Generic American Patterns

• Beginning in the late 1950s, various companies in the United States would respond to a demand for specialized hunting clothing by turning to the camouflage design adopted by the US Armed Forces during the Sedond World War. Originally designed by horticultirist and garden editor of Sunset, Better House and Gardens, and The San Francisco Chronicle, Norvell Gillespie, the "frogskin" camouflage pattern was often put to use by returning soldiers and marines as robust camouflage for hunting. There must have been a strong link between users of this pattern and duck hunting, as the nickname "duck hunter" was eventually given to civilian versions of the camouflage turned out by catalogue companies such as Sears and Roebuck and by specialized outdoor clothing manufacturers like Kamo, Ranger, and Western Auto Supply in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of these commercially-sold camouflage designs were only loosely based on the original "frogskin" drawings, and certainly were recolored and printed on lighter weight fabrics. Nevertheless, the "duck hunter" camouflage design remained popular for decades and has been reproduced by American and international companies on sporting clothing in multiple variations. As far as we are aware, none of these patterns were ever copyrighted, nor claimed by a specific manufacturer.

• Another camouflage design that inspired innumerable color variants has been the m81 woodland camouflage pattern originally adopted by the American Armed Forces in 1981-82. Urban colorations using black and various shades of grey or blue have been worn by personnel of the US Federal Government as well as by civilian law enforcement (particularly SWAT teams) for decades, although in the modern era they seem to have fallen into disuse except as fashion items.