Women’s Pants

An up close look at the Banana Republic Drill Trousers included in the Ziegler’s gift to Abandoned Republic. As mentioned in the previous post, there were two versions available in the same catalogue in 1983, authentic surplus or newly manufactured, which I believe these to be. The early Mill Valley large tag places it squarely […]

Featured on the back of the 1980 Catalogue No. 4, the first appearance of what were then called British Safari Shorts, original surplus 25-40 years old. These were the precursors to Banana Republic’s very popular, long-running Gurkha Shorts. From the collection of Mel and Patricia Ziegler, gifted to Abandoned Republic.

From the Spring 1988 Catalogue: “A house divided cannot stand, but a skirt divided equals a pair of culottes, which will stand up to nearly any situation in which modern women find themselves. Our culottes multiply the benefits of both skirt and trousers, combining the modesty of the former and mobility of the latter. They’re […]

From the Summer 1987 Catalogue: “These days it’s hard to find shorts that really live up to the name–might as well be called “longs”. Big and baggy are fine in their place, but when maximum freedom is the aim, minimal shorts are the name of the game. These carry not a scrap of superfluous fabric, […]

The matching pants in the Women’s Safari Suit. From the 1986 catalogue: “Properly tailored, perfectly fitting, with unstitched double pleats that forgive you that second helping. Two deep side pockets; two open welt pockets in back.” Poshmark photos.

From the Spring/Summer 1985-1986, and 1988 catalogs: “A sublimely romantic design, these are the classic shorts worn by the heroines of those delightful ’40s musicals–vibrant traveling women forever on the road to Bali-Hai or flying down to Rio, dancing up a storm wherever there were palm trees and the scent of jasmine in the night […]

Gurkha Shorts originally were called British Safari Shorts when they were authentic surplus items. When they were mass produced they were renamed Gurkha Shorts and were sold for most of the run of the safari catalogues and even into the post-Ziegler 1989-90 era. From the 1985 catalogue: “The year was 1814. A young British lieutenant […]

Introduced in the Spring 1985 Catalogue: “Dashing, loose-fitting pants in which Matilda could waltz, wrestle a wallaby or brew black billy tea beside a billabong. Whatever the occasion, she’d find six compartments for necessary sundries–enough to make any observant marsupial paint from pocket-envy. 100% pre-washed cotton canvas.” Photos from eBay May 2021

In the the entries from 1984-85, the shorts come with a belt made of the same fabric as the shorts. In Spring 1986 they added a webbed belt. From the catalogue: “Lightweight enough for a midsummer promenade in Nice, yet stursy enough to sit through a week’s worth of screenings at Cannes. The pre-washed 100% […]

I imagine over the years Banana Republic carried some surplus military flightsuits, though there is only one appearance in a catalog, the 1982 Sale Flier. Flightsuits were a staple women’s garment for BR from 1984-1988. I think it’s interesting that they only made them for women, but I guess despite its origin as as a […]

Running from Spring 1987 to Spring 1988, the Lido shorts came in a wide variety of colors. From the catalogue: “How do you make a great pair of shorts even better? By lengthening and widening the leg ever so subtly, by making the pockets vanish into side seams, by streamlining the back pocket and eliminating […]

From the catalogue: “Like jeans, jumpsuits originated with folks who had places to go and no time to worry about delicate fabrics and shirttails popping out. Aviators, for instance: Amelia Earhart wore the first one ever seen on a woman. This abbreviated version encourages sturdy, bare-legged striding, agile scrambling, and cool brushes with silken air. […]

These outback shorts were usually sold in traditional khaki, pewter or ivory. Later they added more colors like this Navy pair from 1988.

From the catalog: “Cotton fleece is so comfortable it begs to be used for something other than sweats. When we made the All-Night Flightsuit, our idea was to give the intercontinental traveler a cozy yet stylish alternative to tight waistbands, jabbing buttons, and rumpled clothing at journey’s end. Perfect for the redeye: the elastic and […]