Friday, March 20, 2009

Clothes from the LL Bean Archive

The majority of our time at the LL Bean Arts and Archives department was spent sorting through racks of clothing. I was like a boy in a candy shop, well actually more like a boy in a camera shop. Here are some great pre-war, except for the 29 year old River Driver shirt, finds from the archive. Enjoy.
You can get a new one these here, but it wouldn't be made in the USA.
My mom had one of these that she wore for years.

Amazing label.
Ruth told us that US airman during the war wore LL Bean jackets like this one to keep themselves warm in the unpressurized cabins of Allied bombers.

Shearling lined cotton jacket.





Blaze orange, hunting pea coat from 1940, how sweet is that?

I wish all my tags looked like that.





Amazing.





Its hard to tell, but these buttons read LL Bean, Freeport Maine. I also really like the pocket's leather lining around the openings. This jacket had awesome details.



This shearling-lined jacket weighed a conservative 15 pounds and smelled like your great grandmother's quilt.





I really liked the corduroy elbow pads on this cotton jacket.

I hope you enjoyed these jackets as much as Max and I did. I will let them speak for themselves. Have a great weekend.

14 comments:

Greg said...

Great blog man, I found you through plaidout and I'm a huge fan, you're on my newsreader now for sure.

One small thing, not to be a jerk, but I think it's "blaze" orange, not "blazer" orange.

Foster Huntington said...

greg,
thanks for pointing that out. i feel like an idiot. I am glad you like my blog,
foster

Anonymous said...
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greenjeans said...

That duck hunting coat will live in my dreams forever.

These last few posts have made me want to wear wool, chambray, duck canvas, and leather all the time. Your photos are great.

Shaun said...

Among the corduroy elbow patches, the leather trimmed welt pockets, the fur cuffs and lapels, and the toggle buttons, Americana style is on the rise and L.L. Bean is the epitome of why. Amazing pictures, I am jealous that you were able to experience such a major part of Americana.

Anonymous said...

Foster, the descriptions we've come up with are too similar. I'm suing you for plagiarism.

Anonymous said...

Great post!

FineAndDandyShop.com said...

Lucky you! I also found you from Paidout. Great work!

Foster Huntington said...

Charles,
thanks for checking the blog, i feel very lucky for having the chance to see it all out.
Foster

Victoria Thorne said...

Your mom and me.

Had one of the River Driver shirts. Wore it 'til it was shreds, probably. Wish I still had it.

Such good taste your mom has!

Another great post. Wonderful work, Foster.

andrea.at.the.blue.door said...

So *that's* where my river drivers' shirt went! I really, really miss the red one I wore out in the late '80s.

When I lived in midcoast Maine, these shirts were an essential part of my winter wardrobe; the middle layer between a turtleneck and a chamois shirt. And this was just for indoor wear!

Foster Huntington said...

andrea,
I plan on getting a read one to wear this summer. hope it will last as long as yours!
foster

viagra online said...

haha excellent I have a friend who works we're the brands quicksilver, all navy and levi's pack the cloths and he sometimes take the once that don't pas the quality test and sell them to me very cheap, sweaters, jeans, shirts, everything.
Thanks for sharing, I love the jacket.

Leather Coats said...

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