Vermont Country Store catalog

Go on Craig's list VT if you want anything made there. This is mostly Chinese crap now.

It’s way overpriced.

I love their catalog. I like quirky businesses.

But there's Munsingwear underwear for men! Damn, they've got white briefs with those horizontal flies! I love wearing underwear with that kind of fly! Oh man, my balls sit nicely and my cock... m'mmm so comfy.

They specialize in hard-to-find "retro" items (Evening in Paris perfume! Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo!), but, as R2 noted, everything is way overpriced.

Since my sister is a farmer I sent her the Lehman's catalogue, they supply the Amish community with necessities.

Have any of you bitches churned your own butter?

I used to buy nightgowns for my mom from that catalogue. She was a very particular person. Her nightgowns had to be sleeveless, short, 100% cotton, lightweight. They have always been ridiculously overpriced, but who wants to run around looking in stores at Christmas for a short, lightweight, sleeveless 100% cotton nightgown?

When I was younger, all the way up into the 80s I could go into a shop in my hometown and grab any kind of nightgown or robe. It would say right on the package if it was cotton, sleeveless, short sleeved, long sleeved, etc. and for a great price, but by the 90s all those independent stores were gone.

No, R7, but I've seen it done a long time ago. I have my great-grandmother's brown stoneware churn. The handle on the paddle had to be replaced but the rest is original.

[quote] They have always been ridiculously overpriced,

I meant Vermont country store was always overpriced. I went from buying a nightgown for $14 for my mom to spending $70 from the VCS catalogue.

The “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” does not smell like the original.

Companies buy the right to the names of old fashioned companies and manufacture whatever they like and slap the old name on it. A lot of products in the past had ingredients in them that are no longer used due to being IDd as possible carcinogens and also because many factories that produced certain ingredients no longer exist.

Get the butter churn OP. You could be the next Butter Queen!! Just watch out for churn tampering.

I remember passing a butter churn around in kindergarten and being amazed that the stuff the teacher put in there turned into butter.

They only sell men's pocket Ts up to size XXL. What the hell kind of store is this?

Yes, I've bought a couple things from them and always been happy with the results.

And yes, they still stock things that are impossible to find elsewhere.

The poster upthread is correct about night clothes.

I bought a great flannel robe from them. Washed many times and still wearing well and very soft. (Head and shoulders over another flannel robe I had that pilled the fabric which was no where near as soft.) No, not cheap, but very high quality and has lasted a long time.

Try finding a bedspread in a retail store. You cannot. And a lot of catalogs, describe "duvets" as "bedspreads".

I hate the duvet with lots of pillows look on a bed. So VCS is one place that still sells bedspreads.

It's not a site for everyone, but I always go through their catalog when I get my copy in the mail.

So should it be called Gee Your Hair Smells Mediocre, r11?

[quote]The “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” does not smell like the original.

Evening in Paris probably smells like Afternoon in Bayonne.

R11 I thought it did, but maybe I don't remember the original as much as I thought. I also got body on tap. I remember the commercial with Farrah Faucett, and the bottle, which is not the same. I think the shampoo looks and smells the same. We go once a year to the actual store in VT, it's really neat to browse. The cheese shop actually has amazing cheeses. I always get the same appliance polish my mom used to use, and also we usually pick out the seasons flannel sheets, always very good quality and a few christmas gifts - the toys are really neat.

Several years ago I ordered a product that didn't live up to expectations and left a negative review on their site. An employee actually called me to apologize profusely. They offered me either a refund or another product of equal value.

[quote]Companies buy the right to the names of old fashioned companies and manufacture whatever they like and slap the old name on it

This explains why you can still find Ipana toothpaste and Halo shampoo at dollar stores.

Hello Halo, hello!

I get the Lemon Up shampoo and soap from there.

I was in my forties and still using our family's breadbox that we'd had since before I was born. It was really beat up by then, but I just couldn't find that style breadbox anywhere. I managed to find a manufacturing mark on it and google told me the name of the Canadian company that had manufactured it. A further search led me to the Vermont Country store, who had it for sale. The only change was that the inside part of the front of the breadbox (its door) was no longer made of wood, but of plastic. (Originally, you'd open the door, it lay flat and you'd use it as a cutting board.) I was delighted to find a brand-new replacement and didn't care about the plastic substitution for the wood.

Ever since then, I keep browsing their catalog, looking at the products/brands we relied on in my youth (60s and 70s).

And televisions with old names. RCA TVs are made in Korea, Westinghouse TVs are made in China.

This being Datalounge, it should be noted that the business is run by three cute brothers.

Eliot is the cutest brother.

And their names are Gardner, Cabot, and Eliot Orton. Dad is Lyman Orton.

Are they fundies? Does Vermont have mormons?

R 7 You can churn your own butter for toast and have some leftover for lube later!

Gardner also runs a health and wellness practice.

How is the lemon up shampoo and soap?

No mention of a wife/kids in Gardner's bio. Just a dog.

If you like chocolates, they have the Asbach Uralt brandy filled chocolates that are delicious. These are sold here during the fall/winter months. You can find them elsewhere, just use Google

Gardner's wellness practice.

I like their edibles and retro Christmas stuff.

The Moonbeam Meadow elixir did make me sleepy when I drank it.

VCS is WAY overpriced. About 15 years ago I ordered a lot of their canned stuff and candies for my birthday, also a cake, which was quite small. The food was OK if overpriced. Shortly after that when I got the next catalog the prices went up 2 and 3 fold. I had gotten the canister vacuum cleaner which was OK at first, then began not to suck as well, which sucked otherwise. It got relegated to the garage for cleaning out there until it died less than 5 years later (the on/off switch finally refused to work)--not good value for the money spent, which is contrary to what they claim, being from Vermont and all. Also got a supposedly English toaster which also didn't last any more than 3 years before some of the elements burned out. It was hard to keep clean also as I don't think it had a removable crumb tray at the bottom. At one point I looked closely at the bottom of the toaster and it said "made in China"--so much for it being English. I gave VCS poor reviews on Yelp for all of this. I want to give the Orton brothers, especially Elliot, good, hard spankings over my knee for selling junk at grossly inflated prices. Their catalog is amusing but I would never buy anything from them again. r4, I tried the Munsingwear and at first it is comfortable with nice cock and ball support, then it gets stretched out--my dick kept popping through the fly after it the shorts started to sag too much--so much for that, plus the elastic tore away from the material too easily. They probably get this cheap Chinese shit for practically nothing and sell it way, way marked up.

DL eldergays buy their caftans here!

R31, I love it. Very strong lemony scent.

Vermont Country Store drives Harvard MBA types nuts. It defies most conventional wisdom of economics. The the biggest change in 60 years has been to make the catalog color and change the size. About 60% of the catalog contents is exactly the same as it was decades ago. As one of the brothers said, " We sold vibrators in the 1950s, we are just more honest about what they are for nowadays." I remember the sketch of a woman massaging her cheek with a vibrator.

As to prices, their audience is the "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." crowd. Their items last forever. I have bed linens from them that are 20 years old now. I now live in NH and I understand the need for the catalog today. When your choices are either big box stores with made in China junk, a local shop with limited selection, or driving two hours; VCS is great.

I visited one of their stores in Vermont - what a trip. A lot of items available, vintage toys, the bed coverings, the candies in jars (you can scoop some into little paper bags and check the weight on scales), women's clothing.nightgowns, etc. When i was a kid, a company named Charles Chips delivered potato chips and/or pretzels to your home, they were packaged in round tins. VCS sells Charles Chips in those tins! Yes, I spent $24.00 for one...

Do you think those Orton boys wear Munsingwear?

I have purchased Vetiver eau de toilette by Carven, Paris. It smells exactly like the bottle I used to buy in Europe. I have also bought a set of sheets that were marketed as sans resins, 100% cotton. The nicest and softest sheets I own that are not vintage or designer. I buy nostalgic candies and foods as gifts for people, because they are so unique. Some items may have a lot of mark-up, but there is no similar competition, so it seems justified. I like supporting small family-owned business more than corporate giants only concerned with pleasing shareholders.

R37 Munsingwear is made in Canada, not china. At least mine is.

What about their baked goods? Are they any good? I would love to order this cake for my friends birthday!

My grandmother bought cotton slips from their catalogue.

It's surprising to see Vermont Country Store selling Joy perfume.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Carven fragrances too R46. Funny, my gran wore Joy. Good memories. Nostalgia sells.

R40

[quote] I have bed linens from them that are 20 years old now.

What linens do you have?

I've been curious about their sheets and blankets.

Toying with the idea of ordering some 4711

Do it, R48. One of my favorite scents.

I've bought and used their "Kitchen Candle" to get rid of odors in the kitchen.

R23 just wants shower dildoes.

Yes, they carried some impossible to find candy from the 70s my mom loved. The actual store in VT is worth visiting.

Do they ever offer discounts or free shipping?

They have sales sometimes, r54. I don't think I've ever seen a coupon, though.

The made in China stories are troubling.

They have free shipping 3 or 4 times a year. Minimum $65 order, IIRC.

Does anyone know what their gross annual sales figures are?

Can we talk more about the hot brothers? The one with the dog is obviously gay.

I bought a VCS flannel neck scarf thing filled with some kind of herbs and seeds. You throw it in the micro-wave for a minute to warm it up, then wrap it around your neck. Mmmmmmm-mmmmmmm! Feels so wonderful on a really cold winter morning. The smell of the herbs is very earthy and oat-y, not perfume-y. Winter 2018-19 will be its 3rd season, if the moths haven't gotten to it.

bought a lot over the years, quality merchandise that can't be found anywhere else and good customer service.

only place that has good men's nightshirts (basically caftans for bed)

Damn it, I have now ordered the VCS and Lehman's catalogue!

Why not just browse the website? It has all their products and more, and it doesn't involve brutally murdering a tree.

I feel like we had this thread already. I buy their seersucker pajama bottoms for lounging around the house. I am actually wearing a pair right now. My only complaint is that the smallest size they come in is medium, and I could use a small.

I also have their Portuguese flannel robe in Blackwatch and Royal Stewart for winter time. Very nice and comfy.

[quote] I also have their Portuguese flannel robe

Me too. Great robe. Holds up well after washing and remains soft.

[quote] and it doesn't involve brutally murdering a tree.

But tree farms are a good thing. They are replenished. If you don’t use paper, they will cut down the tree farm and sell it as a McMansion housing development or another strip mall.

R48, I use the DreamFit sheets, which are 100% cotton and just get softer with each washing. But I pay half what the VCS charges by buying them at my local Original Mattress Factory store. Mattress Firm stores carry them, too.

I once bought very expensive sheets I had to throw away. They were wrinkled beyond the point of being ironed. I tried ironing them and nope — not one wrinkle would let go.

R68, I was JUST going to post almost the exact same thing! I like old-school percale sheets, which can be hard to find, so I ordered their "clothesline crisp" set a few months ago. They are the wrinkliest motherfucking sheets I have ever had, and they're gigantic to boot--way too big for my queen-size bed. I also ordered a summer-weight flannel blanket that's fine, but also rather oversized.

R68 and R69 flunked Home Ec.

I don't mind wrinkled bed linen, so long as fabric softener is used. Those resin-free sheets I had mentioned upthread were like that, but after a few ironings, softener, and hanging dry, they're fine. I would even buy more, but don't see them on offer. I think the weave or type of fabric may be muslin rather than percale, as they do appear linen-like.

Not sure what the point of your snark is, R70. I actually did just fine in home ec. I also have some very nice percale sheets from West Elm that come out of the dryer soft and nearly wrinkle-free--they're nothing like these VCS things. And none of it is really that big of a deal; I just thought it was weird that I was literally about to post the same random thing as R67.

Once upon a time I sold home linens. Customers would love the look of sateen-finish sheets, then whine about the wrinkling. The store's recommendation was to pull the contour sheet out of the dryer before it was completely dry and put it on the bed so that the sheet would complete drying stretched out flat.

Me? I never bought any sheets that would be that much trouble, so I have no idea if it works.