You may have seen Pendleton Woolen Mills recently on CBS Sunday Morning. You can watch it here:
Thank you to everyone who participated, especially Bobbie Conner, and the entire CBS crew who traveled to Pendleton to talk to us, learn about our history, and film at the mill.
Yes, it was Vans, and we’ll tell you a little more about that original collaboration in a bit. But the exciting news? One of our earliest collaborations with Vans has been reprised! It’s the return of Pendleton Original Surf Plaid–a pattern made famous when the Beach Boys wore these shirts on their Surfer Girl album–in two styles that pay homage to the legendary shoe company’s earliest days.
You can see the collection here: VANS X PENDLETON 2021
And you can read about the Beach Boys connection here: Beach Boys AKA the Pendletones
ANAHEIM FACTORY AUTHENTIC 44 DX
From Vans: The Anaheim Factory Authentic 44 DX pays tribute to our first Vans factory in Anaheim, California, by borrowing details from the original Authentic and offering modernized comfort with upgraded Ortholite® sockliners. This iconic lace-up shoe also includes throwback details like the original style number, higher glossed foxing tape, and cotton laces, and features classic Pendleton plaid uppers to complete the look.
ANAHEIM FACTORY SK8-HI 38 DX
From Vans: The Anaheim Factory Sk8-Hi 38 DX pays tribute to our first Vans factory in Anaheim, California by borrowing details from the original Sk8-Hi and offering modernized comfort with upgraded Ortholite® sockliners. This legendary high top shoe also includes throwback details like the original style number, higher glossed foxing tape, and cotton laces. Sturdy suede and classic Pendleton plaid uppers complete the iconic look.
Back in the 1970s, when Pendleton had a store in the Disneyland Resort (which was just Disneyland back then) Vans and Pendleton offered Vans sneakers made with pendleton plaids. We have a pair of those in our archives, and until recently they were part of our heritage Hallway display. Here are a few views of those sneakers,
The second colorways of the 2021 sneakers are made in the same Royal Stewart tartan!
So whether you choose the Original Surf Plaid, or the Red Royal Stewart Tartan, you’re throwing it back. Way back.
Here are a few more views of the original sneakers, so you can appreciate all those retro details.
To read more about our history with Disneyland, click here:
Pendleton and Disneyland: We Go Way Back
Rare Photos of the Pendleton Store at Disneyland
When Pendleton Meets Packard, with a Disneyland Twist
And here’s the link to Vans, again: VANS X PENDLETON 2021
In the early 1960s, a group called The Pendletones adopted their name in honor of the surf uniform of the day: Pendleton shirts worn over tee shirts with khakis. The original lineup included brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine.
The Pendletones soon changed their name to the Beach Boys (learn more about them here: (the Beach Boys) Even though only one member of the group had ever been on a surfboard, they sang about the California surfing scene; waves, sunshine, cars and girls. This might have been simple subject matter, but layered instrumentation and soaring harmonies made these songs anything but simple. Under the unique artistic leadership of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys defined surf music. And though their name changed, their uniform didn’t. The band wore this blue and charcoal plaid shirt on the covers of 45s and LPs throughout the early 1960s.
The Beach Boys’ Pendleton shirts were part an existing trend. When surfing came to California in the late 1950s, surfers devised performance wear: swim trunks and plaid Pendleton shirts over a layer of Vaseline. Surfers wore the same shirts over light pants on the shore, and a fashion trend was born.
This look hit the radio airwaves courtesy of the Majorettes, whose song, “White Levis” became a number one hit in 1963. As the lyrics said, “My boyfriend’s always wearin’ white Levi’s…and his tennis shoes and his surfin’ hat and a big plaid Pendleton shirt.”
That’s a Pendleton shirt cover of that 45, even though they named the song after the pants. You can give it a listen here, and don’t be surprised if you start singing along. But let’s get back to the shirt made so popular by the Beach Boys.
In 2002, Pendleton celebrated eight decades of Pendleton shirts by bringing back iconic shirts from each decade. To celebrate the 1960s, we brought back the Board Shirt in the same plaid seen on all those record covers. We call it the Original Surf Plaid.
The shirt has stayed in the line ever since.
Photo Joel Bear
We’ve used it in caps, hats, bags and jackets. It’s still made in the original 100% virgin Umatilla wool as it was back then.
Photo Cassy Berry
There’s some discussion now and then in Pendleton’s Menswear division about which is our most enduring men’s item of all time. Some say it’s the Topster, the shirt jacket that defined collegiate wear in the 1950s and 60s. Some say it’s the Original Westerley cardigan worn by the Dude in “The Big Lebowski.”
Photo Ben Jaffe, styling Suzanne Santo
Others claim the honor for the Board Shirt. We’ll let you decide.
Photo Travis Hallmark
No matter where you are, or what’s the weather, this piece of the sunny California surf scene will take you to the waves.
Surf Pendleton is a growing part of Pendleton’s spring offering, with looks for men and women that feature natural and technical fibers, sun-bleached colors, and relaxed SoCal style. The collection builds on a connection between Pendleton and surfing that goes way back—waaaay back to the birth of the American surf scene in the early 1960s.
This look originally hit the radio airwaves courtesy of the Majorettes, whose song, “White Levis” became a number one hit in 1963. As the lyrics said, “My boyfriend’s always wearin’ white Levi’s…and his tennis shoes and his surfin’ hat and a big plaid Pendleton shirt.”
That’s a Pendleton shirt cover of that 45, even though they named the song after the pants. You can give it a listen here, and don’t be surprised if you start singing along.
Around the same time, a group called The Pendletones adopted their name in honor of the surf uniform of the day: Pendleton shirts worn over tee shirts with white Levis or khakis. The original Pendletones lineup included brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine.
Photo of Beach Boys (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The Pendletones soon changed their name to the Beach Boys . Even though only one member of the group had ever been on a surfboard, they sang about the California surfing scene; waves, sunshine, cars and girls. This might have been simple subject matter, but layered instrumentation and soaring harmonies made these songs anything but simple. Under the unique artistic leadership of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys defined surf music. And though their name changed, their uniform didn’t. The band wore this blue and charcoal plaid shirt on the covers of 45s and LPs throughout the early 1960s.
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The Beach Boys’ Pendleton shirts were part an existing trend. When surfing came to California in the late 1950s, surfers improvised surf performance wear: swim trunks and plaid Pendleton shirts over a layer of Vaseline. Surfers wore the same shirts over light pants on the shore, and a fashion trend was born.
In 2002, Pendleton celebrated eight decades of Pendleton shirts by bringing back iconic shirts from each decade. To celebrate the 1960s, we brought back the Board Shirt in the same plaid seen on all those record covers. We officially named it the Original Surf Plaid.
The shirt has stayed in the line ever since. We’ve used it in caps, hats, bags and jackets. It’s still made in the original 100% virgin Umatilla wool as it was back then. And this spring, we have your favorite surf plaid in a women’s style.
See it here: Original Surf Plaid for women
Short sleeved wool shirts have been part of our line as far back as the 1950s. This year, we brought back the short sleeve Board Shirt in spring and summer colors.
Please note, our good friends at Greenspan’s have always offered custom sleeve tailoring to SoCal customers, so if you shop there, any Board Shirt can be short sleeved. You can check out the short sleeve Board Shirt colors, as well as everything else in the Surf Pendleton line for men and women here: SURF PENDLETON
Remember—summer is on the way.
We have a new collaborative partner with Roxy, a premiere surf and beach brand for women.
With several bikinis, two of which show strong 1940s influence, a coverup, towel, beach throw and more, it’s a perfect pairing of Pendleton’s surf roots and Roxy’s place in competitive surfing. You can see the entire collection here.
Our roots with surfing go back over fifty years, to the days when surfing was just coming to Southern California. The Majorettes were singing about Pendleton shirts, and The Beach Boys were The Pendletones, named for their wardrobe of Pendleton shirts. Surfing, like everything else, has come a long way, especially in the area of women’s participation…and domination!
This video gives a close look at the production of the wool part of the collection, with narration from our company’s president, Mort Bishop III.
Roxy and Pendleton: Two Surf Brands
Yes, we are pretty proud of this one.
What is Popeye saying about us? As usual with Japanese PR, we have only a vague idea of what’s been written, here. We do know these travel spreads are alive with enthusiasm and full of Pendleton. Our Reyn Spooner Kloth shirts are shown, as well as the Surf madras shirts , and towels, and muchacho blankets, and hey, that’s our CEO, Mark Korros, relaxing at the Pendleton Home Store!
Our favorite is this shot with the Original Surf Plaid Board Shirt as worn by the Beach Boys way back when.
Thanks to POPEYE for the visit and for the press. All photos are used with permission.
The weather is right for hitting the waves. We’re celebrating summer this year with a Blackfern collaboration; two boards that are part of our Surf Pendleton collection. So here, in their own words, are all the steps that go into making these fine boards–one at a time, all by hand.
Making the Pendleton Limited Edition Surfboard
Each Pendleton Limited Edition Surfboard is shaped, painted, glassed, sanded, and glossed by hand in Blackfern’s fabrication studio in Portland, Oregon.
Retro Styling
For the Pendleton Limited Edition Surfboard, a 1960’s era single fin model was chosen. This timeless retro board embodies the lifestyle of the era; clean, simple, and stylish. Many of these retro shapes are having a resurgence in popularity because of their versatility in a range of surf conditions. The board style pays homage to an era in which Pendleton was a vibrant force in Californian surf culture.
The Process Starts
The first step in the fabrication process is to trace out the outline of the board onto a blank, which is a rough-cut piece of foam that resembles a surfboard, albeit not a very functional one. The outline is cut out of the blank, not unlike making Christmas cookies, and the excess foam is removed. The outline is then tuned by a rasp-like tool called a surform, in order to hone the perfect curve that will define the finished board.
From Bottom…
The next step is to craft the bottom of the board. This process begins by power planing or “skinning” the protective outer shell of the blank that protects the softer foam within. After the skin is removed, the bottom contours are shaped in by removing material with additional passes with the power planer, surform, and finally, sanding blocks. The single fin model features shallow concavity through the middle of the bottom, blending into a V contoured tail. These contours give the board a loose and nimble feel with higher performance than would be achievable with a flat bottomed board.
…To Top
At this point it is time to flip the blank over and begin working on the top of the board. Similar to the bottom, the first step is to remove the protective skin of the blank. During this process, I start to flesh out the top contours and the “foil” of the board. Foil refers to the changing thickness, both from the center towards the rails as well as from the tip to the tail of the board. It is during this process that a shaper’s ability to visualize in three dimensions becomes crucial. Knowing where to remove material and in what quantity can be tricky. The goal is to produce a smoothly foiled board; maintaining volume in helpful areas and removing it where unneeded.
Forming the Rails
After the top has been shaped and foiled, its time to move onto the rails of the surfboard. At this point the board has a functional top and bottom but with its boxy, vertical rails, it would be miserable to surf. To form a smooth curving rail, I begin removing rail material in the form of rail “bands.” Bands are sloped ridges that run the length of the board; thickest at the middle and thinner towards the tip and tail. By removing rail material incrementally in these stepped ridges, it is possible to produce a rail that changes shape and thickness in a controlled and consistent fashion. Once the bands are crafted to satisfaction, the board is turned onto its rail and I begin passing a sanding screen over the ridges of the “bands.” After screening repeatedly, the ridges disappears and a smoothly curving rail emerges.
Finishing Foam Touches
The final steps of the shaping process are to install the slider single fin box and to finish sand the entire shaped surfboard to a buttery smooth finish. The board is signed off to the customer who ordered it. I write the customer’s name, the dimensions of the board, and finally “Pendleton Surf Limited Edition.”
Getting that distinctive Pendleton look
The specialized Pendleton artwork is applied before glassing the board. The two color versions vary on their preparation. To produce the characteristic plaid pattern, I start off by creating a series of vertical stripes that represent the four primary colors of the pattern. I then lay out horizontal bands that cross directly over the vertical bands. I use the same four primary colors and spray through a sanding screen, producing the blended color tones featured in the plaid print. Finally, I add a band of dark color around the rails of the surfboard to form a frame of sorts.
For the striped version, I tape off three zones of the board; center, nose, and tail. Within these zones, alternating colored bands of varying thicknesses are laid down to form the distinctive, classic pattern.
Onward to Glassing
Glassing is only achievable in incremental steps, similar to the process of shaping the foam of the board. Glassing consists of four separate treatments of resin that constitute the glassing process; two laminations and two hotcoats. A lamination is the process through which fiberglass cloth, saturated with resin, is bonded to the fragile foam core. A hot coat is an additional layer of resin that helps protect the fiberglass cloth and completely seal the inner foam core.
Laminations
The first lamination occurs on the bottom of the surfboard. To prepare for the lamination, the top of the board is taped and masked to avoid being exposed to resin prematurely. A piece of fiberglass cloth is rolled out over the length of the board and is cut so that the fabric drapes over the rails, usually extending approximately 2-4 inches below the beginning of the rail. Surf Pendleton and Blackfern decals and fin boxes are dry fitted to ensure that no mishaps occur. The entire surface of the board is then “wetted out” with polyester laminating resin. A squeegee is used to work the resin into the porous foam of the board and to fully saturate the fiberglass cloth. The cloth is carefully wrapped over the rails and the board is left to harden or “cure”.
Once the bottom is cured, the board is flipped over and the same process is done to the top, this time with two layers of fiberglass cloth to add additional strength to the deck. After wrapping the top layers of fiberglass onto the bottom of the board, the resin and fiberglass are left to cure once again.
Hotcoats
To hotcoat the board and finish glassing the board, another coat of polyester resin called sanding resin is applied to each side of the board. This process is among the most simple of all the steps of surfboard fabrication – resin is poured out of a small pail and then spread evenly over the surface of the board with a large paint brush. Each side is left to cure before flipping the board a final time to hotcoat the other side.
Hot coating produces a slick, imperfect surface. In order to make it ready for use, every square inch of the board must be sanded. Sanding makes the surfboard finally feel like a surfboard; smooth, strong, and perfect. Many boards are considered finished and ready for use at this stage but the Pendleton boards receive one additional treatment – a gloss coat.
Glossing
The gloss coat is nearly identical to the hotcoat. The only major difference in the processes is that the gloss coat resin is slightly thinner and is applied to a perfectly smooth, even surface. As a result, less resin is required and a perfectly smooth surface is formed. Even so, the entire board is sanded again to make it ready for use. Successive sand paper treatments, each one higher grit than the last, are used to form completely smooth and scratch free surface.
Finishing Touches
To bring a shine to the finished product, buffing compound is applied using a woolen compounding bonnet. Finally, a treatment of polishing compound is applied to all surfaces of the board using a polishing pad to give it a candy-like luster.
Launch
Tools and hands have passed over every square inch of this board dozens of times and, at last, this Pendleton Limited Edition Surfboard is ready to ride! Get ready to catch some great waves!
Filming has wrapped on “Love and Mercy,” the upcoming Brian Wilson biopic. The costume department came to us for–you guessed it–many, many of the Beach Boy Plaid board shirts worn Brian and the Boys on the cover of Surfer Girl and various 45s. Remember, before they were the Beach boys, they were the Pendletones.
The movie won’t be out until next year, but we thought you’d enjoy these shots from filming, shared with us by the production company and used with permission.
In the early 1960s, a group called The Pendletones adopted their name in honor of the surf uniform of the day: Pendleton shirts worn over tee shirts with khakis. The original lineup included brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine.
The Pendletones soon changed their name to the Beach Boys . Even though only one member of the group had ever been on a surfboard, they sang about the California surfing scene; waves, sunshine, cars and girls. This might have been simple subject matter, but layered instrumentation and soaring harmonies made these songs anything but simple. Under the unique artistic leadership of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys defined surf music. And though their name changed, their uniform didn’t. The band wore this blue and charcoal plaid shirt on the covers of 45s and LPs throughout the early 1960s.
The Beach Boys’ Pendleton shirts were part an existing trend. When surfing came to California in the late 1950s, surfers devised performance wear: swim trunks and plaid Pendleton shirts over a layer of Vaseline. Surfers wore the same shirts over light pants on the shore, and a fashion trend was born.
This look hit the radio airwaves courtesy of the Majorettes, whose song, “White Levis” became a number one hit in 1963. As the lyrics said, “My boyfriend’s always wearin’ white Levi’s…and his tennis shoes and his surfin’ hat and a big plaid Pendleton shirt.”
That’s a Pendleton shirt cover of that 45, even though they named the song after the pants. You can give it a listen, and don’t be surprised if you start singing along. But let’s get back to the shirt made so popular by the Beach Boys.
In 2002, Pendleton celebrated eight decades of Pendleton shirts by bringing back iconic shirts from each decade. To celebrate the 1960s, we brought back the Board Shirt in the same plaid seen on all those record covers. We officially named it the Original Surf Plaid.
The shirt has stayed in the line ever since. We’ve used it in caps, hats, bags and jackets. It’s still made in the original 100% virgin Umatilla wool as it was back then, but we’ve interpreted it in rayon for campshirts and cotton for sleepwear.
We have done a few colorations of the plaid. Whether it’s in blue, coral, rust or olive, the pattern is easily recognizable.
Because of its strong ties to surfing history and culture, this pattern was used in key collaborations with Hurley and VANS in the late 2000s.
There is a discussion now and then in Pendleton’s Menswear division about which is our most enduring men’s item of all time. Some say it’s the Topster, the shirt jacket that defined collegiate wear in the 1950s and 60s. Some say it’s the Westerley cardigan worn by the Dude in “The Big Lebowski.” Others claim the honor for the Beach Boys Board Shirt.
This shirt is almost as beloved as the band that made it famous! It’s one of our top-sellers each year, still worn by surfers, boarders, musicians, sons and fathers. The shirt is still going strong, and so are the Beach Boys. The band is currently out on tour, and they still love Pendleton.
