L.L. Bean Nostalgia, and Hardcore New England Preppy

All Photos by/of Muffy Aldrich

Just the other day I was working on a few projects that I’ll be rolling out in the weeks and months to come. They make me excited for the next few years, thinking happily about 2027 and beyond.

However, while it is still officially summer, the color of the leaves and angle of the sun are starting to say otherwise, and historically for me, autumn had always equaled L.L. Bean. Some habits are harder to break than others. So off to L.L. Bean’s site I went to see what I could see. I saw their new “retro” fleece pullovers, the Mountain Classic Fleece Pullover. And I bought one (in Mariner Blue). And I might buy another (in Silver Pine) And, I should add, I can’t even remember the last time I wore fleece, but these are from their 1990 archives and I felt the rush of familiarity.

In that moment, my efforts to not get stuck in the past evaporated. Or as Al Pacino might say, “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.” (Or as Sil might say.)

It is hard to overestimate the impact that L.L. Bean had on the New England preppy scene. It was the go-to for casual wear, peaking about mid 1970s to the early 1990s. (And I would add that anything “fleece” (Polartec or Snychilla) was never in the preppy pantheon. But there you go.)

Bean’s is where you went to stock up on those epic staples. The Norwegian sweater, the Field Coat (Men’s, Women’s), the Blucher Mocs (Men's, Women's), Camp Mocs (Men’s, Women’s), Wool Ragg Socks, Scottish Tartan flannel shirts (Men’s, Women’s). All cotton baggy khakis and oxford shirts. Wool cable knits and Scottish Fair Isles. Wide wale corduroys and so many Chamois shirts (Men’s, Women’s). And of course the tote bags and the Bean Boots (Men’s, Women’s), then called the Maine Hunting Shoe, though my parents called them pacs.

This was all very much a unisex look, and where specific items could then be girl-ed up. Their Men’s Ragg Wool Sweater here from a decade or more back. Now, they offer a hybrid of sorts of the Norwegian Sweater “look” in the Ragg Wool category, for both Men and Women.

And I am wearing a Men’s Ragg Wool sweater below, but over a Women’s pink Ralph Lauren polo. (It might even be the very same sweater.)

Our heap of L.L. Bean Norwegian Crew Necks, hard to tell which were for Women and which were for Men. Just as nature intended.

But it almost didn’t matter. I just added pink or green turtleneck or a pink button down oxford.

And yes, I am one of those people who has incredibly warm and fuzzy memories as a very young child going to the original store — which had itself been built in the 1930s — with my parents. Climbing that large old wooden staircase at the back of the Freeport, Maine store. Where my mother would go for her wrap-around skirts. And where my father had gone with his father long before he was married.

This was back when there was only the one L.L. Bean store, no widespread internet, and those magical catalogs.

During this peak period, if you wanted to see the goods in person, you had to make the pilgrimage. (Even mail order took quite a while.) Whether you were driving up from the Connecticut shore (me), or the Boston suburbs (my husband) or the Maine summer camp/summerhouse/Vineyard house (both of us), excitement would build as you hit these signs.

But the one below was the winner. How many cheered (or still cheer) when seeing this sign, crossing over the Piscataqua River from New Hampshire to Maine?