I don’t know if you can tell from some of my recent posts– but I really need to hit the open road. Soon. This picture makes me especially itchy. Must. Get. Out.
When I was a boy there were certain things that were just cool to you. Tents, campers, convertibles, BB guns, slot cars, Indian arrowheads, Zippo lighters, hermit crabs, anything to do with a CO2 cartridge… well, you get the picture. But if I had to pick just one thing, it would probably be a motorcycle with a sidecar. Continue reading
I’m writing this because of a recent experience I had. A friend that is an avid antique collector handed me an old I.D. tag and said– “check this out.” I wasn’t ready for the emotion and humility that overcame me as I held the old tarnished tag in my hand. I realized it was much more than a piece of stamped metal– it was someone’s personal story of sacrifice, for whom I may very well absolutely owe my own freedom too. I stood there for a second, unable to speak.
It was humbling to say the least.
The image above was taken in 1945, and shows American infantrymen lining up to drop their personal belongings (pictures and letters from loved ones back home, wallets, etc.) into boxes for safe keeping, and in accordance with regulations. Any items (except dog tags) that could identify a soldier were strictly forbidden on special missions. The soldiers here were stationed in Italy and preparing to embark on a night raid of German positions. Continue reading
You won’t fide a whole lot of actual shade at The Shady Dell, but you will find an artsy, desert haven down in Bisbee AZ. If I had the dough, I’d pack up and head there right now to escape my winter blues. Once New Year’s has come and gone, I am officially over it and ready for the sun.
The Shady Dell is run by a young, retro couple with a passion for 50s vintage living. There are 9 fully-restored campers ranging from a ’49 Airstream to a ’57 El Ray— often mistaken for an Airstream, but actually more rare and coveted.
Nestled perfectly within walking distance from each trailer is Dot’s Diner. Built in the 1950s by the pride of Wichita Kansas, The Valentine Manufacturing Company, this authentic diner was originally purchased by John Hart in 1957 and delivered to the corner of Ventura and Topanga Canyon Blvd in Los Angeles. The diner was transported by flatbed truck to the Shady Dell in November, 1996.
This is just an incredible read from the January issue of Outside magazine. It’s all about mining for the vintage denim and duds of old miners!
Brit Eaton is the best of a curious breed of fortune hunters combing old mine shafts and barns across the West for vintage denim. He’s discovered $50,000 worth of clothes in a single day, and his clients include Ralph Lauren and Levi’s.
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Back then, Wrangler jeans (and Lee as well, for that matter) used the same double arcuate stitch design as Levi Strauss on the back pockets. Tsk, tsk. I like the Wrangler coin/watch pocket shape and stitching in the picture above. It looks very clean and modern for it’s time. Wrangler was button-fly up until 1947 when they introduced a new model- the 13MWZ zipper front.
Link to Wrangler Company History
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Artist Jackson Pollock painting in his Springs, NY studio --1949.
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Jackson Pollock was a major force in the abstract expressionism movement, and a dark and moody maverick. He was undeniably an innovative artistic genius and more. His technique has been carefully studied and it’s been determined that some works contain properties of mathematical fractals, and that the works become more fractal-like chronologically. Some goes as far to speculate that he may have been aware of the nature of chaotic motion, and through his paintings was creating what he perceived as perfect representations of mathematical chaos- and all this more than 10 years before Chaos Theory was discovered. So much for the critics that casually dismiss his work as mere paint drippings.
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1950s Levi’s Vintage 501 – front. Check the leg twist you’d get with old, un-sanforized denim.
Back view of a vintage Levi’s 501 jean.
Why do I love vintage Levi 501 jeans you ask? Let me count the ways-
Homesick Earl Nesbitt found himself in Paris, France and is preserving the Texas look by wearing jeans and boots. I'm guessing that could be a picture of his mother on the desk there. Taken by his father - Gordon Esbitt in 1951.
