Banana Memories

Consider this an addendum to the weekend's TWiA if you like: back in the 1980s, before it was acquired by Gap, Banana Republic was a small, quirky company that sold "travel and safari clothing" from a catalog that featured illustrations rather than photos. Most of it was pretty interesting, and some of it was quite cool.

There's a fairly robust secondary market for vintage BR stuff, and sites like Abandoned Republic that share their interest with the rest of us. I had one of these bags, which I bought at the first BR store that opened in this area, on the ground floor of the then-new Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, and carried for several years.

But before that, I had made purchases from the catalog. I remember as a senior in college doing a group order with several of the people with whom I shared a brownstone dorm on Bay State Road. I bought a khaki-colored poplin shirt with flap pockets and epaulets that I wore for a long time.

Source: Put This On via Archival Clothing