Sunday, April 19, 2009

the secret life of clothes

Did you have the same response as I when you opened your mailbox the other day? I think my voice dropped an octave with a breathless "No!" uttered in disbelief and awe: we just received a J Peterman catalog!

How thrilling to see this. It's the same crazy vintage-inspired stuff as ten years ago when the company was in its prime. I think it's exactly what the marketplace has been missing since Banana Republic went mainstream.




Do you remember the old Banana Republic catalogs? I adored their style, and this book (I found it on ebay a few years ago) about the company has been a source of endless inspiration to me. I love so much about safari style: the linens, washed cottons, brushed khakis, and rough twills are everything I adore about textiles, and the timelessness of the styles still appeal to me. I'm attracted by the adventurousness, the well-traveleled mystique of someone who had been everywhere and seen everything. Much of it, too, was questionable with regard to wearability. But it oozed rugged glamour.



So back to our friend Mr. Peterman's catalog. Some of it continues to be constume-y and nearly unwearable: witness the Great American Shirt. If I were an advice columnist I would tell my readers to avoid any man wearing this shirt, especially on a first date. It screams "I believe I'm attractive enough to wander my way onto the cover of a romance novel." Not someone with whom I would recommend you get involved, unless you're the fawning type who needs a man to take care of as a hobby (or a full-time job?). Or the Crinoline Dress? This dress seems suitable only for an evening of zoot-suited swing dancing, complete with fedora and speak-easy. But maybe my imagination is just too tired to comprehend kelly green underwired dresses today. I'll try again tomorrow.

On the other hand, I'm all over the Adventurous Shirt Dress. I've been meaning to finish a sleeveless shirtwaist similar to this that I drafted before the arrival of Tsia (four years ago, now...). It's sitting on the shelves of the studio, cut from pinstriped navy linen, just waiting for a quiet afternoon for stitching together. And I love the Latin Quarter Peasant Shirt, which feels a bit like a grown-up version of the 2 + 2 Blouse and which I would probably wear every single day if it were made in the light-weight grey-blue cotton I purchased last weekend with something exactly like this in mind.

I think the J Peterman catalog is important precisely because of the unusual items it includes. The non-conformity of the more exotic offerings are what make it unique, especially today when so much apparel looks the same. I love the possibilities it offers, even if I tend toward the more conservative, wearable (to my mind, anyway) items. So hurray for Mr. Peterman! I may still be mourning the death of the REAL Banana Republic, but I can celebrate the true purveyor of outlandish items; they're what make the sartorial world interesting today.

20 comments:

  1. I'm kind of taken with the crinoline dress actually, it has an air of 50s English country house dressing for dinner. Or to wear to sit on the wide verandah, sipping a G&T while gazing out across the savannah as the sun sets. I think I've been reading too many old Agatha Christie's lately... I adore catalogues like this even if I have no intention of buying anything. In Sydney we used to get one from a men's shop called Gowings which was full of great captions and despite being the wrong gender I was an avid reader :)

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  2. Thanks for this post. A friend of mine and I have spent the last hour or close to it looking at everything on their website. The clothes are incredible. We've requested catalogs and will keep an eye out for them. They really are a different clothing company. And not just clothes either! Oh and as always I love both distressed and Oliver and co.

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  3. I like that old book of yours! I enjoyed that crinoline dress - but then I've been trying to talk hubby into learning East-Coast Swing - to no avail.

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  4. I had to stop sewing for just a moment to make a quick comment. It sort of hit me thinking about your fabric discussions/pattern styles and then this reference. I scored a yard of 100% linen in the remnant section at the local fabric shop the other day. I decided to sew my son a pair of low-calf length summer casual pants. I think the Banana Republic style is great for older boys, especially with the use of natural fibers and neutral-toned fabrics. It's timeless - classic. Anyway, just had that thought and wanted to share it with you. (By the way, it's my first time sewing with linen - I love it! I want more!)

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  5. I absolutely do remember with fondness the old Banana Republic....shopping there and being very excited by their clothes and fabrics. And secondly, I love the crinoline dress in black....I think I remember my mother wearing it back in 1958!
    Be well, Laura

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  6. I love the J. Peterman catalog! My parents bought me a duster from that catalog -- it is fitted on the top and then flares out around the bottom -- for Christmas a few years ago (I don't think they carry it anymore) -- it is gorgeous and whenever I wear it I feel like a movie star!

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  7. Oh, just looking at that Banana Republic cover whizzed me right back to 1985. At 13 I was much more a J. Peterman and Banana Republic girl than I was trendy. One of my first pair of cargo pants came from Banana Republic back then. They were off white and oh so soft. Sigh.

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  8. I totally agree! I LOVED when the mail came & I received a Banana Republic catalogue & mourned when they went mainstream! I, too, get the J. Peterman "books" & thoroghly enjoy the nostalgia of them and agree, a lot of their clothes are more costume than anything else.

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  9. Sometimes I think I dreamt the period when Banana Republic was, in fact, a "Safari Clothing" type store. I LOVED those catalogs and the adventure-stories woven throughout. Thanks for the memories!

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  10. Oh, fabulous. I used to pore over those in high school and totally thought that when I was a grown up I'd be a walking J. Peterman-person, straight from the pages of the catalog.

    Love that Ben Franklin shirt! Father's Day is just right around the corner... maybe it'd spice up the marriage:)

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  11. Lynne, you totally made me laugh out loud with that one. Thanks!

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  12. "i had a farm in Africa."

    where's my victrola and coffee plantation? Any up for an open-air airplane ride.

    ;o)

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  13. I used to love pouring throught that cataglog!

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  14. My only problem with the J. Peterman is that they do not always list the type of fabric that clothing is made out of. I assume that if they are not boasting natural fibers that it is something plastic, which seems true for much of the offerings.

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  15. I would love to find a man wearing the great american shirt!

    ruth

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  16. Anonymous10:06 PM

    Oh for the days when having just a BR t-shirt elevated you in social status. Silly - but it was a whole lot cheaper than an Hermes or LV bag!
    The catalog was great and the stores were a destination in and of themselves. siiiggghhhh.
    Thanks for the memory.
    jennifer in ks

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  17. I always loved the j peterman catalog. i always wanted the leather mailbag.

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  18. I had completly forgotten the Banana Republic catalog.. I got some great things from them.
    I had a German Document Case - a clutch purse. I was the coolest punk rock peplum wearing sweetie.
    thanks!

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  19. I love that shirt too...wow! Lovely...order theirs or make my own, that is the question.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Thank you for this! For years I've wondered if I had just confused J.Petermans with Banana Republic or if their catalogs REALLY had seemed so similar once. No one else I know studies catalogs as much as I do and would look at me as if I were crazy when I brought that up. So thank you so much for the images. BR did look like that and I even remember how the stores looked too, all tropical and such.

    By the way, I'm loving the crinoline dress too. Perfect for a modern cocktail party in my book.

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