Reware Vintage Blog

Pendleton began in 1909 when three brothers re-engineered a factory in Pendleton, Oregon to produce blankets, then robes and coats in 1924. The Men’s coats came in bold, bright colors and were quite popular, so they expanded the line to cover all men’s sportswear.

In 1949, the family expanded it’s offerings and began manufacturing women’s sportswear, then non-wool apparel. Though their coats are still their biggest sellers, Pendleton produces year-round apparel for men, women and children all with the same high quality that they have been known for the past 100 years.

While Pendleton’s tags have not changed much over the decades, there are some subtle differences to help you date your Pendleton items. One rule has always stayed the same – blue tags are men’s items, and white tags are women’s.

Some of our favorite Pendleton items we’ve had over the years:

70’s Navy Pea Coat (sorry, can’t find the tag pic!)

70’s Juniors Suit

80’s Cropped Jacket

Right now, we have in stock:

80’s Dress

70’s Cropped Jacket

For more examples of Pendleton Tags, I recommend this Vintage Fashion Guild page!

Although IOU is often thought of as “80’s clothing”, IOU sales were really at it’s peak from 1989-1992. Produced by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises, which owned many different chains of stores – mostly found in shopping malls – such as DeJaiz (or DJ’s), Ship N Shore, Chess King, and many others, IOU was Merry-Go-Round’s first private label.

Coveted by the high school crowd, the IOU brand made all types of mens and womens apparel – jeans, jackets, T shirts, but it’s most famous and lucrative was the IOU Sweatshirt. Sold often for 2 for $48 (then less and less as the brand lost it’s cool factor) the sweatshirt style was fairly similar in style over the years and a staple in teenager’s closets. At one time the IOU brand accounted for 30% of all sales in the company, which grew to over 1000 stores before declaring bankruptcy in 1994 and closing the majority of it’s stores in 1996, ending it’s 20+ history of being the cool place to shop in the mall.

Of all the trends that were big in IOU’s heyday (Z Cavaricci, BUM Equipment, Hypercolor, Cross Colors, LA Gear) the IOU sweatshirt is what I get customer requests for the most. What is it about IOU?

Some of our favorites over the years:

Luckily, it’s never difficult to date an IOU sweatshirt – I’ve never seen one that didn’t have the year screenprinted somewhere on it…therefore, I won’t bother showing you the tags.

Right now, we have only one IOU sweatshirt in stock

but don’t worry, we’re always on the hunt for you!

If you wanna have some flashback fun, I highly recommend checking out the Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Alumni Facebook page and looking at the pictures!

Did you have a favorite IOU sweatshirt? Tell me about it!

Levi Strauss & Co. was founded in 1853, and may be known the most for it’s riveted jeans, but the company itself has dabbled in manufacturing nearly every type of apparel for men, women and children save underwear. Today I’ll focus on their men’s apparel, with a bigger spotlight on their classic jeans and women’s apparel in later posts.

Levi’s made men’s apparel, both jeans and shirts since it’s early days. They were primarily sold to ranchers, miners, railroad workers and other hard-working men, as they were second to none in their quality and durableness (hence the leather patch on the back of the jeans of two horses failing to pull the jeans apart). Levi’s became popular with rebellious youth in 1950’s after James Dean wore the jeans in “Rebel Without a Cause”. On college campuses nationwide, students collected their red tabs with pride (and under the false rumors that sending in a collection would win you a free pair of jeans).

Levi’s developed and grew their casual lines more and more through the 60’s and 70’s, diving into slacks, sportswear, suit coats, and accessories. Some of the experiments and labels flourished, others failed.

-They tested bright colored jeans in 1959 under the label “Orange, Lemon and Lime”

-Sand colored jeans were introduced in 1961, corduroy pants in 1962

-Permanent press wear was created under “Mr. Levi’s” in 1963

-Under debate that the western shirts were losing popularity, the company did not produce any western shirts from 1968-1971. In 1971, the company resumed production both under the Levi’s name, and Levi’s Panatela. The Panatela brand included both westerns and other sportswear, and was discontinued in 1977 – making it a highly collectible label today.

-From 1969-1973, Levi’s experimented with licensing their name to branch out even more. A manufacturer called “Now and Designs” made denim covered clipboards, address books, notebooks and denim aprons with the Levi’s tab. In 1973, there was even a Levi’s interior trim package available in the AMC Gremlin.

-In 1977, they created Levis for Feet and Levis socks, and their “Activewear” line, carrying jogging, golf, and ski wear.

And while there are many Levi’s fanatics that look for  the more obscure items, still the average vintage collector still is just looking for the perfect Levi’s western shirt and jeans. For those of you, here are some of my favorites we’ve sold over the years.

1977 Panatela western shirt.

Levi’s changed the look of their famous tab in 1971 on their jeans, but the change did not occur on their shirts until two years later.

A great pair of Orange Tabs from the 70’s!

A belt buckle of the classic back patch.

Right now we have for sale:

For more information on Levi’s and their history, I highly recommend two books

“Levis – The “Shrink to Fit” Business That Stretched To Cover The World” by Ed Cray

“This Is A Pair Of Levi’s” by Levi Strauss & Co.

both are out of print, but can be found on Ebay, or through your local used bookstore.

Here it is, my first Tag Thursday post!

Leslie Fay was founded in 1947 by Fred Pomerantz, who named the company after his daughter. Known for conservative, fashionable women’s apparel, the company grew and grew to include the brands Leslie Fay, Joan Leslie, David Warren, Outlander Sportswear and others, mostly sold through department stores. The brand was particularly popular during the 1980’s, but things went downhill just a decade later, and fast. Much of the later part of the 90’s was troublesome for the company, ending in fraud accusations and bankruptcy. Leslie Fay has since turned around and is still carried today in many stores.

I personally love the Leslie Fay designs from the 50’s through the mid 80’s, but don’t particularly care for much that they made after that. The fit in those years is very flattering and comfortable, and the garments hold up very well as long as they are cared for properly over the years. Also a big plus in my book – many of Leslie Fay’s dresses have pockets, which always makes me love a dress more!

Example tags from our previous stock:

A 60’s dress

A 70’s dress

An 80’s sweater

Some of the Leslie Fay items we’ve sold over the years:

and right now we have in stock:

You can read more about Leslie Fay here, and on the Vintage Fashion Guild site!

Hope you liked my first Tag Thursday! Have a tag you’d like to request? Let me know!