Identifying LL Bean Wool Hunting Jacket Label- 1950's or 1960's?

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FlippinFinds

Registered Guest
Hello Everyone,

New guy here. After reading another thread about LL Bean labels, I'm still a little unclear as to what year this 100% Wool Buffalo Plaid Hunting Jacket might be. I've seen threads that say 1950's and before were the black/gold cursive labels and 1960's were the white cursive labels. However, I've seen a ton of these white labels selling as "1950's" - hence, my confusion. I'm hoping you experts out there might be able to help?

Style: 523B
Shell: 100% Wool
Lining: 100% Nylon backed with foam insulation
Size: Couldn't find a tag, but I tried it on and my best guess is that it's a Men's Large

Any help would be greatly appreciated - Thank You!

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Hello and welcome!

That is an awesome jacket.

A few years ago I learned from the archivist at LL Bean's that the Black/Gold labels are 50s. So this is later - probably 60s or even 70s. I don't think the age matters, it's such a great piece - that plaid is really fantastic. This style is so popular right now - this should do well for you!
 
northstarvintage said:
Hello and welcome!

That is an awesome jacket.

A few years ago I learned from the archivist at LL Bean's that the Black/Gold labels are 50s. So this is later - probably 60s or even 70s. I don't think the age matters, it's such a great piece - that plaid is really fantastic. This style is so popular right now - this should do well for you!
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It really IS a great piece!!
 
Not one that is clear anyway (I'm not at home right now, but I can provide one later). However, here is an enlarged view of the buttons on the front and of the pocket button. I remember looking at them closely and the front buttons look like plain, hard, brownish plastic. The buttons on the pockets looked like they were painted metal.

LL Bean 5.jpg
 
FlippinFinds said:
Not one that is clear anyway (I'm not at home right now, but I can provide one later). However, here is an enlarged view of the buttons on the front and of the pocket button. I remember looking at them closely and the front buttons look like plain, hard, brownish plastic. The buttons on the pockets looked like they were painted metal.

View attachment 64810
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Darn. I can't tell from that picture.
 
LL Bean changed from the green/white cursive label to a green/white print label in the late 70s or early 80s.

You can see they were using it in 1982 in these catalog scans from that year

http://archivalclothing.com/shopping-from-1982-ll-bean/

I shudder to think of all the great vintage LL Bean stuff that I passed over during my 35 years of living here in Maine!
 
northstarvintage said:
LL Bean changed from the green/white cursive label to a green/white print label in the late 70s or early 80s.

You can see they were using it in 1982 in these catalog scans from that year

http://archivalclothing.com/shopping-from-1982-ll-bean/

I shudder to think of all the great vintage LL Bean stuff that I passed over during my 35 years of living here in Maine!
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Thanks! So really, it looks like this jacket could 60's or 70's. Geesh, that means there's a lot of misinformed sellers on eBay then. There are many listings showing the white/cursive label and the item is titled as being 1950's.
 
FlippinFinds said:
Thanks! So really, it looks like this jacket could 60's or 70's. Geesh, that means there's a lot of misinformed sellers on eBay then. There are many listings showing the white/cursive label and the item is titled as being 1950's.
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I don't think yours is 60s or 70s (maybe late 70s) because of the label with WPL and other info to the side of the LL Bean label. I've been thinking about this this morning... that WPL # seems a key.
 
bycinbyhand said:
I don't think yours is 60s or 70s (maybe late 70s) because of the label with WPL and other info to the side of the LL Bean label. I've been thinking about this this morning... that WPL # seems a key.
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I wish there was a way to know for sure - scouring the internet, there are claims of 1950's or 1960's - here's an example of a jacket I found that's made from Woolrich. Seller is showing it as 1960's http://www.shopvelour.com/men-outerwear/woolrich-hunting-coat

Same WPL# and Style - except it's 85% wool outer shell.
 
When I googled the address associated with the WPL #, I found that Woolrich is now at another address down the street. Then I looked into the company history for Woolrich and saw that there was a big consolidation in the early 90s. This was also a # assigned to an importer so I'm guessing it was manufactured overseas. Check out this article about the Woolrich history. http://www.company-histories.com/Woolrich-Inc-Company-History.html
 
bycinbyhand said:
When I googled the address associated with the WPL #, I found that Woolrich is now at another address down the street. Then I looked into the company history for Woolrich and saw that there was a big consolidation in the early 90s. This was also a # assigned to an importer so I'm guessing it was manufactured overseas. Check out this article about the Woolrich history. http://www.company-histories.com/Woolrich-Inc-Company-History.html
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Wow, that's some awesome detective work, thank you!
 
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