I don’t know where he sources them from, but this seller on ebay always has the most interesting selection of late 19th to early 20th century watches. What kind of men owned these? I could picture the Longines with the elaborate casing being worn by a respectable gentleman, and maybe the Rolex being [...]
Vintage polo style from between 1910-1930, long before Ralph Lauren came along.
Posted in Culture, Men's Clothing | Also tagged Polo |
Up until 1930, fabric shrinking was a real problem for any clothing you bought. Then sanforization came along, which is a patented process for shrinking the fabric yarns back down to their original size after they’re woven. Developed by Sanford L. Cluett, it became one of the most important innovations in textile technology [...]
Posted in Culture | Also tagged Ads, Sanforized |
For some light Sunday reading, publisher Toolemera Press has a nice selection of vintage tool catalogs going back to the 1800’s for free viewing on their website, along with some interesting photo galleries. Via Best Made Company.
A catalog from Mack & Co., circa 1909. Many tool illustrations.
A printing plate of an [...]
Posted in Culture | Also tagged Tools |
A selection of random baseball pictures from between 1900-1930. Some of the portraits are very powerful.
Posted in Culture, Men's Clothing | Also tagged Baseball |
While they’re now a niche luxury product like high end watches (just more affordable), fountain pens are about as rudimentary today as they were 100 years ago.
Here’s a piece of motorcycle history up for auction on eBay. The headlight runs on gas.
For more reading on the background of Indian motorcycles, the Selvedge Yard has a great series of posts that you should check out:
* America’s First Motorcycle – The Early Years of Cool Innovation
* America’s First Motorcycle – The Golden [...]
Against my better judgment, I ended up ordering another pair of knicker shorts this season. I’ve come to prefer them when up in mountains as they allow for more freedom of movement and plus they flat out look cool.
From Engineered Garments (the pair I just received). The cotton fabric is pretty thick and [...]
A vintage Lee ad from 1953. “Steel foreman and his family demonstrate the good looks and comfort of America’s most modern work clothes.”
Posted in Men's Clothing | Also tagged Lee, Workwear |
Rin Tanaka’s latest book “King of Vintage” documents part of the collection owned by Heller’s Cafe, a local dealer of very old clothing. Over two hundred items are shown, covering everything from sport uniforms to motorcycle jackets.
Get it from InspirationLA.com, Self Edge, or your local Kinokuniya book store.
Update 5/19: Men’s Mentore has [...]
Posted in Books, Men's Clothing | Also tagged Rin Tanaka |
I haven’t been able to stop studying this old photo on shorpy that Pete linked to this morning on twitter. If you were to summarize Rin Tanaka’s Harley Davidson Book of Fashions into one picture, this might do a pretty good job.
Washington, D.C., circa 1925. “H. Addison Bowie.” A motorcycle dealer on [...]
Almost done with bag posts! During my last stop at the mil surplus store (see previous post), I picked up this vintage aviator’s kit bag for use on the days when I have to pack a ton of gear. According to the markings on it, it’s over 15 years old and was made [...]