Archival Field Trip: The Field House

by Lesli Larson and Sara Tripodi




The opening of The Field House, Blackbird's newest Ballard store, has already been well documented. Here are a few sample reports: We Are the Market; Blackbird's own blog; SLAMXHYPE; Inventory; Secret Forts; Seattle Metropolitan Magazine.

We stopped by for our own visit last Saturday. We were curious to see owner Nicole Miller's modern take on the general store. True to concept, The Field House had on offer squash, canned tuna, milk and chocolate, with eggs soon to come. The focus, however, was on clothing, and many familiar heritage brands were in evidence: Alden, Quoddy, Billykirk, Fjallraven, Filson, Pendleton and Woolrich. The shop also carries another prominent American clothing brand which we were asked not to photograph.

Unique among boutiques that carry these brands, The Field House offers clothing for women. I tried on a nice, vintage-style, blue wool jacket by John Rich Bros. for Woolrich. Sara liked a RVCA poplin shirt. The shop has a good selection of wool tops for women as well as a Filson garment or two. At the time of our visit, there were no Alden equivalent shoes for women. But they did have some sporty Tretorn lace-up boots.

After The Field House, we dropped in on Blackbird and Birgitta. The highlight of our visit was our conversation with owner Nicole who is a true evangelist for heritage brands for women. She gets that there is a need for classic pieces designed and sized for women. We are very excited about her future offerings.

Heritage clothing for women

Wool for gents

Baggage

Filson

Footwear

Bits and sundries

Local foodstuffs

Window display

Around the corner at Blackbird