Banana Republic Catalog No. 33 Fall 1987
After hiking the Inca Trail in Fall 1986 we hit the Road to Mandalay for Fall 1987’s Catalog No. 33. This striking cover was done by BR staff artist An-Ching Chang.
The travelogue from Mel and Patricia’s journey to Burma is a great read and reminds me of the Soviet Safari as they navigate past an authoritarian regime to get a taste of real life for the people of this fascinating land.
The clothing and illustration continues to become more sophisticated and slick but retains the flavor of classic BR. As usual, there are a number of new items featured in the first few front and back pages of the catalog.
This is my first catalog from BR. I still have it. I still love the art to this day. I have two more but they are from 1989, with photography by Kurt Markus. eally nice but not as good as one of these illustrated editions.
I have many of these catalogs. Kept them because I love the art and design. Shopped there often and have alot of there clothes including a pith helmet. Would like to be able to find clothes like this again but have not had much luck. I want my old Banana Republic back.
I think I found the cotton flannel houndstooth dress at my local vintage shop today! I’m thrilled because I’ve long been fascinated by the safari era of BP and I was happy to find such a dedicated preservation blog.
I loved everything from 1986 until they stopped making the safari-look and all of the cotton fabrics. Many times I’ve wished I hadn’t gotten rid of my grayish green jumpsuit. 😕
I still have my leather purse/wallet pictured on page 59 (Women’s Leather Essential Bag) that I received for Christmas in 1987. It has been all over the place with me and I still use it for concerts and sporting events. Perfect little crossbody wallet–fits a phone, money, and cards with no room for anything else!