The History of the Famed 49’er Jacket

When someone utters the phrase “49’er” most people today probably think of the NFL team or of gold miners headed out West in 1849. But, there’s another meaning to this phrase and it refers to a specific piece of ladies’ clothing that was immensely popular after Word War II.

Womenswear in the 1940s

During the war women wore a variety of mens clothing and menswear-inspired looks. A lot of mens clothing back then was either made from cotton or wool in sturdy weaves meant to withstand hard work. By contrast, women’s clothing simply couldn’t hold up to some of the more rigorous yard work, farm work, chores, and factory jobs they had to do while the men were fighting in the theaters of war. At the time work wear for women simply didn’t exist. In addition to the issues of durability, most women following the Great Depression didn’t have a huge wardrobe anyways. And this is where men’s clothing came into play.

Women headed to the factories or otherwise engaged in war work often wore their father’s, husband’s, or brother’s jeans and jackets, tailoring them in some cases, but usually leaving them as they were.

This led to the boxy, over-sized look that women’s clothing designers later incorporated into new clothing lines during the 1940s. The broad shoulders, often accentuated with shoulder pads, made waists look smaller. The functional pockets on the clothing were a godsend, and they were often decorated with clean lines to take on more masculine details. These bold designs symbolized the strength in the women who were now keeping the nation’s farms and factories open with their hard work.

Pendleton Wool

Some of the most popular for women to wear were the mens wool Mackinaw jackets and wool work shirts. Today they’ve been re-branded as “shackets” (shirt-jackets) and are still extremely popular for both men and women. The leading brand at the time was Pendleton, an American company which opened in 1909. The roots of the Pendleton woolen mills come from Thomas Lister Kay, a weaver born in England and schooled in many types of plaid, who opened his first mill in 1863 in Oregon.

In the early days Pendleton Woolen Mills made a variety of so-called “trade blankets” that copied the blankets Native Americans used to trade in the 19th century. These thick blankets served as robes for many different tribes and Pendleton even went as far as to ask different tribal leaders which colors and designs they wanted, effectively courting the Native tribes as customers. At one point they had hundreds of designs in production at the same time.

With the offcuts and scraps the company made shirts and of these, their plaid patterns were made into men’s shackets in the 1920s, which became popular in the 1930s. These were extremely versatile, useful, and hardwearing jackets. The wool fabric dried quickly and could be mended easily. It also kept them warm. But, the thinner weave meant that these shirt jackets weren’t stiff. Large patch pockets on the front of the jackets had room for all your tools or personal effects, too. Pendleton was not the only company making these jackets at the time as they had lots of competition.

Women loved wearing these jackets so much that after the war was over Pendleton designed a version just for the ladies. It was released in 1949, and was known as the 49’er. Designed by former-Jantzen designer Berte Wiechmann, this jacket was cut slimmer than the men’s version to suit smaller frames. These jackets hit at a higher point on the waist, which was a more flattering look. Combined with skirts or the newly-available jeans for women this cut a familiar silhouette, but with a feminine twist. This was long before activewear as we know it today. This easy-to-wear jacket, born of workwear, was the casual clothing of its era. When women wanted to work or be comfortable this is the type of jacket they wore.

49’er Details

In the early 1950s a 49’er cost $19.95 which would be about $240 in today’s money. So they were not cheap. But, since a jacket like this can last through many decades of wear no doubt most customers found it to be a good value. Even college age girls saved their pennies to be able to buy them. Women could also buy coordinating skirts, sweaters, hats, scarves, and other accessories to make a matched set in their favorite plaid.

There are many, many plaid patterns of 49’er jackets that were made in the 1940s and 1950s. Black Watch Tartan, a dark green and navy Scottish plaid, was one popular pattern, as was the grey and red plaids and checks the company became known for. In 1952 Pendleton released a special plaid for their ladieswear in honor of 4-year-old then-prince Charles.

Some differences between the men’s jackets and the women’s 49’ers exist so you can spot the difference between them. Men’s jackets usually will have leather-covered shank buttons, while women’s will have shell or imitation shell buttons. Usually men’s jackets will have 3 or 4 patch pockets on the front, while the ladies’ model will have 2. If you’re looking into Pendleton jackets the blue label are the men’s lines and the white labels are for ladies.

The Woolmark logo didn’t appear on labels until 1964 so that can further help date any jacket you find. Likewise Pendleton didn’t begin to make their clothes in other countries until later, so a label that only mentions the US is likely to be earlier. Foreign-made pieces are likely from the late 1980s to now.

Pendleton has issued a series of re-makes of both the men’s shackets and of the ladies’ 49’ers jackets, though the expansive number of patterns available in the early days of these jackets remains unmatched to this day.