Rali’s Gambler

Rali Burleson, director of the Arizona Make It With Wool (MIWW) contest and good friend of the Pendleton brand, wrote to us recently to share her vintage Gambler shirt.

You know the Gambler; here it is in a 1959 ad in “The Dude Rancher.”

Her letter read:

I am enclosing photos of my vintage Pendleton Gambler shirt. My shirt may be older than the 1940s. The shirt is grey with bronze-colored topstitching and closes with bronze-colored pearlized buttons. It is a size small (14½). It is in pristine condition with little to no wear. The inside is immaculate! I made a beautiful bronze-colored skirt, using Pendleton wool, to wear with the shirt. I developed a unique skirt closure using a vintage money clip with a bronze ram’s head on the front. I wear a silk Pendleton scarf as an accessory

We love the outfit she’s crafted around the shirt, especially since it uses Pendleton wool fabric.

Looking at the photos, we became curious about the Gambler. After some investigation, we discovered that her women’s shirt is actually a men’s shirt in its smallest neck size; 14 ½ . It was made in women’s sizes in 1936, but in Umatilla Wool, not gabardine.

The Western Gambler was introduced between 1934 – 1939. Here is the wholesale catalog copy from 1939.

WESTERN GAMBLER

“There’s a spirit of the Old West in the cut of the Western Gambler model that makes it the favorite shirt for the dude ranch and rodeo wear. Three button cuffs, pleated sleeves, diagonally-cut pocket flaps and six button front.  Ocean pearl stud buttons match the body color of the shirt.  Full inverted pleat back and full cut body insures complete ease of action.  Self-lined collar.  Tailored in 33, 34, and 35 inch sleeve lengths. Sizes 14 ½ to 17 ½.  Oversizes to 19."

The white label gives us a clue as to the age, as the label changed from blue/gold to white around 1940ish, and remained white until the final offering in Fall 1962.  Each season, the Western Gambler had a version in tan/light brown, the most popular color.  Other colors like Seagull Grey, Maroon and Navy Blue were available in different seasons.

So Rali’s shirt is a men’s Western Gambler in Seagull Grey, and was made sometime between 1940 and 1962. That’s 22 years—a long period of time, but it means that Rali is happily wearing a shirt that could be eighty+ years old!

Today’s Gambler

We brought the tan Western Gambler back as part of our Eight Decades of Shirts celebration, which was (of course) twenty years ago in 2004. And we made a red version as part of our Nine Decades celebration in 2014.

Both were made in a fine worsted wool gabardine, like the original. Here is more copy from 1939, specifically about the fabric.

PENDLETON GABARDINES

“Pendleton Gabardine Shirts are made from an exclusive Pendleton fabric – an 8-ounce mill shrunk worsted gabardine.  The luxurious fabric is available in the distinctive models – the Sportsman, the Western Gambler, and the Sports Shirt Model, providing a gabardine garment for all sports, spectator, or leisure wear."

Rali’s shirt shows how well that fabric endures – the magic of wool.

We currently make several versions of the Gambler in various fabrics. Those distinctive angled pockets are always a hit in both men’s and women’s styles. And this is a month where our minds turn to western style in general, because August is when we gear up for the Pendleton Round-Up! Thousands of rodeo-goers visit our store in Pendleton, Oregon, where they shop our Western (and non-Western) apparel, and take mill tours. We hope to see you there. Whether or not you can travel to Pendleton, we hope you’ll join the spirit of the event with a look at some of our time-honored styles at www.pendleton-usa.com 

A special thanks to Barbara Trainor Photography for the beautiful photos of Rali, and…

Let’er Buck!