Welcome to Cedar Springs, Michigan, where they love their flannel so much they have a day dedicated to it! The town earned the association after a particularly horrid winter in 1936, which saw most of the US under snow and suffering from freezing temperatures, and a writer for the New York Sun declared the much-needed red flannels 'obsolete' when he was unable to locate any; however, he was proven wrong when Cedar Springs wrote a reply in their paper saying they had plenty to go around. Orders started pouring in from all over the US, and after several years of providing the country with their flannels, Cedar Springs decided to declare themselves "The Red Flannel Town." The first flannel festival was held in 1939, and continues to this day. The pictures below are from the festival held in 1949.
Look at the lovely collar on this girl's pajamas!
And from here things get a little bit unusual, a bit little Lynchian...
Oh, these are fantastic!! I would love some flannel longjohns myself, haha; those gals look adorable. I also love how positively surreal these are; the boxing guy, the indians, the pageant-y stuff.... so weird, small-town America! (...in a very good way)
ReplyDeleteSurreal, small-town America is the absolute best place to be!!
DeleteI LOVE these! I had no idea that this existed and the pictures are sooo Lynchian! Love, love, love it. Flannel shirts are one of best selling items in the vintage store I work in, so funny. x
ReplyDeleteAmazing pictures and a great post
ReplyDeletefollowing you now :)