Blankets that Celebrate

As an American company with strong roots in the West, Pendleton Woolen Mills weaves blankets with meaning and beauty. Every blanket tells a story, and we have woven many blankets that celebrate American patriotism over the years, from the Grateful Nation blanket that celebrates the contributions of our veterans, to retired blankets like Code Talker, Chief Eagle and Home of the Brave.

Here are some beautiful blankets to help us remember our patriotic spirit this Independence Day. To see more information on the blankets below, click the blanket name, which will take you right to the website.

Bighorn

In 1825, the Bighorn River called famed mountain man Jim Bridger to build a raft of driftwood and ride it through the foaming rapids. Part of the river was dammed to create Bighorn Lake, but the spectacular canyon it carved remains, named for the Bighorn sheep that travel its rocky, treacherous paths. Located in Montana and Wyoming, about one third of the park unit is located on the Crow Indian Reservation. One quarter of the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range lies within the Bighorn Canyon Recreation Area.

Bighorn_Bed

Mountain Majesty

Mountain_Majesty

Inspired by Navajo hand weaving created in the Southwest in the early 20th century, this pattern incorporates symbols of hope, abundance and successful journeys. Muted colors and mountain-like steps evoke sunset over a western landscape.

Mountain majesty_bed

Brave Star

The Brave Star blanket celebrates the patriotism of Native Americans who have defended our country in battles since the 19th century. The design, based on the American flag, marries modern asymmetry and vintage Americana. The unique striations reflect a time when dyes were made from plants.

To read more about Native American service members click here: Code Talkers

Grateful Nation

Grateful_Nation

The Grateful Nation blanket honors the sacrifice of brave men and women who have defended freedom throughout the history of the United States of America. Each authentically colored stripe represents a service ribbon awarded to veterans of historical conflicts in which our country has engaged:

World War II Asiatic Pacific Campaign
World War II Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
Korean Service
US Vietnam Service
Southwest Asia Service (Gulf War)
War on Terrorism

For more on this blanket and veterans, click here: Grateful Nation

Read about the Fisher House Program: Fisher House and Pendleton

A young woman waves a Mountain Majesty

Photo by Travis Hallmark

So spread out your blanket and get ready for the fireworks!

What’s just right for throwing over your shoulders while watching the fireworks? Our Ashton Plaid Lambswool Throw in the Americana Plaid. Maybe you can sip a hot beverage out of the Grateful Nation Coffee Mug while you’re at it.

Americana_Plaid_Ashton

Happy Fourth of July!

Please note that everything pictured on this list is made in the USA.

Made in the USA label

Boyfriend Style

Women have been carrying on a love affair with men’s style since the 1940s.

1940s teenager in Pendleton wool shirt. We won't apologize for the cigarette, because everyone smoked in the 1940s, including doctors while they performed surgery.

Call it Boyfriend Style, call it Menswear-Inspired, call it dressing like boys or whatever you want to. Women have always loved wearing male-inspired fashion and men’s garments. Especially, it seems, men’s Pendleton wool shirts.

Boyfriend style is hot right now, but it’s not new. The Pendleton 49’er grew directly from this trend. To quote our blog post on this iconic jacket:

Pendleton’s success with men’s shirts had happened twenty years earlier, but during WWII, men were not the only people enjoying distinctive plaids and ombres in pure virgin wool. Women began to borrow men’s work shirts for both work and warmth.

1940s women in Pendleton wool shirts. The fetching ax-wielder on the right looks like Mad men's Peggy Olson AKA Elizabeth Moss, doesn't she?

It’s possible that by wearing their husband’s shirts, women kept the memories of their husbands, fiancés and brothers close, though many undoubtedly needed some serious work wear that was simply not available for women at the time. Whatever the reason, women loved Pendleton shirts.

We answered this love by introducing the Pendleton 49’er jacket in (you guessed it) 1949. (As an aside, how much does the woman on the right resemble Peggy Olson?)

ICONS!

Women loved the 49’er, but continued to raid men’s closets. Here are two 1950s icons of femininity, rocking their Pendletons.

Marilyn Monroe in a Pendleton wool shirt.

Jayne Mansfield in a Pendleton wool Board shirt. With chihuahuas. Cooking breakfast, because that's how all chihuahua owners cook their eggs.

These photos of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield offer a clue as to why Boyfriend Style was so popular in the 1950s. It was associated with relaxation, home, comfort, ease, the outdoors. It probably offered them a break from their sexpot styling, though this Life magazine series of Jayne Mansfield cooking breakfast in a Pendleton shirt still manages to radiate her kittenish allure.

(As another aside, clearly Jayne inspired today’s selfie-pout).

The desire to steal his shirt didn’t end in the 1950s. Diane Keaton’s Annie Hall style showed up in the 1970s, creating a wave of skinny-tie-and-vest wearers. Women tucked shoulder pads under the bigger shoulders of men’s shirts and jackets and belted them tightly to create the signature silhouette of the 1980s. The 2000s brought the rise of thrifted style. Countless women reworked shrunken men’s Pendletons into their looks. And when we introduced our Fitted line, market intelligence informed us that a surprising amount of these slimmer-cut shirts were selling to women. Women still love wearing Pendleton men’s shirts.

Today, with Nine Decades

When we decided to celebrate our Nine Decades of Pendleton Wool Shirts, we knew that women would want to celebrate this milestone, too. So we developed three Decade Shirts for women using plaids from our archives.

Three styles, five fabrics, all available at pendleton-usa.com. The Prineville is a popover with a 3/4 placket. The Ranch Hand is based on our Men’s Canyon model, the original High Grade Westernwear shirt. The Ponderosa uses our beautiful Sir Pendleton worsted fabric, meaning there’s almost a mile of yarn in every shirt.

To finish things nicely, because we love to do that, each shirt has a special Decade Shirt label in the placket. We wanted to give you everything you love in our Men’s shirts with Women’s more fitted shaping.

Here are the Decade Shirts for Women in action.