The Giant Maine Hunting Shoe Outside L.L. Bean’s Flagship Store in Freeport, Maine - Photo via flickr:Bored College Kid
L.L. Bean is based in Freeport, Maine and was founded in 1912 by its namesake Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean. The company started out by making the famous rubber-bottomed and leather-upper Maine Hunting Shoe. Later, L.L. Bean expanded to an outdoor hunting and fishing outfitter and generated business in the northeastern United States from its mail-order catalog. Today, the brand is synonymous with quintessential American outdoor style.
Boat & Tote Bags
Although the company still continues to generate most of its business through catalog and online orders, the company maintains a 24-hour, 365 days-a-year flagship store in Freeport, Maine as well as additional stores throughout the eastern United States and one in Japan. The flagship store in Maine has been described in The Preppy Handbook as “nothing less than a prep Mecca.”
Bean's Norwegian Fisherman Sweater - "The nearest thing to a Prep membership card." - The Preppy Handbook
The company claims to carry over 20,000 products, but some of its most famous items are the Maine Hunting Shoe, Camp Mocs and Blucher Moccasins, the Norwegian Fisherman Sweater and the Boat and Tote Bag. Since 1912, the company has had a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee policy that allows the customer to return anything at anytime if they are not completely satisfied.
Further Reading:
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