Cause A Frockus

Original Penguin

Oct 14, 2015 | by Becky Oeltjenbruns

I recently went on a shopping excursion with one of my favorite people on the planet. As we strolled through Neiman Marcus Last Call he picked out some awesome socks. Always the inquisitive shopper, I noticed the brand name (Original Penguin) and a tagline “since 1955.” The vintage maven in me got excited – a potential research topic for Cause A Frockus! So let’s learn a bit more about this slice of American history. And please, if there are any men’s clothing/accessories brands you’d like to know more about – shout out in the comments. I’m always looking for new story ideas…

The Penguin brand has roots in a town that has a special place in my heart: Minneapolis. Penguin was borne from the brand Munsingwear, a company with its own rich and eclectic history. Munsingwear was founded by a man by the name of George D. Munsing. George hailed from New York but found himself drawn to Minnesota, fueled by an interest in textile factories and a desire to capitalize on the cold-weather market. Determined and with a keen eye for talent, his dreams were soon a reality. By the late 1800s the company’s itch-less woolen long underwear and union suits became so popular the factory was producing 30,000 items per day. Think of those numbers in that day and age – that’s monumental!

Fun fact about Munsingwear: it was one of the first companies to offer a comprehensive benefits program for employees. In the 1920s, factory workers (who were mainly female) had free and unrestricted access to a staffed health clinic, an on-site dentist, free lunches, a live orchestra performance every Thursday, their own branch of the Minneapolis public library, and an on-site gym. Interesting to think that these benefits to us, in 2015, still sound relatively progressive.

George and his team created a pretty strong foundation, but the legacy continued to evolve. Thirty-some years later, in 1955, the Penguin golf shirt was born and the brand debuted to the American consumer. You may be wondering – why a penguin? The logo of the adorable penguin came about a year earlier when eager salesmen were asked to brainstorm for ways to compete with Lacoste’s iconic green crocodile. One such salesman, Abbot Pederson, found himself lost in NYC and inspiration struck in front of a toy window. He bought a stuffed penguin, affectionately nicknamed Pete, who came along for the journey back to Minneapolis and Pete has since taken his rightful place in vintage history.

Penguin’s golf shirts, meant to directly compete with Lacoste, sold at around $5 a pop and immediately became a must-have. As the months progressed, with shirts flying off the shelves, the designers went back to the drawing board. Structural improvements were made to the arms, allowing golfers to complete their swings unencumbered. Celebrity golfers like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were seen sporting the penguin on the links and the rest as they say is history.

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