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Chief Petty Officer’s Wool Shirt

February 11, 2021 By In Men's Shirts, Surplus No Comments

This heavy wool shirt came up for sale on eBay in 2011 and for the longest time I couldn’t identify it. Now that I have a more complete catalogue collection I believe it to be the surplus Chief Petty Officer’s Wool Shirt from the 1983 Fall catalogue: “The U.S. Navy’s Chief Petty Officers are generally crusty sailors, tough and knowledgeable. They don’t take nonsense from anybody…except the higher brass. Well, the Navy’s higher brass, in its brassy wisdom, decided to take the wool our of the wool shirts (they went with 100% polyester). With 70% wool blended to 30% nylon and other fabrics, the original shirt had a way of keeping CPOs toasty even when soaking wet, and then drying quickly. The CPO’s loss is our gain. Our sympathies to these now synthetic-clad shivering sailors, but all’s fair in surplus and war.”

 

About The Author

Robyn Adams
Robyn’s fascination with Banana Republic began in 1984 when her Alaskan adventurer father began buying their clothing and giving her their catalogs. She loved the clothes, and as an artist, she was drawn to the illustrations. Robyn went on to study illustration at an art college in Banana Republic’s hometown of San Francisco, CA, and she worked for years as a background artist for animation. She is now based in Oakland, CA and works as a graphic designer and illustrator. She has been collecting and archiving at Abandoned Republic since 2011.