Long, long ago, during the preppy revolution of the early 1980s (well documented by Lisa Birnbach in “The Official Preppy Handbook coach messenger bags,” her madras-covered tome of the time), I readied myself to head off to college, leaving the barren, southern Arizona desert for the verdant campus quads of Virginia. Upon receiving my anxiously awaited acceptance letter, I turned to consult my latest L.L. Bean catalog (this being the pre-Internet dark ages, natch) to order my first pair of L.L. Bean boots and one of those legendary Norwegian sweaters. I wanted to head east fully prepared for its snow-filled winters, wearing my handbook-approved school uniform, made by the most iconic, trusted outfitter I knew — or at least had read about.
“Guaranteed to Last: L.L. Bean’s Century of Outfitting America” (Melcher Media, $29.95) celebrates the centennial of that company founded by the intrepid outdoorsman Leon Leonwood Bean and the footwear that started it all: the Maine Hunting Shoe. After combining a rubber galosh with the top of a leather hunting boot (a “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter” moment), L.L. hit upon a flexible, lightweight boot for hunters that quickly found an audience beyond the back woods. L.L. Bean was a pioneer of direct marketing, and his first typewritten testimonials quickly evolved into illustrated catalogs as the range of merchandise grew. Many tote bags, chamois shirts Nike Air Max 24-7 Womens, field coats and Wicked Good Slippers later, pilgrimages to the original Freeport, Me., factory store continue to be a rite of passage for “Beaniacs” everywhere.
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