Classy, Classless, Classic Jacket Betsy O’Leary, North to Alaska then South to Mexico
Dear Patagonia,
My husband and I arrived in Anchorage, Alaska in December 1973, and were greeted with snowdrifts and berms higher than our VW Bug. During the next 10 years, we bought down jackets and snow boots, scarves and gloves, foul weather gear and long underwear – functional but bulky stuff, designed for men and for the most part, single purpose only. In 1983, we bought a 33’ sailboat in Seattle and before setting sail for Seward, AK, I made the best purchase ever, my Patagonia jacket. On that trip north, I wore that jacket every day, and sometimes even at night, under and over layers of clothing dependent upon the weather. I was warm, dry and able to move in comfort anywhere whether below or above deck, whether kayaking or fishing from the dock, whether playing baseball in the rain with our 2- and 4-year-old children or whether collecting mussels or blueberries for dinner.
Over the ensuing years, I wore it hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and of course sailing. I wore it to the movies, with jeans and to work over dresses and suits. I wore it in the Alaska Interior in minus degree winter, and when my job took me to the “Lower 48”, it was my jacket of choice as it was lightweight yet substantial, casual yet capable of turning into a “dinner” jacket if the occasion called for such.
We have since moved from Alaska to Baja, Mexico. Before we left Alaska for Mexico, we emptied our closets of down coats, fur mittens, snow pants, wool socks. But my Patagonia jacket was the one thing I brought south with me. While there have been very few occasions to wear my jacket here in Baja, it is still my jacket of choice whenever and wherever I travel. And after all these years and miles of wear, it still looks and fits in 2013 just as good as it did in 1983.
―Betsy
