Blog

Banana Republic Catalog #35, Spring 1988: The Traveler’s Eye

spring8835

Here’s our first foray into the 1988 catalogs, the last year they were issued. The catalog is full of signs of change at Banana Republic. The masthead now says Travel Clothing Co. rather than Travel & Safari Clothing Co. That change was made in the Holiday 1987 catalog (not yet scanned). There are lots of new clothes inside, and it feels like the emphasis is on new clothes for women.

How far they’ve come since the 1983 catalogs. Virtually every piece of clothing is a full color illustration, the old technique of a color wash under a black and white drawing almost fully lost. There are even a couple of pieces like the Somalia skirt below that have the figure’s head and limbs sketched in, perhaps the only way to make sense of something like a head scarf and also making a striking pose possible.

Banana Republic Catalog #35 Cardigan Sweater, Etruscan Espadrilles, Somalia Skirt

However, many of the old standards are still in evidence. This page is like a greatest hits from 1982–The Bush Vest, Bombay Shirt and Gurkha Shorts haven’t missed a catalog since BR was just one store in Mill Valley.

Banana Republic Catalog #35 Bush Vest, Safari Shoes, Bombay Shirt, Gurkha Shorts

I do like the layout with the rough edged pages showing against a worn journal cover. This issue, The Traveller’s Eye, purports to have a lot of sketches from Patricia’s travel journals, and indeed there are numerous little sketches noting interesting aspects of some local costume discovered on their travels.

Banana Republic Catalog #35 Darwin Shirt, Woven Leather Belt, Sarong Skirt

Also prominent are the advertisements for Trips, the upcoming travel magazine from BR and the Ziegler’s latest brainchild. More about that later, but it’s an ominous sign for fans of the classic Banana Republic catalog. The attempt to broaden BR by branching out into travel publishing will lead to the Ziegler’s departure in a few months and the catalog will be gone for good by the fall.

Banana Republic Catalog #35 Trips Magazine Ad

But not today! Today it’s still fresh and alive here in the Abandoned Republic and we are ready to go shopping. Enjoy!

About The Author

Robyn Adams
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.

No Comments

Leave a Reply