Skeezix
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This GQ article (below) about Hudson's Bay blankets is as good an excuse as any to note that the Bay Queen Street has moved all the bedding from the concourse/basement level to the 6th floor (where the sell furniture, appliances and ... beds). As I cut through the store in the mornings on the way to work, I've been watching them empty out a significantly large area in the basement - no indications as of yet what they plan to put in there.
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February 07, 2013 at 2:15 PM
Dropping Knowledge: The Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket
By Jake Gallagher
GQ
Iconic patterns in men's style tend to concentrate regionally. In the United States, we have Pendleton's Chief Joseph print, Liberty of London has their legendary floral patterns, and the Middle East is famous for their kilim designs, but one pattern that often goes overlooked is the Hudson's Bay Company's point blanket tradition from our neighbors up North. Canada isn't usually thought of as a hotbed of timeless designs, but the point blanket print is arguably the oldest and most recognizable pattern still being produced today. The blanket tells a tale of two sets of lines, and it began, as all good design does, with a utilitarian purpose.
During the eighteenth century French trappers, working in the Canadian frontier, began using a line system as a way to easily identify a blanket's size. As the trappers would sell and exchange these blankets, the thin black lines running along the side became a shorthand so that during the sale they could size the blankets without having to unfurl them. Three and half lines meant twin sized, four lines indicated double, six lines was a queen, and so on.
The other four green, red, yellow, and indigo stripes were purely ornamental, and likely came about during the reign of Queen Anne in the very early 1700's. These original point blankets, from the eighteenth century all the way through the mid-nineteenth century, are now quite valuable as representations of the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company, when it was simply a trading organization spread throughout the Canadian wilderness, long before most of the land had really been settled.
In 1881, the HBC opened up their first department store in Winnipeg, and began to expand not only their retail operations, but their designs as well. Soon, point blankets were being offered in a wider variety of colors and sizes, and Hudson's Bay began converting the pattern into a wide range of jacket designs. There were suddenly duffel coats, pea coats, and field coats being offered in the distinctive point blanket pattern, which you can still find throughout vintage shops today. While jacket production tapered off throughout the latter twentieth century, the company fortunately decided to revive this line in 2009, even showing their latest collection just a few weeks ago at the (capsule) tradeshow in New York.
So now, just like those frontiersmen way back in the 1700's, you can proudly trek through the wilderness with a point blanket on your back... or just throw one on for a trip down to the bar on a blustery day. The journey is up to you.
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February 07, 2013 at 2:15 PM
Dropping Knowledge: The Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket
By Jake Gallagher
GQ
Iconic patterns in men's style tend to concentrate regionally. In the United States, we have Pendleton's Chief Joseph print, Liberty of London has their legendary floral patterns, and the Middle East is famous for their kilim designs, but one pattern that often goes overlooked is the Hudson's Bay Company's point blanket tradition from our neighbors up North. Canada isn't usually thought of as a hotbed of timeless designs, but the point blanket print is arguably the oldest and most recognizable pattern still being produced today. The blanket tells a tale of two sets of lines, and it began, as all good design does, with a utilitarian purpose.
During the eighteenth century French trappers, working in the Canadian frontier, began using a line system as a way to easily identify a blanket's size. As the trappers would sell and exchange these blankets, the thin black lines running along the side became a shorthand so that during the sale they could size the blankets without having to unfurl them. Three and half lines meant twin sized, four lines indicated double, six lines was a queen, and so on.
The other four green, red, yellow, and indigo stripes were purely ornamental, and likely came about during the reign of Queen Anne in the very early 1700's. These original point blankets, from the eighteenth century all the way through the mid-nineteenth century, are now quite valuable as representations of the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company, when it was simply a trading organization spread throughout the Canadian wilderness, long before most of the land had really been settled.
In 1881, the HBC opened up their first department store in Winnipeg, and began to expand not only their retail operations, but their designs as well. Soon, point blankets were being offered in a wider variety of colors and sizes, and Hudson's Bay began converting the pattern into a wide range of jacket designs. There were suddenly duffel coats, pea coats, and field coats being offered in the distinctive point blanket pattern, which you can still find throughout vintage shops today. While jacket production tapered off throughout the latter twentieth century, the company fortunately decided to revive this line in 2009, even showing their latest collection just a few weeks ago at the (capsule) tradeshow in New York.
So now, just like those frontiersmen way back in the 1700's, you can proudly trek through the wilderness with a point blanket on your back... or just throw one on for a trip down to the bar on a blustery day. The journey is up to you.
