The Great Plains Clothing Company │ Vintage The Great Plains

Often, I come across a new brand during sourcing that I don't know. Through research, which is always a highlight of selling vintage, I figure out the history, when it was made, the hallmarks of the brand - things like that.

I just came across the brand The Great Plains Clothing Company. I've actually seen them before, and have purchased a couple of their vintage items while sourcing, over the years.

I found this beautiful denim vest last week. Now that I just listed it and did a little digging into its background, I also just found out that there is another Great Plains company, a thirty-five-year-old company, that just closed its doors! What?

Are they the one and the same? I don't think so. I found an article from a few months ago that states the Great Plains company is closing shop and will no longer be manufacturing clothing.

This brand here, in this vest, is equal to the US vintage quality brands of the '80s like Woolrich, L. L Bean, Levi's, Pendleton, and Ralph Lauren. (Note, I said the vintage quality ... these companies of today no longer make their products in the USA. Their quality is obsolete now and can only be found in their vintage counterparts, sad to say.)

So The Great Plains Co. took the quality everyone loved from the '70s and '80s and started their own line that easily rivaled our brands, in the mid-80s. Wish I had known more about them prior to today,.

Look at these two sweaters I saw online. These pieces are of such quality that it makes them an absolute competitor to L.L. Bean of the '80s.

And look at the other two items I sold about 12 years ago.  A  beautiful men's cotton plaid shirt and another super wool sweater. I didn't realize it - until I just looked up what I had sold previously - but this brand is on the rare side. I haven't seen any other Great Plains items in the last 12 years! Until this denim vest.

So, after much research, I still don't know whether they are related. I have a feeling they are two separate companies since the USA version, The Great Plains Clothing Company, was mostly men's and boy's wear with their trademark expired in 2005, whereas Great Plains of the UK seems to only be women's clothing.

It all very interesting and fun to learn about various brands that sound similar but in fact aren't similar at all. And also always sad to hear a thirty-five-year-old company is shutting its doors. Such is life, I suppose.

I hope to find more of the USA The Great Plains company stuff. It looks like it was only in business from 1985 to 2005. It's on the rare side, but that doesn't mean I can't find it.

Have a wonderful week.♥