Celebrate the Summer Solstice!

Summer is here and there is no better way to dive right into our favorite season than with the summer solstice, the longest beach day of the year! The summer solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes.

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.

What this means to us sun lovers is that we get more time to relax on our favorite beach and kick off the summer right! Why not enjoy those extra hours and extra rays in a Jantzen? We'd have it no other way!

I pledge allegiance...

I pledge allegiance...

For over 200 years the U.S. flag has been the symbol of our nation’s strength and unity.

Before the American Revolution each of the thirteen colonies had its own flag. On January 1, 1776, George Washington ordered the first Grand Union flag hoisted near his headquarters in Boston. On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have thirteen red and white stripes and a union of white stars on a blue background. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14th as Flag Day, and a national day of celebration. The 50th and last star was added in 1960 for the new state of Hawaii. Often called “Stars and Stripes” or “Old Glory”, the original designer is not known for certain.

The above photo from 1943 shows a beautiful flag being raised at Jantzen Knitting Mills headquarters in Portland, Oregon. One of the founding fathers, Roy Zehntbauer and Australian cadet, Ron Sharp, share the honor. Flags for our armed forces in Australia and the South Pacific were among the many war products manufactured by Jantzen during WWII.

Happy Flag Day!

Pretty Little Lady

The Jantzen Archive has a new little lady and she is a doll. She first appeared in the 1958 catalog sporting the most fashionable and glamorous swim caps of the day. She is wearing “El Dorado”, a glitter cap of gold metallic cloth from the same year. Retail price $6.95

Created by Maury Wolf and David Vine, mannequin makers in L.A., she is a little sister to the famous 21’ Jantzen fiberglass Diving Girls which were displayed around the world in 1959.

Glamorous then...glamorous now