Rohan Confessions

August 17, 2009 Rohan People & Places 14 comments

montage1 My name is Glenn and I am an outdoor clothing addict - a Rohanist by another name. I’ve been buying – and sometimes wearing – Rohan clothes since the late 1970′s. So much so that I’d call it an addiction more than a practical necessity.

My dependency has been at its worst since the 1990′s. Around that, time I started traveling frequently from my home in Wolverhampton to London. Every visit then and since has required a fix at the Rohan Covent Garden store, to the great detriment of my credit card. The staff at the new store at Swinfen (Lichfield) seemed slightly shocked and concerned for my mental state when I turned up shortly after it opened and bought £400-worth of shirts. I think I probably wear a Rohan garment (typically a shirt or outer layer, or both) about five days each week, including in the office.

However, of course in the 1970′s it was all mail order, via your magazine/catalogue (the name of which I’ve forgotten). Having rather less money then, I was prone to buying your sale garments, which I think we’re often short test runs in sometimes frankly bizarre colours.

I recall my first Rohan Bags, which were of a green so lurid that I could have worn them in a spring meadow and still been spotted miles away. I also had a wind shirt that wouldn’t have been out of place in the Adam and the Ants’ video for “Prince Charming”. My Pampas Jacket was in a delicate pastel shade that sometimes attracted the wrong sort of attention and looked rather better on the girl I passed it on to. Most embarrassing of all were the Mountain Salopettes in first-generation multi-way stretch. I don’t know why I thought I needed such hard-man kit for the gentle low-level walking that was my usual activity. Sadly, I sent these precious historic items for recycling during a de-clutter only a couple of years ago. I’ve just had a hunt around upstairs and to my surprise, I’ve unearthed an early pair of Winter Bags in near-original condition. They must be from the 1980s: the orange lining suggests this but the waist size is the clincher, as I’m now closer in shape to Arthur Lowe than to Daniel Craig. I’ve posted a picture of them to Flickr

They’re of no use to me now, so maybe they could become a Rohan Original in Keswick?

P.S. I was in Manchester early in the week. I checked the web site to see if there is a Rohan store in the city … and of course there is, and I didn’t realise. Even more frustrating, I passed within a few yards of it. I could have added another store notch to my bed-post (my conquests so far being Covent Garden, obviously, Norwich, Cambridge, York and my nearest but least visited Swinfen Lichfield.

Glenn Wood has shared some great pics on Flickr

14 Comments

Brewster says:

19/11/2009 at 11:09

I still have, and occasionally wear:
Mulberry Bags
Emerald Winter Goas
Aubergine and Amethyst Movi

Retro-masochism or what?
Ben Evans says:

03/09/2009 at 14:47

Lurid green bags with red logo-they sound fantastic for the Bags Montage. Please send them to the Keswick shop if you no longer want them, where they will be gratefully received and displayed alongside the other ‘lurid’ colours.
Richard Simpson says:

28/08/2009 at 00:03

I think I’ve still got my lurid green bags with red letter. The contrast sent you boss eyed.
Glenn Wood says:

24/08/2009 at 21:07

Hi Ben

I’ll track down some suitably protective packaging for this rare and precious cargo and bid them fly northwards in the next few days. The plucky little chaps seem to have survived a couple of decades almost pristine, except for my unsubtle turn-up stitching and a sprinkling of moth detritus. You’ll possibly be relieved to hear that the two 20-year-old paper tissues I’ve just discovered in the pockets were apparently unused.

Glenn
Ben Evans says:

24/08/2009 at 13:29

Hi Glenn.
Your Winter Bags would indeed make a great addition the Rohan Originals collection in Keswick-thanks very much for the offer.
If any one else has any Rohan Originals they would like to donate to our expanding collection- then please get in touch.
At some point over the next few months i will be displaying a ‘Bags Collage’ of various different colours of Rohan Bags from the last 30 years. The Rohanists amongst you will remember the( good old?!) days when Bags came in a multitude of colours-not just versions of Navy and Black,for example Lovat, Emerald, Amethyst and Mulberry( though opinion differed widely whether this was a good thing!).If anyone has Rohan Bags in some of the more ‘interesting’ colours especially White, Yellow or Denim which they would like to donate (or loan) to the ‘Bags Collage’ then please get in touch with me.

Ben Evans-Rohan Keswick. Tel 017687 74963
Glenn Wood says:

20/08/2009 at 22:40

… and, of course, it’s disturbing as well as distrurbing.
griff says:

20/08/2009 at 22:40

Really appreciate all the articles keep them coming – Glenn this is a great read. I have the same problem. I find a shortage of funds helps a little,
but it’s not a cure more a temporary suspension.
Glenn Wood says:

20/08/2009 at 22:39

Thanks for the comments everyone, and thanks to Sarah for inviting a contribution.

The truth, as ever, is far stranger and more distrurbing than can be told here…
Mark White says:

20/08/2009 at 09:07

Hi Great story put my name down for the rehab program. My name is Mark and I’m a….
Designer Store says:

19/08/2009 at 12:04

wow!!! thank u very much for all this information. Keep on supplying such useful information. It really is interesting.
frank says:

18/08/2009 at 19:19

That was a lovely light piece of humour Glenn, the compulsion to purchase, almost palpable.

I came across my first Rohan item in a charity shop, in North Manchester, three years ago. A pair of ‘On Route Trousers’ (it says on the label). I didn’t know Rohan from Cohen, but they seemed durable and I liked them. Not bad for £3:50 I thought. Couple of days later, a pal of mine saw me wearing them, and recognised the rohan logo. He didn’t know where I’d bought them and was staggered at my profligacy. This was understandable knowing that for me the Oxfam shop was haute couture. He actually whistled when I told him the story. Nearly fainted that I’d brought another pair the day after at the same shop.
Now, three years on, I’m at a stage similar to the one Glenn went through on his addiction cycle – I buy at Rohan shops, in massively discounted, last season or previous, sales. When I do get to the point that I’m buying new suits at Rohan Manchester, Kewick or Dunster branches, with shoes and shirts to boot, I’ll be looking for Glenn and others, no doubt, to form the RA. We’ll meet each Tuesday at eight o’clock. First names only of course, and work through the twelve steps to recovery. My name is frank and I’m a….
Sarah Howcroft says:

18/08/2009 at 14:55

Hi Adam
Yes TQQ is right thank you. Watch out for some posts on Rohantime about the TQQ’s comming soon.
Adam Richards says:

18/08/2009 at 08:13

I remember the magazine well it was called TQQ can’t remember what that was short for. I still have a few copies.
Sarah Howcroft says:

17/08/2009 at 10:05

Can anyone remember the name of the Rohan magazine in the 1980′s?