As a magazine running several interviews with Dolly Parton, coming across a clothing line called Dolly Varden, you do a double take. Dolly Varden Outdoor Clothing is based in Calgary, founded by Dan and Joanne Berezan. They wanted to set up a functional line of clothes that fit an outdoor lifestyle. Dolly Varden is a type of trout, which pairs well with this outdoor brand of clothes. I tried out the men’s clothing, but they do also offer a line of women’s clothing like the men’s line.

GayCalgary was sent a pair of pants, a long sleeve button shirt, and a long sleeve t-shirt to try out. One thing I noticed right away was that all three items are made from stretchable and breathable material.

I tried on the Men’s Willowemoc Creek Cargo Pants, which were sized at XL, but they did not fit quite right. Since I do have a stocky build, finding larger sized clothes is always an issue. I had Justin wear it over a period of a month, since they did fit him. They were a little snug but still stretched and wore well. The pants have large zippered pockets on the outside of both upper thighs. The zippers are designed to be easily grabbed and pulled. Each pocket has a smaller outer pocket too. There are pockets on the back that are deep with large flaps. One of the things that Justin pointed out is that he wished they had snaps or Velcro to keep them closed. He was worried about things falling out while he was sitting down, but then he could transfer those items to the pockets with the zippers.

There is also a metal loop on the left leg pocket so that you could clip on keys, RF ID cards, or outdoor gear, like a compass. The pant fabric is quick dry, breathable, and UPF 50 protection from the sun.

The Biscayne Ball Tee was one of the two shirts I got. The shirt fabric is thinner than I am used to but that is by design to, again, allow the great features of being quick dry, moisture wicking and UPF 50 sun protection. The shirt fit a little tight, but would be great for guys who would like to show off the muscles they have been working out. Guys have commented to me that they have problems buying shirts and pants because the clothes not typically designed for larger biceps and chests. If they try to bend, they run into the problem of the shirts or pants splitting or their mobility is restricted. The fabric and design that Dolly Varden is using should work perfectly for these guys. I do recommend going up one size though, just in case. However if it doesn’t fit, they do have a no hassles exchange and return policy.

My favourite shirt is the green gingham Men’s Frying Pan Shirt. I wore this shirt out at several events, including the launch of Hudson, which is on the top floor of the Bay in downtown Calgary. At the Hudson event, several people asked me about the shirt and thought it was available from the Bay. They loved the look and feel of it, which was great, seeing as that I was wearing the shirt at a fancy event. The pocket fits my Microsoft Lumia 950XL smart phone with case perfectly, which is a 5.7" display, so it should be able to handle most smart phones. Wearning my camera bag, I did notice the shoulder strap would pop open the shirt buttons, which can be ok depending on the event. The shirt stretched nicely as I was running around doing photos, and still maintained a professional look. The shirt fabric boasts some extra features too, like quick dry, anti-odor and UPF 30 protection from the sun.

While the Frying Pan Shirt is made of a lighter fabric, they also have the Men’s Wasatach Shirt, their mid-weight flannels with zippered side pockets and a hidden chest pocket. The company sells hoodies as well as t-shirts with either the Dolly Varden logo or phrases like "I’D FISH IT" or "For the doers, drifters, anglers, and punks". Just about all styles come in about three colour varieties. Dolly Varden additionally offers baseball hats in their collection, with either the brand logo or some of the statements from their t-shirt line.

Check out the Dolly Varden Outdoor Clothing line and support a great new outdoor clothing line designed in Calgary for embracing the Canadian Outdoors.

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Topic Dolly Varden Outdoor Clothing |Fashion | Product Review |