Banana Republic in the 80s

[megoscott]

I was a huge BR dork in the 80s. I loved the whole Indian Jones safari look, the cool illustrated catalogs with cheesy travel writing, the stores that looked like they were designed by the Jungle Cruise team from Disneyland....

I'd love to collect the catalog, but they are pricey....
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Vintage Banana Republic | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[torgospizza]

Never bought a thing from them, but used to have this catalog, and found it incredibly interesting. The Israeli paratrooper briefcase, in particular.

[megoscott]

The paratrooper briefcase is a classic, I have one my dad gave me a coupe of years ago. Great laptop bag.

[kingdom warrior]

I remember one store down in the Village in NYC. I bought a few things from them whenever i could afford them....

[Brazoo]

The thing that drives me crazy is finding SIMPLE clothes that look nice. Like, shirts that are ONE colour. So about once every 5 years I go in a Banana Republic, because the stuff is simple and clean looking - but then I never buy anything there because I'm always way too broke.

[samurainoir]

The wife got a management level job in the IT department at one of the bigger financial institutions last year. Overnight she went from low rider jeans and tank tops that she wore at her previous trendy online video game startup job to an entire fleet of Banana Republic outfits suitable for a grown-up job.

This past year, I've noticed BR shirts magically appearing in my side of the closet via osmosis. I'm still wearing them untucked though.

[sprytel]

I remember I had a Banana Republic t shirt that I wore forever. Too long. Over the years, it had gotten too ratty to be worn in public... but I hated to retire it. So one day, my poor mom (who still worries about the way of dress... I guess you don't outgrow some things) goes into the Banana Republic and asks, "Do you guys still sell those t shirts? With a vintage map or a jungle or some such thing on the front?" The look on the snooty clerk's face was priceless. "Um, we stopped selling those like before I was born."