We were duped by The Original Preppy Handbook, published in 1980, into believing that polyester was somehow not acceptable. This excerpt shows that in 1983, Ms. Birnbaum's pronouncements to the contrary, polyester was de rigueur at Brooks. One can hardly argue that Brooks wasn't authentic ivy in 1983.
"Better living through science" was supposed to solve all our dilemmas, clothing included. Poly got a reinvent in the late '90s for a new-and gullible?-audience. Look at today's slimmer-fitting bike/hike/climb clothing everyone wears while NOT actually pursuing those pursuits: Nary a natural fiber among them. Okay, maybe Sahalie offers some "hemp" stuff.
But on the way to sweat-wicking nirvana the designers forgot(or ignored) one salient fact: the stuff can't pull moisture away from you in humid climates. Hello, half of the US geography. Most of us are not bouldering in bone dry Moab, unlike those catalog images.
Uncomfortable in anything that has the merest 10% synthetic(for stretch)woven in it, The only non-natural fiber I wear is my Gortex rain jacket.
Why were prices slightly higher west of the Rockies? Pony Express costs? Prices seem pretty much the same as today when inflation is take in to account, though.
No poly here. The designers are jumping on the techno types with the "Techno Performance Fabrics" Zegna Sport a fine example. They are blinding them with science! And failing them sartorially! Poetry in motion.....
Cute. Say what you will, that 1983 Summer catalog, the first of my working career, was the beginning of the Great Credit Card Abyss pour moi.
ReplyDeleteAnd worth every cent.
ML
I'm with you but amazing how much blended poly cotton & poly wool is in this catalog. Still, 1983 is still very close to the 70s.
ReplyDeleteWe were duped by The Original Preppy Handbook, published in 1980, into believing that polyester was somehow not acceptable. This excerpt shows that in 1983, Ms. Birnbaum's pronouncements to the contrary, polyester was de rigueur at Brooks. One can hardly argue that Brooks wasn't authentic ivy in 1983.
ReplyDelete"Better living through science" was supposed to solve all our dilemmas, clothing included. Poly got a reinvent in the late '90s for a new-and gullible?-audience. Look at today's slimmer-fitting bike/hike/climb clothing everyone wears while NOT actually pursuing those pursuits: Nary a natural fiber among them. Okay, maybe Sahalie offers some "hemp" stuff.
ReplyDeleteBut on the way to sweat-wicking nirvana the designers forgot(or ignored) one salient fact: the stuff can't pull moisture away from you in humid climates. Hello, half of the US geography. Most of us are not bouldering in bone dry Moab, unlike those catalog images.
Uncomfortable in anything that has the merest 10% synthetic(for stretch)woven in it, The only non-natural fiber I wear is my Gortex rain jacket.
-DB
Why were prices slightly higher west of the Rockies? Pony Express costs? Prices seem pretty much the same as today when inflation is take in to account, though.
ReplyDeleteNo poly here. The designers are jumping on the techno types with the "Techno Performance Fabrics" Zegna Sport a fine example. They are blinding them with science! And failing them sartorially! Poetry in motion.....
ReplyDelete