Posted on 12/08/2016 10:24:34 AM PST by Daffynition
A old article, I know. But we can't cite AP, USA today, so this is the best I could do.
If this is a problem for you. Move on.
You probably noticed a lot of brown and tan rubber-bottomed foul weather shoes this season. Most likely, it's L.L. Bean's Bean Boot, which has undergone a popularity spike.
But they're not trendy on purpose. In fact, the boot has been in production largely unmodified apart from slight changes for new technology for more than 100 years.
Their popularity has waxed and waned during this time, but they've always endured. They're the unofficial mascot of L.L. Bean. But now, they're really thriving.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I was just telling *nopie* that I go to the VT C Store [Rockingham] at least once a month. Addicted to their fudge.
Mucks are good, too.
We have a 10” Griswold skillet complete with spiderweb logo and a serial number stamped into the bottom of the handle. It’s been in my family since the Civil War. If I read the serial number right, and there are one or 2 digits that are hard to read, it was made in Erie PA in 1863.
I grew up in New England and we called them “Duck Boots”
Years ago, I was at the customer service desk at the flagship store in Freeport; behind a very elderly woman who was so wispy, and frail looking; she was leaving off her boots for repair. You could tell she didn't want to part with them; and was suspicious that they would be out of her sight/care for some time. The darling clerk, had to literally pry therm from her hand. It was priceless. I'll always remember that charming moment.
I had ‘em when I was a kid ‘cause they looked so cool, and they weren’t bad for puddle-hunting ducks.
But they don’t cut it for fallen arches, old cold toes or humpin’ it up a snowy mountain trail.
The Bean catalog (like Eddie Bauer) was a fantasy land for a youngster stuck in the Northern Great Plains, and I still have a fondness for ‘em.
If I’m just working in the yard during the rain, I find that barefoot is the way to go. Coming into the house, your feet dry almost instantly. I still have an issue with ice and snow but I can be out for short periods of time barefoot in those conditions as well. Usually to just get the mail or take out the garbage.
Mr. Bean called them *hunting boots* Jes sayin' :)
I have a pair of similar construction, but with felt liners. They’re not for hiking... they’ll wad up your socks and give you blisters... but for still hunting in cold weather, they’re the tool for the job.
Mine too.
Love my Sorels also...
But I have a place for the Beans...we don’t get the freezing cold here in NC but it does get right wet.
Aha.
I’m so jealous!!!
I love my home here in the metro Kansas City area but I’d lo e to shop,at the LL Bean and Vt Cstore 2X a month!
Had some once, many years ago.
The uppers let in water, the lowers made your feet sweat.
They did look great, though.
I stand by my criticism but also confess: I still have a pair of 10” bean boots I got as a college student in the early 80s. I also still have their Norwegian sweater, same vintage.
That sweater is unbeatable in the cold, and durable.
Fan of Disney's Tangled?
Bean has cut back on quality on several items. Men’s nightshirts used to last forever. The new ones are total junk.
THAT looks like a modern cast LODGE. The old ones, along with GRISWOLD and WAGNER are better. The old ones have smooth insides, That one shown is so rough inside you could file your fingernails with it.
They just don’t make them like they used to. Chinese manufactured ones are even worse.
I still have my mom’s she bought in 1945.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.