For La Ped and Rachy - Puffer history lesson!

Bijou

I saw this article on a local news site and thought La Ped and Rachy in particular would be interested to know the origin of the Puffer jacket and its ties to Mt Everest.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/20.....y/10133112

4 years ago

General

16 replies

Latest reply was from K.M.

Joy

Veteran

What an interesting article, Bijou. For several years we lived in Irvine, California, an area once owned by the Irvine family. I wonder if Andrew Irvine was part of this family.

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Oh that is so interesting. An Australian! Well now. Aussies need to publicise this, I think. Do a Puffy museum. I’d visit it!

But good lord! Imagine having to trek across Tibet with a naked toff. How wretched. Reminds me of a girl at school who’d get down on her hands and knees and bark like a dog. Most insistently. What ARE you supposed to do with that?

4 years ago

Barbara Diane

Veteran

What an interesting bit of history.
And what appears to be the sad cost of rivalry.

4 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

Fascinating! I'm not surprised people were skeptical at first. The materials must have seemed so flimsy compared to what they were used to. Trying to imagine how many layers of tweed it would require to keep me warm in the Himalaya...

4 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

That’s awesome! I didn’t know that story. I did know the company Fairydown mentioned at the end, they made my first ever sleeping bag which I got as a teenager.
I hope the good ABC is all right, I heard they suffered what sounds like some dodgy raid over sources this week. We used to love them for the programme “Bananas in Pyjamas” in the past!

4 years ago

Tina

Active Member

Interesting. I read either today or yesterday in the Seattle Times that Eddie Bauer invented the quilted down coat after getting hypothermia while on a fishing trip. He was looking for an alternative to the wool that people typically wore for outdoor adventure at the time.

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Oh! Conflicting histories! Even more interesting.

4 years ago

Bijou

Veteran

Everest is getting quite a lot of press in Australia, very sad to see people cuing and literally dying waiting to climb the summit.

I was shocked to read that George Mallory liked mountain climbing nude, it seems like the exact opposite of what most people would want to do! Tweed really does not seem warm enough to take on such rugged conditions.

As for the conflicting history, they probably both invented their own versions.

4 years ago

kkards

Veteran

love a little fashion history...
for what its worth, i think Eddie Buer was the 1st to patent a puffer jacket, but what he patented is the puffer part, not it seems the down part....and a reminder that just becuase you patent something does not mean that you invented it...just that you got to the US patent office 1st
http://mentalfloss.com/article.....own-jacket

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran