Spring is arriving slowly. Some days are warm, and just when I think I've worn the last tweed and flannel for the season, it turns cold and damp with gale force winds. Such is spring. However, I recently took a look through L.L. Bean's 1982 spring catalog and was taken back to another time and place, a spring of some 31 years ago. Could it really have been so long ago? Much in this 1982 catalog was made in the USA, and nearly everything has both that utilitarian and preppy outdoors "spirit" about it. That said, this sort of "spirit" is also an elusive sort of thing, though I recognize it when I see it. However, because a company once possessed this sort of spirit does not mean that it will always possess it. Like a good camp fire, this spirit needs to be tended to, lest the flame go out. I wouldn't say that L.L. Bean's fire has gone out, leaving only cold ashes, but the flame burns a bit less brightly these days. This old catalog was not slick, nor was it over-produced. It has a regional homespun quality to it, and unlike today's catalogs, this catalog also contained very few "location" shots (save the one of the hammock on page 55, and some of tents that I didn't include). The catalog basically contained only images of clothing and outdoor related supplies. Simple as that. L.L. Bean knew that customers could supply the locations themselves, so no help was needed there.
This reminds me of a book by Tom Mahoney and Leonard Sloane titled, The Great Merchants (Harper & Row, 1966 enlarged edition). This book contains a chapter on L.L. Bean, and should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of this company (the same book also contains a chapter on Brooks Brothers, as well). The book describes Bean's roots as an outdoors supplier, touching on the company's famous 24 hour a day service,"Regardless of the day or hour, you will find the place open and somebody on hand to sell you a hunting or fishing license or any of several hundred items for the sport, dress or comfort of hunters and fishermen...'We've thrown away the key to the place,' the bronzed booming-voiced founder [Leon Leonwood Bean] explains. 'A lot of our customers drive up from New York and Boston. Many leave right after work and are so eager to start hunting or fishing that they drive all night. This brings them through Freeport in the middle of the night or even on Sunday. Where else can you get a hunting or fishing license on Sunday?'" (pp. 299-300). This description of L.L. Bean reminds me of how much of an outdoor equipment company L.L. Bean once was. Clothing was meant to be used outdoors, and for those who didn't hunt or fish, at least the clothing and equipment carried with it a real deal spirit of the outdoors. Even if one didn't use the hunting coat for hunting, the game pocket could still be let down and used to sit on, even is all one was doing was sitting outside waiting in line to buy tickets to see the Grateful Dead.
The Great Merchants also described "Bean's prescription for success" as: "Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings, and they'll always come back for more" (pp. 308-309). In my experience, L.L. Bean's consideration of the customer has changed very little. It is still one of the most pleasurable companies to purchase anything from. Customer service is helpful and responsive to questions, and on the few occasions that I've ever had to return anything, L.L. Bean has always made the return easy and no-fuss.
This reminds me of a book by Tom Mahoney and Leonard Sloane titled, The Great Merchants (Harper & Row, 1966 enlarged edition). This book contains a chapter on L.L. Bean, and should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of this company (the same book also contains a chapter on Brooks Brothers, as well). The book describes Bean's roots as an outdoors supplier, touching on the company's famous 24 hour a day service,"Regardless of the day or hour, you will find the place open and somebody on hand to sell you a hunting or fishing license or any of several hundred items for the sport, dress or comfort of hunters and fishermen...'We've thrown away the key to the place,' the bronzed booming-voiced founder [Leon Leonwood Bean] explains. 'A lot of our customers drive up from New York and Boston. Many leave right after work and are so eager to start hunting or fishing that they drive all night. This brings them through Freeport in the middle of the night or even on Sunday. Where else can you get a hunting or fishing license on Sunday?'" (pp. 299-300). This description of L.L. Bean reminds me of how much of an outdoor equipment company L.L. Bean once was. Clothing was meant to be used outdoors, and for those who didn't hunt or fish, at least the clothing and equipment carried with it a real deal spirit of the outdoors. Even if one didn't use the hunting coat for hunting, the game pocket could still be let down and used to sit on, even is all one was doing was sitting outside waiting in line to buy tickets to see the Grateful Dead.
The Great Merchants also described "Bean's prescription for success" as: "Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings, and they'll always come back for more" (pp. 308-309). In my experience, L.L. Bean's consideration of the customer has changed very little. It is still one of the most pleasurable companies to purchase anything from. Customer service is helpful and responsive to questions, and on the few occasions that I've ever had to return anything, L.L. Bean has always made the return easy and no-fuss.
The problem for me is that though L.L. Bean is a company with great customer relations skills, there are fewer and fewer things from them that I find appealing. To my way of thinking, an American company of this stature and history should produce and offer an overwhelming amount of merchandise made in the States that reflects a culture and tradition of the outdoors. Catalogs used to be brimming with items that were unique to and only available at L.L. Bean. Today, however, much of what is offered is hard to distinguish from other companies' offerings. To say it another way, much of what is offered today does not have that elusive L.L. Bean "spirit" about it. This little catalog is, of course, a window upon a time that no longer exists - which makes me wonder what L.L. Bean would look like today if it had retained more of this hard to grasp American spirit of the outdoors.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
When I look at this catalog, I am reminded of just how much good stuff L.L. Bean offered back in 1982. I have to admit that I only really glance at the current L.L. Bean catalogs when they arrive. Yet from time to time I still find myself looking at these old catalogs. I have no easy answer for how this situation might be remedied, and L.L. Bean is not the only company that has changed. Companies change to meet the needs of competing tastes and changing conditions of the marketplace. That L.L. Bean is still around and doing seemingly well must mean that they are successful at what they do. I just wish that when I opened the current catalogs I would feel that I could still order the "genuine article" from L.L. Bean. I long for a catalog that is a window into a 'living tradition' of American clothing and outdoors gear. Traditions are much like a flame that needs constant attention lest it go out. Living traditions are more than simply "brand names;" living traditions possess that hard to describe reality that is both old and new at the same time. Living traditions produce things of meaning within a place where history and culture intersect. This hard to describe reality, that is the "spirit" of tradition, always evokes a sense of continuity with the past while inviting participation in the present. L.L. Bean used to do this for me. Perhaps this will happen again, but in the meantime there's always an old catalog to remind me of what once was and what still could be: The L.L. Bean of tartan gingham shirts and checked gingham shirts (the kind that wrinkle), of surcingle and web belts, of pork pie hats, brown zippered duffle bags, made in Maine bluchers and camp mocs, Bean's "Business Man's" shirts, and madras trousers. This catalog evokes a tradition that is still a relevant and present possibility - I remain hopeful.