What Happened to L.L. Bean?
The Iron Snail digs into L.L. Bean's history and myths, from the bean boot to its famous warranty. He argues the brand was always mid-tier and that its golden era always seems to be 30 years ago.
The gist
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The Iron Snail says L.L. Bean did not invent the bean boot: a 1910 catalog shows the style, and Bean only patented a split backstay.
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He says the famous satisfaction guarantee only ran from 1912 to 1919 and did not return until 1970, 51 years later.
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Grandson Leon Gorman grew the company from $5 million to $1.5 billion through customer service, but customer requests slowly softened classics like the field coat.
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The Iron Snail argues quality changed little while product philosophy did, so the golden era always feels 30 years ago, citing a 2011 poll where 95% said no.
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At the Freeport flagship store he found old-school pieces like the waxed hunting field coat with a game pocket, and the wool snap shirt, his favorite.
The Iron Snail recommends it
"So, yeah, L.L. Bean pretty good. If you're ever in Freeport, you should definitely go... And I will say growing up in New England as a little kid and seeing the Freeport store when they put up all the Christmas trees and stuff, I did have a little magic in my heart. Can't lie."
▶ Play at 27:54
The Iron Snail recommends it
"Their waxed hunting field coat complete with a big fat heavy YKK zipper, gusseted pockets, zippered hand pockets, a game pouch... This is it. This is the old school L.L. Bean. It's right here. This jacket I would wear forever. It's fantastic."
▶ Play at 25:01
The Iron Snail uses it
"This wool snap shirt. Again, found it in the hunting section. But this is actually my favorite piece from the entire video. I love the fit of it. It feels good. I want to wear it in."
▶ Play at 25:35What they recommend · 3 picks
"Their waxed hunting field coat complete with a big fat heavy YKK zipper, gusseted pockets, zippered hand pockets, a game pouch... This is it. This is the old school L.L. Bean. I..."
"This wool snap shirt. Again, found it in the hunting section. But this is actually my favorite piece from the entire video. I love the fit of it. It feels good. I want to wear i..."
"So, yeah, L.L. Bean pretty good. If you're ever in Freeport, you should definitely go... And I will say growing up in New England as a little kid and seeing the Freeport store w..."
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