10th Anniversary Top Ten List!

It was a grand day when 35 vintage Banana Republic catalogs arrived at my house. That same week I picked up a vintage BR shoebox to keep them in and a Bi-Plane gift box.

Today marks the 10th Anniversary (!) of the start of the Abandoned Republic blog, when my collection first started with this wonderful haul pictured above. I can’t quite believe I’ve not only kept it going this long but that the tenth year has been the MOST productive, bringing plenty of new discoveries. I’m grateful to the friends I’ve made along the way who have contributed to the archive and especially to all the former BR folks who have generously given their knowledge and, in some cases, actual artifacts to the project.

Thanks to Kevin Sarkki, the first BR staff artist who helped me out with a wealth of information and images. Thanks to Mike Madrid, BR production artist who has been a great supporter of the blog and has sent me some exceedingly rare gems. Recently, we’ve been lucky to have former executive John Mavrakis commenting on our Instagram posts with wonderful insights and commentary.

Extra special thanks to Patricia and Mel Ziegler for their encouragement and support, your legacy continues to inspire all of us today.