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Kenya Pioneer Shirt

This romantic shirt was featured in three catalogues in 1987 in three different colors: Ivory, Olive Drab, and Khaki.

“The work was hot, hard, and unglamorous at Karen (Dinesen) Blixen’s coffee plantation in the Ngong Hills, and she pined for cultured companions. So at the least opportunity to be festive, she rose passionately to the occasion. “I can go about in rags, you know,” she wrote to her brother, “but to go out to dinner or the races in a dowdy outfit is…unnatural to me.” She’d have felt at ease in the elegantly tailored Kenya Pioneer’s Shirt, with its tapering back yoke, romantic pleated shoulders, and graceful shaped cuffs. It’s executed in a sensual yet sturdy cotton twill that embraces the dawn with as much spirit as it greets the dusk.”

Modeled with the Savanna Skirt by Kimberlee English Anderson. Thanks for the pics, Kimi!

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.

2 Comments

  • Wendy Joffe on March 27, 2021

    WOW! Kimi is positively dashing in that outfit!

  • Julie Doughty on August 30, 2022

    I had this shirt and the denim skirt pictured below it in 1987! That shirt was so soft and I loved wearing it.

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