Why the Kitsbow Icon/Pendleton Shirt?
To be clear, I am not a hipster, nor am I rad. I am simply a deep appreciator of the classics, the tried and true objects, that through a delicate, but rich, mix of history, function, look & feel always seem to endure.
I do not, for the most part, subscribe to the idea (lacking in so many ways) of fashion; of the comings and goings of what is right for the here and now. Seems to me to be way overindulgent, and extremely waistful (might be my Mid Western roots).
“A Classic”,” you know it when you see it; timeless, elegant in a familiar and useful way, and, with time, an object which lends some character definition, a signature, if you will, to the user/wearer (Paul Newman in his Persols and Tag watch). Classic is often used to convey that something is old, or from another time However, this is simply a “modern” slang adaptation, not having anything to do with the actual definition of the word, which signifies top quality, definitive, timeless and generally accepted as, well… a Classic!
So what about Kitsbow and Pendleton? Why did we so badly want to make a shirt with their iconic fabric? Well, we like craft, and we like looking to the past for inspiration (Sir Edmund Hilary, in his tailored wool and cotton explorer’s gear, is way more inspiring than any number of recent technically-clad all-stars); what better place to look than Pendleton Woolen Mills, est. 1863 by a young English weaver named Thomas Kay. Expertise in the weaving of wool plus merchandising and retailing savvy in a place (the nation’s newest state, Oregon) where conditions were ideal for raising sheep, coupled with the convergence of railways, allowed Pendleton Woolen Mills to emerge as a manufacturing icon, and a dyed-in-the-wool American success story.
For decades outdoors-people have turned to wool shirts, almost like utility wear, for warmth and protection from the elements. Wool’s inherent low static, hairy surface helps repel both dirt and odor; the elasticity of the fiber makes it naturally wrinkle-resistant (and I’ve worked on a lot of wrinkle-free applications to fabrics that did not have this quality naturally). As we now all know, wool is also a natural insulator which lets the skin underneath breathe, keeping the wearer cozy and warm when it’s cold outside, yet also cool when the mercury rises. The enduring nature of the wool fiber makes for a longlasting garment which is resistant to water, stains and fire. Luckily for us, C.M. Bishop (of the family that has run Pendleton Mills since 1895) had a vision for wool shirts in vivid colors and intricate patterns. The hollow fibers of wool not only insulate, but also absorb dyes deeply and permanently for rich, lasting color. Thus, in 1924, the legendary Pendleton virgin wool shirt was born, and is definitively the precursor to the Kitsbow Icon Shirt.
Which brings us to the intersection of Kitsbow with Pendleton. When we looked at the heritage of our relatively young sport of mountain biking (established more formally in the 1970’s, vs. say, skiing… well, there are primitive carvings circa 5000 B.C. depicting a skier), we wanted to pay homage not only to those that toiled on what became the mountain bike, but also to those outdoors-people more familiar with tailored outdoor clothing than the noisy, self-contained eco system gear of more “modern” times. Looking at the patrons of the sport, the thing that stuck out to us (after the cool machines of Klunker-dom) was the fact that they all wore jeans, work boots and plaid flannel shirts.
In the hands of the expert Pendleton weavers, different colors of wool yarn may be woven together to create intricate patterns and gorgeous color combinations. In our hands at Kitsbow, we bring some distinctly more modern textile technology, with the strategically deployed pieces of Schoeller abrasion resistant fabric, as well as an updated, anatomically considered fit with some movement built-in for comfort. I guess if your Dad was an outdoorsy, salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, it was the shirt he always wanted.
So there we have it, the Kitsbow Iconic Shirt, now available in two colours – an earthy blue plaid, and a rich, mélanged grey. Each with a sense of purpose, and certainly coming from a rich tradition of textile craft and beauty, as well as form and function.
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