From the introduction to the 4th Catalogue, comes a great statement of the founding principles of Banana Republic: “When our first catalogue appeared in 1978, we gambled that there were others who shared our interest in functional, classic safari-style clothing, others who had as much difficulty tracking down these hard-to-find clothes as we did. We […]

The Summer 1981 Catalogue is entirely illustrated by Patrica Gwilliam and Mel Ziegler, with Patricia still using her maiden name. As with all catalogues prior to 1984 it’s a duo-tone print of black and tan on natural paper stock. The stock in these early catalogues is always changing yet feels really consistent. A company on […]

I have the Summer 1983 catalogue in the standard newsprint and also a glossy paper version, the first and only glossy BR catalogue I’ve ever seen. As you can see the newsprint version is announcing the opening of the new Stanford store, so I am left to assume it came out after the glossy which […]

I first saw this piece in an in-store framed picture and assumed it was a catalog cover like the other framed pictures in my collection. When I finally got to see the whole piece it was revealed that all of the product was only available in the Mill Valley or Polk Street stores and not […]

Enjoy! Another very early catalog that gives us a glimpse at the workings of a small but growing company called Banana Republic. My favorite pieces are the Banana Republic silk-screened logo t-shirts which are advertised as being yellow! I'd love to see one in person sometime, but it's doubtful many survived. Note also the All-Night [...]

 The third catalogue features a very striking tiger drawing from Patrica Gwilliam and it showcases a growing company in the hands of two excited (and no doubt exhausted) entrepreneurs.  One of the items that jumped out at me is the Australian Bush Jacket, which I believe is the piece that inspired the entire business when [...]

 The first Banana Republic catalog is labeled Winter 1979 and would have come out at the same time or just after the Mill Valley store opened on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1978. Catalogue #1 sets the Banana Republic story in motion and begins crafting the legend immediately. There is an interior page that illustrates [...]