C&I Magazine’s Spring Fashion Issue

Looking Ahead to Warmer Days

Spring is getting here, we hope, and Cowboys & Indians is making us look fantastic in their latest Spring Fashion Issue.

Cowboys & Indians Spring fashion shoot - Mannequins with fun Western outfits

 Our women’s Denim Shirt with an adorable afghan skirt!

Cowboys & Indians Spring fashion shoot - Model stands by barn

Our Mixed Media Shell makes a perfect first layer.

Cowboys & Indians Spring fashion shoot - Couple in barn, man has on a Pendleton Frontier shirt

Everyone loves our Frontier shirt.

Cowboys & Indians Spring fashion shoot - two men in Western shirts standing in a barn

Our original High Grade Westernwear wool shirt, the Canyon.

Cowboys & Indians Cover_4_15-2

Looking Back to Another Fun Shoot

We always love to see what C&I does with Pendleton! Here’s one of our favorite shoots from a few years ago.

Cowboys & Indians Spring fashion shoot - a couple smiling in front of a green farmhouse

Couple in western clothes smiling at each other

So go get your Spring on! It’s about time, yes?

All photos used with permission, courtesy Cowboys & Indians magazine

 

The Toboggan Coat for Fall 2012; come with us to the Pendleton archives!

Fall 2012 reboot of a favorite

Pendleton’s heritage stretches back to the earliest weaving endeavors of the Kay/Bishop family, which officially starts in 1863. This means we have a trove of archival textiles, garments and blankets to draw from.

This year you’ll see some Jazz Age inspiration in our Fall 12 Toboggan Coat.

Fall 2012 Toboggan Coat for women

Archival inspiration

This coat is based on examples from the 1920s we have hanging on the racks down in the archives. Here’s a peek of what that rack looks like:

Archival toboggan coats in the pendleton Archives

The jacket in front, in the Harding pattern, helped inspire the designers  of Fall 2009’s The Portland Collection. The jackets directly behind it in tan were the inspiration for Pendleton Womenswear’s re-creation. Here’s the closest to the modern-day jacket (and you are going to have to forgive the lighting here, the light is not-so-wonderful in the Pendleton Archives):

Camel toboggan coat from the archives

As you can see, the collar tabs for this one are completely gone, as is whatever tag it had originally.

There are a few more Toboggans downstairs; the “out” tag in the first photo is holding the spot for a version in black, which you can see in the online archive of the Metropolitan. Here’s the Met’s coat, front and back:

Front and back views of a Pendleton toboggan coat in the metropolitan  Museum's collection

Besides that, there is a version in red , just like the one in a blog post by vintage clothing collector, curator and blogger Lizzy Bramlett, who connected the dots  as soon as she saw the new version on our website. Here’s ours:

Another Pendleton toboggan coat in red from the Pendleton archives

This one has a lovely and complete collar and tab detail. The label is very vintage, but not as interesting as the labels pictured below.

collar detail

And here’s an archival khaki version from 1929, just for fun.

KHaki colored archival toboggan coat

Labels, too!

The labels from these early garments are usually small works of art. Here’s the label from the Smithsonian coat:

Woven label with woman skiing

And here’s a label from one of our our archival coats:

Both these tags are from the 1920s. Lizzie brings up a good point when she says, “The label … contradicts a bit of often-read information that is even alluded to on the Pendleton website, and that is that the 49er was the first women’s garment made by Pendleton.”

Before we introduced our first line of women’s wool sportswear in 1949, we occasionally made blanket-weight coats in both long and car coat lengths. The most common type of button used can be seen on the neck closure of the toboggan coat in the photo above; bone with a cat-eye groove and carved edge detail. These coats were naturals for winter fun: sledding (that’s why it’s called the Toboggan coat), skiing, skating. They were also a luxurious necessity for riding in the open cockpits of early cars and planes.

Pendleton blanket coats were also popular among celebrities like America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford. Edited: This is actually Anita Page! Thanks to a reader, who advises that Ms. Page can be seen in the same coat elsewhere. We do have Ms. Pickford in some other shots with Pendleton.

Here Ms. Page in a longer blanket-weight Pendleton coat.

Anita Page in a Pendleton blanket coat

The Pendleton Toboggan Coat for Fall 2012 is your chance to travel back in time for an authentic piece of Pendleton’s past, made as only we can make it.

And stay tuned to see what we bring back from our next trip to the archives.

Crossroads: Where it All Comes Together

Vintage Excitement

When an especially unique vintage Pendleton garment comes through our design areas, it can cause a stir. It’s like a new baby. People from other divisions come to visit, photos circulate in email, and everyone asks a lot of questions. What was it called? When was it made? And most importantly, what will we do with it?

A jacquard coat that came to the sewing room of the Men’s division was no exception. The Crossroads pattern was bold and dramatic, and the coloration was unique. Menswear decided to bring it back, so Fabric Design got to work redesigning and coloring the pattern. Womenswear and Home saw the possibilities…and that’s how a corporate jacquard is born.

Pendleton products that use the Crossrads pattern; a vest, blanket and sweater



What’s a “corporate jacquard”?

At Pendleton, a corporate jacquard is interpreted across Home, Women’s and Men’s offerings. Most items carry a hangtag that tells the pattern’s story, like this one for Crossroads:

The Crossroads design reflects First Nations teachings and the power of the four directions – the number “four” is sacred among many Native American tribes. East represents the physical body, the realm of the Warrior. West represents the heart and the path of the Visionary. North is the region of the mind and the wisdom of the Teacher. South represents the spirit, enlightenment and the realm of the Healer. Balance and harmony are achieved where the directions meet at the center of the Medicine Wheel. Crosses in this jacquard pattern symbolize the crossroads where the paths meet – the place where an individual becomes whole.

The Home offerings  are done in grey and tan with dark red accents. There is furniture and more. The blanket  is extraordinarily beautiful, and the centered cross element makes for a dramatic wool sham. The knit merino wool throw and oversized, feather-filled knit merino pillow  are new styles for Pendleton this year.

The Pendleton Corssroads blankets  and pillows

Womenswear works the contemporary Navajo-inspired trend in a traditional duster coat in a generously sized version of Crossroads. We used the same scale and color in the Riata Vest, and the pattern explodes in the knit Wildwood Wrap Cardigan.  A smaller-scale woven version in both blue/black and black/tan adds some drape and swing to the Crossroads separates; a skirt, jacket  and poncho.

Women's clothing that uses the crossroads pattern

Menswear has the pattern throughout the line, including a shawl collar cardigan, hats, mufflers, bags  (like this Weekender, coming to Pendleton-usa.com later this fall) and some outstanding outerwear.

Men's products that use the Crossroads patttern

But the true piece de resistance is the new version of the original coat . We changed the design a little, sleeked it up. It’s a piece of the past, reworked for now. This will be available at our website  starting 10/01/11.

Men's coat in crossroads pattern

Everything Crossroads can be found here with more to come as the weather gets colder…oh, wait.

You want to see the original coat?

Well here it is. It’s at least thirty years old, maybe forty. And since it’s a Pendleton, it still looks amazing.

Vintage men's coat in the Crossroads pattern by Pendleton

And that’s one beautiful baby…

What’s Brewing Around Here? Pendleton Perks, That’s What.

A photo of the Pendleton Perks customer loyalty reward card, with the words, "Introducing Pendleton Perks"

A new way to save

You have a wallet full of them, but you’ll want to hold on to ours. Your Pendleton Perks card offers even more buzz than your local coffeehouse.

It’s pretty simple. When you purchase $100 in merchandise from our retail shops, we’ll give you a stamp. These little stamps will eventually earn you $50.00 to redeem the next time you shop.

Sign up already!

We’ll be running double stamp events and special appreciation events, so what are you waiting for?

Pendleton Perks: It’s not just for lattes anymore.

Another photo of the Pendleton Perks card, with the words, "It's easy. For every $100 purchase, you'll receive a stamp on your Pendleton Perks card. COllect 10 stamps and you'll receive a $50 gift card to use on your next visit."

Harding: A Pattern Through Time

A Sweetheart of a Pattern

In the twenties, thirties and forties, movie theaters were packed with fans of America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford (on the left in a fringed Harding shawl). She was the golden child of early American cinema, though her reputation took a big hit when she scandalously cut off her trademark golden braids. She didn’t just act. She produced, wrote, directed and marketed her films, and was one of the co-founders of United Artists. Sadly, the advent of talkies ended her acting career. Apparently, hearing Mary Pickford speak was something like reading the Tweets of your favorite celebrities. Sometimes, silence is golden.

Anita Page is on the right, in a coat that will look familiar to those of you who have watched The Portland Collection video. In that, designer Rachel Turk is slipping on a coat similar to Ms. Page’s.

Side by side photos from the 1920s of Mary Pickford and Anita Page, both in Pendleton Harding blanket garments.

Nothing would make us happier than to have Anita Page’s coat in our possession, so we ventured hopefully down to the archives to have a look:

Photo of a very ragged Harding blanket coat from the Pendleton archives.

Here is one of our oldest archival coats. It’s seen better days, but it’s beautifully made and still inspirational. The length and styling are close. The buttons differ, but buttons are usually replaced on vintage garments. But…Ms. Page’s coat had patch pockets, while ours has slash pockets. The sleeves on her coat are cuffed, while ours are hemmed. Oh well…we’re glad to have our own long Harding coat among the treasures in our archives.

Where did the Harding pattern come from?

In 1923, President Warren G. Harding  and his wife visited the Pacific Northwest to dedicate part of the old Oregon Trail. A presidential visit this far west (in a non-campaign year) was an occasion. The area’s tribal dignitaries, chiefs of the Cayuse and Umatilla tribes, asked Pendleton Woolen Mills to create a unique blanket as a special gift to the First Lady, Florence Harding.

President and First Lady Harding receive a Harding patterned throw from local tribal dignitaries in Oregon.

The weavers modified a Chief Joseph pattern and produced a fringed shawl in shades of white, tan, yellow and red. Mrs. Harding  graciously accepted the blanket, and by all accounts was delighted with her so-very-western gift.

First lady Florence Harding.

If you know your history, you know that Mrs. Harding didn’t always have the easiest time of it. We can only hope her warm Pendleton shawl offered a little comfort as the Harding presidency was rocked by scandal.

Despite that, what came to be known as the Harding pattern has been a steady part of the Pendleton line since the 1920s. We’ve used it in menswear, womenswear, accessories and blankets.

A bed made up with a Pendleton harding blanket.

From season to season, we dip back into Harding history for accessories and apparel. In 2009, a vintage Pendleton Westernwear ad image sparked our designer’s inspiration.

Two men in an advertising image from the 1980s. They are wearing Pendleton sweaters with Harding patterns.

We have no idea what these gentlemen are discussing so intently, or if they called each other the night before to coordinate their outfits. But the 2009 versions of these sweaters were solid hits. If you’re not sure whether you have the old version or the new, check the label. The newer versions will have the word “Pendleton” straight across, rather than at a slant. If “Pendleton” is at a slant, your sweater is vintage. And that is a seriously nice find.

Heritage is everywhere lately, with even the newest brands trying to connect with the past. At Pendleton Woolen Mills, we don’t have to borrow heritage, because we have our own. Thanks for sharing it with us for over a hundred years.

A young Native American woman accepts the gift of a fringed Pendleton shawl in the Harding pattern from a woman in the stands at the Pendleton Round-Up, circa 1920s