If You Haven't Peeked At Pendleton's Apparel For A While, You Might Be Surprised At The Nontraditional Colors, Weaves And Textures -- Beyond Pleats And Plaids

PORTLAND - Linda Parker, communications manager for Pendleton's women's wear division, sweeps her hand toward the half dozen women's ensembles pegged onto the walls of a showroom at Pendleton's corporate headquarters as though they were classic Chanels.

Most are jacket and skirt outfits: modest knee-length skirts, trim single-breasted jackets, gold-toned buttons. Demure by high fashion standards, but they're not all plaid. Several are in solid colors such as fire-engine red or bright purple. And there's not a single Black Watch tartan kilt in the group.

"One thing people say that just drives me nuts is that we're conservative," says Parker. "Traditional is OK. Classic is OK. But conservative makes me wild. Look at these novelty weaves, the color combinations, the boucles. How can people say conservative?"

A woman whose idea of a fashionable ensemble is this season's slit-to-the-thigh-slim-skirt-and-black-leather-jacket silhouette would indeed consider Pendleton's apparel pedestrian. But those who haven't peeked at Pendleton's women's clothes in a while might be surprised: Not all the skirts are pleated and not all the color combinations are navy, red, cream and black.

And therein lies a major marketing dilemma for Pendleton Woolen Mills. As the fall and winter fashion cycle kicks into high gear, and the short, cool days prompt women to shop for wool outfits, the company wants to persuade younger women to look to Pendleton for

fashionable, professional clothes.

"We think that the younger customer, the customer who's 30 to 45, thinks of Pendleton and says that's something her mom might wear or her aunt might wear," says Parker.

Then there is the plaid problem.

"I think there are still a lot of people out there who, when you say, Pendleton, say `Oh, plaid.' In some ways, we've created our own monster because we do a lot of authentic tartans and some exclusive plaids that we design. But only about 30 percent of our women's wear is plaid. It's so hard to change perceptions."

Because the company's name conjures Norman Rockwell scenes of men in plaid shirts around glowing cabin hearths, many consumers think of Pendleton primarily as the maker of men's wool jackets and shirts or as one of the best known makers of Native American-style blankets. But about 70 percent of the company's sales are in women's apparel. If Pendleton fails to entice the group of women now coming into their prime earning (and spending) years, the company forfeits a potentially huge market.

Despite its hard-to-wrinkle pleated-plaid image, the company's most fashion-forward women's sublines, Miss Pendleton and Town Clothes, have been around for years in mix-and-match separates. In fashion sophistication they are perhaps on par with such mainstream, well-established labels as Jones New York, J.H. Collectibles, Saville and Geiger - popular labels with working women. Yet Pendleton's prices generally are somewhat lower: All wool jackets are about $200; skirts and trousers about $100.

The company does manufacture nonwool collections for spring and summer in men's and women's wear, but its signature look is still 100 percent wool garments. And it prides itself on premium quality fabrics and precision manufacturing: Pendleton will not retail a garment with a slightly mismatched plaid or a microscopic fabric flaw.

Pendleton also is trying to pull in younger male customers, primarily through its Lobos and Sir Pendleton sublines - sportswear that while traditional by most standards, is fashion forward for Pendleton. Some Sir Pendleton shirts, for instance, are in updated colors and patterns, such as muted turquoise, navy and black horizontal stripes.

The company manufactures authentically styled Western wear, including yoked snap-down-the-front cowboy shirts. And its original product, the rugged wool men's shirt, is a perennial bestseller. In fact, with the current fashion mania for the Great North Woods look and Western wear, Pendleton's most traditional menswear is right in style. Ironically, the traditional wool Pendleton shirt has also become a wardrobe staple for the nonconformists of the twentysomething generation: Grunge rockers like to top an ensemble of long johns and baggy shorts with a wool plaid shirt.

As with women's wear, Pendleton's menswear prices are modest for the quality: Traditional wool shirts are $50 to $65; a heavy, colorful, all wool jacket that looks as though it was made of a thick Native American-motif blanket is $165. Pendleton also is unusual for the range of sizes it offers. Men's shirts come in tall and large, and women's wear is available in large, tall and petite sizes.

"We do very, very well with Pendleton's menswear," said Gary Davidson, who carries some at Fine Threads, his University Village men's shop. "We sell a lot of the traditional wool shirts and the Lobos line, especially to the fraternity guys who like the slightly trimmer cut."

Convincing women shoppers that Pendleton is au courant is a harder sell. "It's a little bit too traditional for us," said Judy Olson, owner of Classic Clothes, a women's shop in Bellevue Square. Her definition of "classic clothes" means the store does a brisk business in sleek little Nicole Miller dresses. "I know there is that Pendleton customer around here and I think the Pendleton shop here in the mall does a good business. But it's not our customer."

Kimber Becker, operations manager for the Pendleton specialty shops in downtown Seattle, Bellevue Square and Tacoma Mall - all privately owned by her family - says "the majority of our customers are still women who are older and may stay at home."

But Darrell Drew, general manager of the Seattle shop, adds that more working women under 45 are starting to shop at the downtown store. "I hear them go by and they'll say, `Oh, that stuff's for old ladies.' But if they come in, they see things they like."

That is the kind of attitude Parker hopes to change with her current advertising campaign. Ads in Vogue and Working Woman, for example, show Pendleton suits in offices, a big switch from the long-time campaigns showing affluent women of leisure nestled in Pendleton slacks and sweaters in tasteful country homes.

"We're walking a tightrope," said Parker. "We don't want to alienate the Pendleton loyalist who only wants dirndl skirts and blazers from us, but we also want to attract the customer who is young in attitude."

NEARLY 100 YEARS OF HITS

For a company with a fondness for tradition that makes Brooks Brothers look hip, Pendleton Woolen Mills has had a surprisingly steady string of fashion hits over the years. Here are highlights:

1900-1920: Pendleton's Native American-style blankets are hot sellers with tribes. Wool shirts are standard dress for men who work outdoors.

1949: Women's wear is introduced. The '49-er jacket, a casual, plaid wool jacket styled like a man's work shirt and belted at the waist is a best seller among women nationwide. The style is quickly copied.

1958 - early 1960s: Newly introduced pleated, reversible, wool skirts become de rigueur for high school and college-aged women. Ditto for dyed-to-match sweater and skirt sets. Women who sew start making weekend coats out of Pendleton blankets.

1961: Pendleton wool shirts are so popular with college-aged men that in 1961 a group of Southern California pop musicians names themselves the Pendletones. They later changed their name to something more appropriate for their California image, The Beach Boys.

1990s: Pendleton wools shirts are back in - thanks to "Northern Exposure," Ralph Lauren and the Seattle grunge rock scene. People from New York and elsewhere snap up the company's blankets to drape over sofas and turn into upholstery. Trendy apparel shops such as Banana Republic are selling plaid, belted women's jackets that look startlingly like Pendleton's '49-er jacket. Jackets that look to be made of Native American-style blankets are everywhere.