Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I am way ahead of my time . . . or maybe hopelessly behind it . . .


Every boy growing up in Maine knew about the ubiquitous Bean boots.  Leather uppers, rubber soles, waterproof and comfortable no matter what you were slogging through.  And every young man who preppied out in the eighties knew about them, too.  Casual, yet with a storied brand name and never on the discount rack. And don't even get me going about the life-time warranty that they actually and unquestioningly honor.  More than once in a slight haze after the bars let out we were known to take the trek to Freeport and go into the retail store that famously had to post employees at the doors around the clock when they once had a small fire because the 24/7/365 retail outlet did not even bother putting locks on their doors.  So I was surprised to learn that L.L Bean boots were hip again.
A nearly century-old hunting boot is catching on with a younger generation that sees the utilitarian footwear as hip.
L.L Bean's familiar duck boot with leather uppers and rubber soles — designed for slogging through mud and snow — has become something of a fashion statement owing to its newfound popularity on college campuses, the company says. Another reason is new styles, including something Leon Leonwood Bean surely never envisioned in 1912: bright blue and pink leather, new for spring.
Part of the success of the boot is its versatility, in barnyards or in cities, in snow or rain.
At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Zina Huxley-Reicher, of New York, wears her dark brown, shearling-lined boots nearly every day, with a skirt or jeans. She has only one pair, but some classmates have several.
"They are very practical, but they've also become a fashion trend," she said. "They're simple and kind of have that rugged look that has been adopted as a fashionable thing."
Sales have grown from 150,000 pairs four years ago to about 400,000 this year, said Jack Samson, L.L. Bean senior manager for manufacturing in Brunswick. Next year, demand is projected to reach 500,000.

So there is my quandary.  If I never stopped wearing Bean boots, was I hip long before the other losers caught up to me or was I the hopelessly behind the curve loser who wore them long after they went out of style?

5 comments:

Wolfman said...

I had a similar experience a couple years ago. My girlfriend (now wife) posted some pictures of me on a social networking site... and her cousin commented on how hip and trendy I was. WHA? Turns out, work dungarees, work boots, and John Deere logowear were the 'it' thing in NYC at that time. I wear work boots and work dungarees because I, well, WORK, and the hat was my Grandad's, who got it from the dealership from which he bought one of his tractors. I was less than impressed by their adoption of my 'fashion' but I continue to wear it to this day. If your feet are dry and warm, who cares whether the cool kids like you? Some day, the fashion will once again be to wear crappy shoes and be unprepared, and we will still have dry, warm feet.

Rev. Paul said...

Hip? Square? I'd say, more like "eminently practical". We wear those boots all winter long, here in snow country. Fashion is irrelevant when it's -20 with knee-deep snow.

2cents said...

Wait! Work boots and a John Deere hat are high fashion?! Damn, I better get on a jet to Milan . . .

Wolfman said...

unfortunately, the same attire is a flag these days for the 'two by two, hands of blue' squad...

Ken said...

Sometimes good boots is just good boots. (Stuff Freud Drawled, vol. III, p. 276.)