It’s 55 years since a cool 25-year-old Clint Eastwood wore a Penguin polo shirt. He wasn’t alone among the stylish stars of the 1950s to be attracted to the Penguin brand -Â Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Arnold Palmer all sported the fledging brand in the early years of its existence.
Penguin was the brainchild of clothing salesman Abbot Pederson, who in the mid-50s was working for a Minneapolis-based underwear and military supply company. On a flight back to base from New York he daydreamed about combining his professional interest in clothing with his leisure-time interest in golf.
Back in Minneapolis, he convinced his bosses to start producing clothing that could be worn on the golf course, but that also wouldn’t look out of place when worn in the clubhouse afterwards. When famous hipsters started wearing his shirts, he knew he was on to a winner. Pretty quickly, the Penguin motif on the shirt pocket became shorthand for looking classy without having to try too hard.
After growing to become a major brand through the 50s and 60s, Penguin dissapeared off the fashion radar until the turn of the century when young trendsetters in America started hunting down second-hand Penguin polos in vintage clothes stores.
This in turn led to a rebirth of Penguin, and a new collection of Original Penguin clothes reappeared in high-end US stores in 2003. Penguin’s archive of mid-century classics was carefully reworked to reflect today’s lifestyle without compromising the heritage or craftsmanship that had made Penguin’s name.
These days Original Penguin produce classic sportswear that still wouldn’t look out of place if worn by cool golfers on cool golf courses, They also make suits, casual shirts, footwear, eyewear, hats and watches. But they haven’t forgotten their roots, and polo shirts have continued to be at the centre of their collections.
For the 55th anniversary of the very first collection, Original Penguin have re-released their iconic ’55’ polo shirt.
It’s not just a style piece, it’s also has a practical use – there’s an engineered action panel under each arm which is meant to help the golf swing for anyone who buys the shirt and and wants to use it for the purpose for which it was originally designed.
That said, the styling is the main thing that will attract in-the-know buyers. The shirts are available in a large array of colours ranging from a pale porcelain blue to a dark ‘total eclipse’ blue, to white and pink. Key pieces from the current Original Penguin collection is available from BT2, Grafton St and House of Fraser, Dundrum.
Outside Dublin, Original Penguin is stocked in the Cork, Galway and Limerick branches of Brown Thomas. You can also order direct from Original Penguin’s US website www.originalpenguin.com (they deliver to Ireland, but delivery charges aren’t cheap).
Nick Bradshaw
