Through the Magpie Eye: Old Outdoor Adverts

18.08.2017

Patagonia Synchilla advert, with a climber in a navy fleece leaning out from a high bridge on a rope above a wooded gorge

Anyone who’s strolled past our Manchester shop in the last couple of days might have noticed a massive sticker on the window that says ‘The Great Outdoors’ in big orange letters. It’s no secret that the outdoors is great (or at least good), but we just thought we better let people know.

For more visual flavour, here’s some old outdoor clothing adverts scanned in from some climbing magazines from the late 80s and early 90s. This was seemingly a bit of sweet spot for outdoor gear – multi-coloured tech fabrics had taken over from dead heavy canvas, but things hadn’t gotten too fitted and flimsy yet.

Anyway, here’s the adverts. Soak ‘em up, then maybe turn your computer off for a bit and go for a walk.

Mountain Equipment advert, Real Warmwear, with climbers in cream down suits and a walker in a blue down jacket with a map

Fjällräven advert, Watch for the fox, with someone sat in the doorway of a Termo Pop Out tent on a misty hillside

Two people in blue and teal fleece pullovers posed by a stone wall above a lake, with a steep green hillside behind

Berghaus advert, Shell Clothing, with someone in a blue Premier Gore-Tex jacket and a wide-brimmed felt hat in the rain

Lowe advert, Shed the Rain, with two walkers in hooded purple and teal shell jackets, one carrying a green rucksack

Mountain Equipment advert on Everest expeditions, with climbers in down suits on a summit below a row of down jackets

Berghaus advert, One thing sets our performance clothing apart, with the Serac jacket in red and grey and the Kang in blue Helly-Hansen advert, Stay warm and dry, with someone in black Lifa thermals lacing hiking boots by an open fire

$Gore-Tex advert about Keizo Funatsu lost in Antarctica, with a blurred figure raising an arm in a snowy white-out$

Henri Lloyd advert, answer to the great British climate, with someone in a hooded Glencoe waterproof holding a map

The North Face advert, Great company on rainy days, with a drawing of a bear in a river above a Grizzly Peak parka

Sprayway advert, I paused for a moment to catch my breath, with a walker on a stone bridge over a river below misty hills

Mountain Equipment advert, UltraFleece in Brilliant New Colours, with two models in pink and pale grey zip-up fleece jackets

Berghaus advert, Testing ground, with a climber in a red and yellow jacket and white headband on a snowy ridge

The North Face advert for Storm Peak and Grizzly Peak Gore-Tex parkas, shown in red on climbers, over tall rock spires Mountain Equipment advert, When buying Gore-Tex look for this label, with drawings of expedition and ice climbers

Socials

We don't care about algorithms. Just rhythms.

If you liked this, you’ll love