I just read a blog post extolling the virtues of American “heritage brand,” Dockers. I know, right?

While Dockers has been king of the business casual castle since 1986, I’m of the opinion that if a company has only been around long enough to appear in the final verse of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” then it hasn’t been around long enough to warrant “heritage brand” status. So now that we’ve established the ground rules, let’s discuss my favorite heritage brand, Canada’s 342-year-old Hudson’s Bay Company.

As North America’s longest continually operating business, The Hudson’s Bay Company may have opened in 1670 as a small fur-trading outfit on the shores of (yes) Hudson’s Bay, but today it is the international retail powerhouse that just bought Lord & Taylor for $427 million.  Now why does any of this matter? Because international shipping charges are brutal on the budget and perhaps now there will be plans to bring the brand stateside.

You might not know HBC by name, but it’s the company behind those green, red, yellow, and blue stripes you’ve likely seen on the beds and, more recently, the bodies of warm people in the know. But this isn’t a case of style without substance –– the Hudson’s Bay brand has literally written the book on staying warm for the past three-and-a-half-centuries of North American winters.

Originally used as barter for beaver pelts, the heavy wool bedding is often an heirloom passed down through generations of families. I’ve kept warm every winter of my life under the same four-point Hudson’s Bay blanket, and I’m in the cozy company of everyone from my grandfather to Queen Elizabeth II to First Nations trappers  to the always perfect Rachel Bilson.

For a crash course in HBC Canadiana, you can check out this video that was produced to celebrate its sponsorship of the home team at 2010’s Vancouver Olympics. And don’t miss these capsule collections by companies like Woolrich, Burton, and Klaxon Howl that have recently been commissioned as part of the company’s latest initiatives to capitalize on its iconic legacy. The stripes stand for the quality and timelessness shared by all true “heritage brands,” and HBC is finding huge success putting them on everything from t-shirts to snowboards to Steven Alan parkas.

All hail our new Canadian overlords, and their delightful, well-made woolens and housewares.

PS: On the off chance that anyone is wondering, my birthday is in August.