live with it
Wouldn't pay $350 for those. Quoddy is great, but I wouldn't buy those because $350 isn't what you spend on beater shoes, which is what rain/outdoor boots are.
/\ I wouldn't pay for them either, was just reporting on their existence ....
Last edited by Leer R. (2019-03-08 04:31:25)
Those quoddy boots look great and compared to what standard mocs cost, Quoddy's pricing seems consistent, but I suppose most preppies would stay away... not the real thing and too much...
They are addressed to that kind of sartorialists who kinda play a bit around with Ivy and Preppy style but want something different and high quality... to “set themselves apart“...
My main issue with them is they're a little too busy. Too many little details crammed in. The Bean boot is a classic because it's like a Paul Rand logo - smart, simple, and memorable.
^i think there are serious hunters and hikers who have used bean boots / maine hunting shoes for a long time, although they may not be the best for it. their soles have more traction than wellies which are routinely used by serious hunters. of course, today most traditional sporting items have been replaced for the most serious people by synthetic fabrics and items that usually look rather ugly.
i bought a pair of quoddys around 06 or 07 before the company became fashionable and their prices wereabout 1/3 of what they became within only a couple of years. i found them far underrated and less comfortable than others i've had, although the leather was better.
i'm not a huge fan of knockoffs in general that are incredibly close in design & would prefer bean boots / maine hunting shoes for ordinary wear over the quoddys but wish bean would use better leather
Last edited by Bulldog (2019-03-08 16:30:32)
^ great article. i would love to see reviews from the early era about hunters using them. i understand, however, that very shortly after the first batch of boots was released they had problems and this is what led to bean originally giving his guarantee
/\ nice post Beebs but of course it's a catalog page and not an article; the Bean boots, or Maine Hunting Shoes as Bean called them, were, like so many of Bean's outdoor clothes and camping and fishing gear, most suitable for light, casual wear and not heavy use in the field. Abercrombie & Fitch, Willis & Geiger, Filson, Russell, Sears Roebuck, those purveyors sold heavy-duty field goods, Bean's stuff, as cool as it was, was of lesser quality and their (generally) significantly lower prices reflected that.
Bean's stuff was better in cabins and at summer camp and school than it was on Everest. If you ever tried to go camping with Bean tents and sleeping bags you know what I mean. '70s Bean is what I'm discussing.
I love L. L. Bean but the company's stuff was not that rugged in my experience, and we had lots of the stuff.
Campus puddles yes, serious cold-weather snow wear, no. Doesn't matter what the Bean catalog said.
Bean blankets on dorm room beds, Bean brown duffles on the train, Bean blucher mocs 24/7/365, hell yes.
Bean Norwegian sweaters, fantastic, until your neck got so itchy you had to go for Brooks Brothers made-in-England black/silver label camel-colored cashmere v-necks for relief, please.
Bean green mountain parka anorak, a great example, looked fantastic though it was only useful as a lightweight garment on a dry day and you would not want to depend on it if a chilly wind started to blow.
The old mechanical Bean Field Watch, loved it, what excellent style, but hardly indestructible
We had these very conversations back in the dorms 40 years ago, as I've written before, the post office at school used to receive so many Bean packages every day, you'd see the catalogs and packaging stuffed into the trash cans at Yale Station and you'd see kids walking out of the place with their new goodies, their Baxter States, etc.
/\ oh yeah, not only are these last looks perfect for this thread and all '70s Rugged Prep purposes, the places you're rambling through are spectacular,
I dig your style, it's downright inspirational .......
we didn't have fleece until the very end of the '70s really, my girlfriend the sailor and I had some of the first ones on campus, she took me to the sailing shop where the team bought lots of its gear and we got some great Chuck Roast of Conway, New Hampshire zip jackets in fleece, very good stuff, it lasted for years and people tried to copy the vibe but they didn't know where to find it .....
this was before Patagonia was around ...... that sailing shop also carried some tough O'Neill sailing jackets that were perfect for the gray New Haven Long Island Sound weather, this was before O'Neill had become mainly a lifestyle brand ....
these looks would be equally amazing featuring a Shetland, even a trippy Fair Isle or Cowichan, an Icelandic, or a Bean Norwegian, but I know modern fleece has a lot of advantages, and I am a fan of The North Face and have and use their stuff a lot, that fleece is a good one
The North Face backs its products with good warranties and customer service, I rep them for that for sure
Walks keep it up. very much looking forward to the next installment, this thread is my favorite and you're crushing things here in fine form!
^^Good look Walker. I actually wore something almost identical today, albeit all my gear was recent, not vintage. My rugby was the very same, but a modern-day Columbiaknit over a white BB OCBD, green LL Bean jacket from a year or two back (I think they called it a travel jacket) along with Orvis ultimate khakis and Quoddy boot-Mocs, I didn’t need the hiking boots to pound the means streets of Cleveland(!) Though I know Snowdonia quite well (having studied at Bangor University) and would swap with you in a heartbeat. It’s a fabulous part of the world.
Last edited by Cap! Het! (2019-03-19 18:12:36)