From the Archives: An L.L.Bean Logo Revival

Throughout our 109 years as an outdoor outfitter, our signature L.L.Bean logo has taken on various design iterations. Each one, like a snapshot in time or a tiny artifact, is reflective of a distinctive era in L.L.Bean’s longstanding legacy. This year, we are excited to open the vaults and revive some of our oldest and most distinct logos from multiple decades in a new lineup of T-shirts and sweatshirts.

That’s something we do often at L.L.Bean – look to our archives and deep heritage for inspiration. That trust in our design history continues to inspire new product development, with many of our best-selling apparel and footwear having originated 25, 50 and even 100 years ago.

For those lucky enough to have stepped into the L.L.Bean Archives – located in the basement of Leon Leonwood Bean’s former Freeport, Maine home – it's an experience that takes you back in time.

“Understanding L.L.Bean’s history is part of the experience of loving our clothes and feeling personally invested in our mission to get outdoors,” said Peter Selmayr, graphic designer at L.L.Bean. “Over the past 100 years, L.L.Bean has introduced a range of different logos, and these new pieces of apparel bearing vintage logos are a nod to our heritage and a way to keep classic designs in circulation.”

Join us for a journey back in time, and shop our logo gear.

The L.L.Bean Script logo is Leon Leonwood Bean’s personal signature, which was stitched into the seam of footwear and clothing beginning in the 1950s. The script logo has been adapted and recycled many times over the past 70 years.

Originally appearing as a simple polo embroidery in the 1992 L.L.Bean Catalog, the Wood Scene logo incorporates key outdoor elements: water, trees and mountains – three elements that can be found in our native Maine wilderness.

Our collegiate-style, block-letter logo first appeared in 1997, originally made using felt, stitched lettering. It’s a logo style that has shown up on L.L.Bean apparel numerous times over the past 20 years.