Monday, May 15, 2006

VINTAGE SPORTSWEAR LABELS STILL AROUND TODAY...
White Stag Not Always at Walmart!




May is vintage playwear and sportswear month at Vintage Clothesline.

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When we found these vintage 50s short shorts by White Stag with metal side zippers and a 50s Jantzen coverup jacket, it got us to thinking about how long these companies have been in business. They were not always sold at Walmart or other discount outlets but were purchased at the most exclusive boutiques and style rooms.

White Stag began as Willamette Tent and Awning Company of Portland Oregon making tents and sails. Later its name was changed to Hirsch-Weiss Canvas Products after its founders. Because of Hirsch's son's love of skiing, he allowed his son in the late 20s to begin making ski clothing. The new line of clothing was named White-Stag after the founders using an inverted English translation of the original company name, Weiss meaning white in German and Hirsch meaning a male deer. In the late 40s, they started making all types of sportswear so they could be profitable 12 months of the year.

So you see, White Stag has been around for a long long time and the label wasn't sold to Walmart until 2003 for an approximate 29 million!

Here is a magazine advertisement from the April issue of Seventeen, 1959, showing some White Stag Clothing.




Here are more pictures from the same magazine showing other labels still around today.

Jantzen, known for its swimwear began in 1918.