GearCamp: The Wool Shirt

-
Pendleton Wool Shirt
The wool shirt has been with us for a while. Wool for even longer. Back in 1924 Pendleton decided that a little more color in a woolen shirt would sell more shirts. They were right. And today they are still making the same shirts.
Woolens for as sportswear have been out of style for quite a while based on my unscientific research. They are making a comeback. I think hipsters may have increased the popularity of this type of shirt in recent years especially since Portland is in proximity to the Pendleton mill.
I had a few wool shirts growing up. I believe I wore one of them in a yearbook picture my sophomore year in high school. It was a Navy surplus shirt.  I think I borrowed the another one from my father. By college I had rid my wardrobe of these shirts, mostly because they were often scratchy and were dry clean only.
I think the woolen shirt fell out of favor due to the increased availability of tech fabrics like micro-fleece. Nevertheless, The Beach Boys probably still wear wool. I began to re-acquaint myself with the miracle fabric of wool 5 years ago mostly because I noticed it languishing in the 2nd hand market for a few bucks. After buying one I was hooked.
Pendleton woolens are durable and to uniquely breathable. Also, they make great shirt jackets because wool is an excellent outer-layer. On a cool fall day out in the forest I like to wear a Pendleton with a puffy down vest. Makes a great combo.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Notable Posts

So there was this zombie party

-
Image
It was a quiet weekend up here. Well, maybe. Depends on how you appreciated the sound of moaning zombies all over. They can be rather noisome. Fortunately there are guys like McGjervold who can take out a dozen or so of the troublesome undead minions. Went to a party and sure enough, there they were- zombies. Real crazy looking zombies.  And there was the food too. I sampled the fare before I called in McGjervold to clear out the joint with his array of weapons and zombie whooping devices. McGjervold doesn't back down to zombies or their ilk. Afterword we played pool.
Read more

Back to 50s photos: Pontiac Chieftain

-
Image
I n its earlier days, Pontiac featured a Native American on its logo. It may have just been a representation of the famous chief himself, Pontiac although no authentic images of him are known to exist. In the center background you may be able to see a Pontiac Chieftain under a large tree. Pontiac ceased production of the car sometime in the late 1950s. In 1956 they also changed their trademark from the Indian head dress to something more akin to an arrowhead.
Read more

Gumby, Google, Clokey and Hastings. Oh My!

-
Image
This title sounds like a band from the 70s. However, Google has a great interactive doodle today in honor of Art Clokey , creator of green guy Gumby. Clokey would have been 90 today, but he passed away last year. But did you know that the Gumby came from my hometown of Hastings, MN! Indeed I thought this odd too when I saw this fact on a map of Hastings that has hung in the family home for years. Clokey was Californian and seemed to have no connections wtih the North Star State, so I thought this incredulous. I did a little digging and then found my answer in an article in the Star Tribune from October 20th, 2003.  Dick Parker and Heron Marquez Estrada did a the hard work and re-discovered that Echo Plastics of Hastings manufactured millions of Gumby and Pokey toys up to about 1971. So I guess Minnesota can claim the green guy and his red pony after all. Perhaps the state quarter would have been more collectible if it had Gumby an...
Read more