Banana Republic History
Meeting the Founders of Banana Republic
Mel and Patricia Ziegler did a Wild Company book signing at Book Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Building last night and I was in attendance in full BR regalia along with my very supportive wife Julie who insisted I say hello before their talk. I must admit I was a little nervous to introduce myself. … Continue reading
Original Banana Republic Art
These original BR product illustrations were provided by Production Artist Mike Madrid. The black and white images would be duplicated as photostats which would then be hand tinted for the catalog.
Wild Company Articles
I thought it was a good idea to keep track of some of the more interesting articles about Wild Company, the Ziegler’s memoir about Banana Republic. Follow their latest news via Twitter or Facebook SF Chronicle Banana Republic founders’ ‘Wild’ memoir 3 Part Excerpt on Bloomburg.com An Empire Built on Short-Armed Shirts NY Post: Mass-A-Peel
True Surplus: Swedish Bandolier
A favorite item is the Authentic Swedish Bandolier. It’s unquestionably cool, stylish, and adventurous. Banana Republic was selling these “authentic relic” surplus bandoliers in their catalogs from Holiday 1984 until Fall 1985. The bandolier is a Swedish Army Mauser ammunition bandolier. It’s very popular with Star Wars fans and cosplay enthusiasts because it was used as … Continue reading
Company is coming…Wild Company!
Got some amazing news this weekend in the form of a message posted to our Facebook wall: “Thank you Abandoned Republic for being keepers of the flame. Coming soon from Simon and Schuster and now available for pre-order at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com the long-awaited memoir from the founders of our long lost … Continue reading
Tag–You’re it!
Ok, what a cheesy title, but my other option was Tag-WTF? Because since I posted my Tag & Logo Guide a few really odd ones have popped up. I had said in my post that I hadn’t seen tags that used the classic masthead font from the catalog and yet here are two totally unique … Continue reading
Banana Republic Clothing Tag and Logo Guide
We are doing a bit of archaeology with this blog, trying to help figure out where certain things fit in the BR timeline, which is especially useful when collecting BR. The biggest key to the puzzle is of course the label tag in the clothing itself. Here is the breakdown of BR labels as I … Continue reading
Regifting: 3 Christmas Catalog covers
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything new to the Abandoned Republic. Life and work have gotten in the way, I am afraid. I actually have a great backlog of stuff to post as I get the time. Most importantly, I wanted to get the catalog archive moving forward again. So I thought … Continue reading
Now Open in Birmingham
I added this catalog to my collection recently. I hadn’t seen it before, though after I bought it I saw it go for half the price and without the yellow banner. But the yellow banner is kind of cool. Obviously catalogs bound for a certain region had a special cover made to announce the opening … Continue reading
The Banana Republic Guide to Travel and Safari Clothing Book
This book was published by Ballantine Books in 1986 and it’s a must have for any vintage Banana Republic fan. It’s everything you love about the catalogs in long form. BR Greatest Hits Vol. 1… The clothing illustrations are large and plentiful and the writing is more expansive. The sense of nostalgia and the culture … Continue reading
SALE LIST UPDATED April 1st, 2013
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Wild Company Coming in October
