Penguin

ORIGINAL PENGUIN

The Penguin story begins in 1955, when Abbot Penderson, a salesman from the Munsingwear undergarment factory in Minneapolis, found himself stood outside a taxidermist’s shop in New York staring at a display of stuffed penguins. Penderson had been on a sales trip and was killing time before his flight home, drinking in a Manhattan bar. Slightly worse for wear, before he knew it he had bought a penguin, named him Pete and was enjoying cocktails with him on the flight back home to Minneapolis. Penderson and Pete were doing a good job of charming the flight attendant, who removed Penderson’s tie, to wrap it around Pete’s neck. She joked that such a dapper bird surely deserved to be immortalized - maybe even embroidered on a shirt similar to the one Pederson was wearing. Little did she know...

A keen golfer, when Penderson returned to Minneapolis he set about merging his interests and so the Munsingwear golf shirt was born. “The 55” as it was known, was an instant hit; comfortable and causal, it’s style implied a relaxed, sophisticated lifestyle that appealed to sporting stars and suburbanites alike. Before long Penguin shirts were synonymous with the countries most iconic celebrities - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Arnold Palmer, Clint Eastwood, and Richard Nixon were all fans of “the 55”, making Penguin one of the most aspirational lifestyle brands of the time.

Fast forward to the new millennium, and Penguin catapulted back into fashion as trendsetters began searching vintage stores for the classic American label. Three years later the overwhelming demand led to the relaunch of an Original Penguin by Munsingwear, leveraging Penguin’s rich heritage and suburban-chic aesthetic, while updating it to reflect today’s lifestyle. Today, Pete the Penguin presides over a full lifestyle brand that now includes suits, watches, bags, belts, hats and shoes as well as the original iconic Penguin polo shirt.