I was in the archive the other day and came across an article about L.L. Bean from years ago in 1977. It reminded me of the L.L. Bean that I remember from high school and college days. Men's Club published this now very nostalgic feature on L.L. Bean titled, "L.L. Bean Never Goes on Holiday: Heavy-Duty Survey." This article contained the images that follow below. In 1977, L.L. Bean had only one store, the famous Freeport, Maine store and headquarters. The store was famously open 24 hours a day, all year long. For many, arriving day or night, the trip to Freeport, Maine was nothing short of a pilgrimage. These images capture L.L. Bean at a time before TOPH and the preppy fad of the early '80s. L.L. Bean was still firmly rooted as an outdoors outfitter and clothier representing a Maine take on the New England tradition.
By 1977, the original Abercrombie & Fitch was gone and though there were other outdoors supply companies, there was nothing like L.L. Bean. The Men's Club article stated, "It's different than Eddie Bauer and EMS; the inside of L.L. Bean smells like Maine." Right. So much of what makes a company successful is an ability to genuinely convey the feeling of a time and place through its products. One might never get to Maine, but one could put the products to use in a deep Midwestern snowstorm or hiking in the Sierra Nevada. The images above demonstrate L.L. Bean's compelling ability to convey this Maine sensibility, a sensibility that no doubt helped to build up a loyal customer base across the United States, and as far away as Japan. The article compared L.L. Bean with another institution, that of Brooks Brothers, stating, "L.L. Bean is the outdoors version of Brooks Brothers. The essence of 'Heavy-Trad' is located here." Today, this comparison may not seem an obvious one, but several decades ago, before indistinguishable outlet malls and the growing global mallification of urban and suburban life, shopping at a store's main location was still a unique and exciting experience. In the same way that Brooks Brothers had come to define a traditional style of American dress, L.L. Bean had also come to define a genuine outdoors lifestyle. Today, L.L. Bean is at its best as an outdoors outfitter when it is able to articulate through its products a sense of place that is, Maine and New England. I wish more of their products today were still made in Maine by them. I've had a lot of things from L.L. Bean over the years, and still have some aging and ancient items like a down vest from over 30 years ago. I cherish these things and have managed to hang onto them through life's various stages. Though I'm long past the collegiate road trip stage of life, I would drive to Freeport in an instant if I could buy a pair of boots at that general store-like shoe counter above, with the handmade display and signs. It just looks like L.L. Bean should look.
Source:
Men's Club #195 (8/1977)
Image may be NSFW.
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