Water and wool, although a strange pairing at first glance, have gone hand-in-hand for longer than most people realize. Up until 1928, all bathing suits were made from wool, and in the ’50s, before neoprene wetsuits were the norm thanks to brands like O’Neill, California surfers would wear oiled wool shirts with trunks in the water to stay warm. In the ’60s, wool board shirts, which were produced by a family-run mill in Oregon called Pendelton, also became a staple piece for the shaggy-haired, sun-kissed set.
Thanks to a group of young musicians called The Pendletones–they would later go on to change their name to the Beach Boys–young men on the West Coast were sporting blue and charcoal plaid Pendleton Board Shirts over T-shirts with khakis. The band wore them on covers of 45 records and albums, including Surfer Girl and Surfin’ Safari, thus cementing this look as the official uniform of the California surf scene.
When neoprene rubber wetsuits and vests were invented in the early ’50s and sold in the first “surf shop” on the Great Highway in San Francisco, CA by Jack O’Neill, who would go on to found O’Neill the brand, this changed the game in a major way. Surfers could stay warm in super cold water (ummm, Ocean Beach anyone?) for a longer amounts of time. Shakas were thrown by all.
This is when our brief historical rant comes full circle. On September 23, during one of the two equinoxes we have per year when fall officially started, and day and night had exactly the same length, Pendleton Woolen Mills and O’Neill, innovators of water-friendly apparel worn by surfers for upwards of 60 years, joined forces to release a limited edition capsule collection based on their mutual respect for warmth and wearable classics.
The collection, inspired by the original Pendleton Board Shirt that was loved by all, includes the O’Riginals x Penwool Shirt and O’Riginals x Penwool Jacket with Hyperdry, a stain resistant and water-repelling, quick-dry fabric treatment, and 3M Thinsulate protection. They even stuck to the original colorway of blue and charcoal plaid. It is available at select retailers, O’Neill flagships and online just in time for layering season when the water temperature drops and the beach gets a little too cold for a casual swim.
Check out the gallery below for some detail shots!
XX Jeanine