Tuesday, November 18, 2008

From the Archives: Filson catalog, circa 198X?











From my collection of printed Filson ephemera.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I ordered from this catalog in 1987. Filson used the same one for a few years in that period, but I can't say precisely when this edition began or ended. I was lamenting (ever since the unwelcome invasion of the Lodge Collection) the direction of the company, and how far they have strayed from their roots. I was hunting around for this very catalog, which I thought I had a copy of. Couldn't find it. Stumbled upon your site. Thanks for posting it. Should have bought the wool serge pants when I had the chance. Oh well.

Lesli Larson said...

Anon--

I've been regretting not buying a pair of those serge pants (in both color offerings) too!. I'd also like to have purchased a pair of the whipcord trail pants and/or custom order a cruiser jacket in serge.

Glad you found the catalog. Now we just need to create a mechanism for mail ordering from the past!

Anonymous said...

mmm... custom order cruiser vest in forestry brown serge... (drool)

Lesli Larson said...

It seems like a matter of time before Filson realizes the appeal and strong market demand for many of their now discontinued garments. Given the strength of current "heritage lifestyle" movement, I'm hoping Filson will bring back many discontinued styles and fabrics. A friend was talking to the owner of a local industrial clothing and supply company who mentioned that Filson used to get wool for many of their garments from an Oregon mill, Mt Jefferson woolens. Perhaps Jefferson WM could be brought back online to produce new iterations of their wool serge and whipcord fabrics!


Randomly, here's a grim tally of woolen mill closures in the US:

http://www.nationaltextile.org/nta/plant_closings/index.htm

Anonymous said...

you said:

Randomly, here's a grim tally of woolen mill closures in the US:

So sad. My grandfather was a textile designer for the J.P. Stevens mill in N. Andover, MA. They did a lot of things, including supplying material to the Army in WWII. He raised four kids and lived pretty well, but those days are long gone. I understand Filson's predicament. I doubt they will revive many old styles to regular catalog status, but I bet they could do a limited edition run of a few styles, and change it up year by year. Some people would be willing to pay a premium for that, but let's face it, a lot of people can't even think about it right now.

Lesli Larson said...

I'd love to see a blog dedicated to documenting the production history of mills like the J.P. Stevens mill (and the products they made). It's sad to think of all these great old companies that have simply disappeared from view.

And yes--the Heritage line is a fantasy production in my head (like the gilded sets in an Astaire and Rogers film). I'm just happy Filson and like brands are still in business at the moment.

Anonymous said...

you said:

I'm just happy Filson and like brands are still in business at the moment.

Absolutely, and also that they choose to retain a few of their traditional items. But do they really need to offer a leather covered pocket flask? That sort of thing causes me to question the sanity of the folks in charge, and consider the dire possibility that their foolishness could bring the whole thing down. Maybe I'm too pessimistic. After all, we're not in the Klondike gold rush days anymore. Logging is out. Luggage is in!

Lesli Larson said...

I personally loathe the leather coasters and playing card holders. But I have to think that all of this is surplus baggage from the ill fated "Lodge Line" (let's get our product into Macy's and Nordstrom) days. I'm hoping that these items will slowly disappear from the product line-up once inventory is reduced.

Anonymous said...

I wore an orgional hunting coat purchased in the early 80's until the mid 90's when my oldest son started hunting and took over my coat. My son still has the coat but seldom uses it as the area where he hunts now is to warm most of the time. I would buy a new 66xl if they were available but Filson like many good things has gone yuppie. What a sad day!