This is classic Banana Republic, offered in nearly every catalog until Spring 1987. From the catalogue: “A menacingly true reproduction of the notorious Red Baron flight helmet in soft glove-weight lambskin. This is official headgear in our Banana Republic Air Force.
Robyn's fascination with Banana Republic began in 1984 when her Alaskan adventurer father began buying the clothing and giving her the catalogs. She loved the clothes and as an artist she was drawn to the illustrations. She went on to study illustration at art college in BR's hometown of San Francisco and worked for years as a background artist for animation. She is now based in Oakland, CA as a graphic designer and illustrator with Secret Fan Base . She's been collecting and archiving at Abandoned Republic since 2011. 
Newly Updated! 1985-1988 Available.
I loved these helmets… but could never find a reason to buy one and wear it to work at Banana Republic at Ala Moana Shopping Center. Would have looked a bit silly — especially in the Hawaiian heat and humidity. (That didn’t stop me from rocking my BR Predestrienne (sp?) boots, though. I still have them — though I changed the color to black. I have one of the BR vintage silk flying scarves floating around, if you’d like pics to go with the helmet.
Hi Sandy, wow, you worked in a BR shop back then? Would love to hear more about that. I had the flying ace scarf as well, sure, please send pictures!
I worked at Banana Republic for a year in the late 80s…probably 86 or 87.I had been a dedicated BR customer and catalog peruser before that. It was the tail end of the Safari. I think that’s when the couple who founded BR divorced. (The Zieglers?) Our store was one of the biggest and busiest, I think. Very popular with tourists to Hawaii. I missed the era when the employees would dance on the counters to big band music, I am told…but we were still very safari-ish…fake animal heads on the wall, constant 30s and 40s music. (Good thing I like Glenn Miller!
I still have my silk aviator scarf and the goggles for the aviator helmet. I would love to find a pair of Gurkhas shorts that I can wear again.
You can find them at ‘whatpriceglory’ website kd1941 shorts
Still in my possession is my Lambskin Flight Helmet from Banana Republic that I initially acquired circa 1986. I cared not how silly its appearance may have been in the eyes of others, for the essence of this article of clothing was such that function trumped fashion. Furthermore, other attributes of my character which were contributing factors to my lack of concern included, but not limited to, an apathy for how others (acquaintances, friends, family, and strangers) perceive me, coupled with a worry-free attitude in regards to being fashionable . . . since an early age, I have basically just tried to be myself (better me than someone else) without allowing influence from others, in any form, to affect me . . . for others possess a constant potential to influence you to be someone other than who you really are, and whether the influence is born of intention or not, it will be persistent! This permitted me the experience to be able to attest to the Helmet’s effectiveness for maintaining body heat. I utilized it often while being exposed at length to the harsh elements of the Midwest winters. and it functioned so incredibly well, that often I had to remove it temporarily to cool off! I still have this wonderful gem in my collection, but having relocated to a climate where one can sometimes hear a person utter, “You don’t need to shovel sunshine,” I rarely have an appropriate opportunity to don it atop my noggin. It has served me well in the past, and continues to serve me just as efficiently as day one, but only with a significantly lower frequency.