Vintage Gold!

Possibly one of the best finds I've had in many years of op-shopping, an original and complete "Golden Era" Men's 3 piece suit from the late 40s/early 50s.

Last year I saw a 3 piece like this at Circa going for $550, ..this one cost me just $35!

Talk about dumb luck, I picked it up only 2 weeks after finding a complete 1970s Safari Suit at the same place. Coincidentally they are both by Roger David.


Above: Men's 1940s/50s wool pinstripe double-breasted 3 piece suit, by Roger David. Found at the Sebas Salvos.

Happy New Year!

2011 has started well for me, with these recent finds over the holiday period. A vintage Titoni Airmaster Automatic watch and cigarette case, both from the 50s/60s.

Left: Mens 25j Swiss Titoni Airmaster watch ($30 eBay) and West German made chrome cigarette case ($5 St Vincents Op Shop Daylesford)

Ghosts of Christmases past

Hi, back from a blogging hiatus here's something for the holiday season. Children's Books and Annuals are an old-school Christmas staple, here's some from the 1950s seen recently at a local Op Shop.



While these are before my time, I do remember getting annuals myself like "The Thunderbirds" and "Shiver and Shake".

Hula and Bakelite

Had some nice pick-ups at the Mill Market last weekend. Also ran into Dear Prudence, who has moved into a bigger stall since I was last out there.

Firstly a cute little 16 cm souvenir Hula figurine by the Chiefly Co. of Hawaii (see right).

Secondly a fantastic 1950s style "Australian Post Office 400 Series Auto Table Handset" (see below).

I've actually wanted one of these old bakelite telephones for years, but they have always been too expensive. Not only has it been converted for a modern outlet, it's working perfectly (with a really loud and chunky bell ringer) and was less than half the price asked by most secondhand dealers ... sweet!

Golden Era Vintage

The 1930s-1950s is considered the Golden Era of classic 20th Century style, and I unexpectedly obtained my own piece of it from Ruby Rouge last weekend, an original 40s/50s men's double breasted jacket. I've seen complete Golden Era suits recently ranging from $250 (2 piece @ Lost & Found) to $550 (3 piece @ Circa) so I thought $30 was a pretty good deal for an original jacket (pictured above with vintage shirt, modern vintage style tie and pocket square, the jacket is in great condition for a 60+ year old garment). For more original suits of the period see The Houndstooth Kid's vintage (US) menswear blog.

Also picked up a few more vintage style ties ($1-2 ea), including a wonderfully gaudy brown and orange paisley number from the Brace Bargain Browser.

Left: A late 60s look, the paisley tie with my recently thrifted 70s dress shirt.

Vintage "spear point" shirt

Had a major stroke of luck last weekend with a vintage shirt from the Light Lounge Op Shop. A turn-down "spear point" collar formal shirt, a style fashionable from the 1930s to the 1950s, for just $2!


Vintage poly/cotton formal dinner shirt by " Welmar".
The difference between these and modern business shirt collars is more obvious with a side-by-side comparison:


Vintage vs Modern (Target business shirt)

See this Fedora Lounge post for more on vintage "spear point" shirts, and these US, NZ and UK (1 & 2) sellers of new made replicas.

Crying Girl print

Here's another vintage print I picked up at the Sebas Salvos some time ago, a "Crying Girl" by Bragolin. These prints always disturbed me a little as a kid, and I have wondered since what kind of people made these pictures of traumatized children so popular in the first place(?!). However at $5 I couldn't pass up this classic piece of vintage kitsch, even if it's not something I'd put on my own wall. This is only one of a series of crying boys and girls by the same artist, and interestingly in the UK there's an urban myth that the prints are cursed.

The small things

Lately I've been gathering some accessories to compliment my meager collection of men's vintage ware. I already had a pair of vintage cuff-links from Circa, but I've added two more pairs (new with tie clips) from eBay ($8.27 ea. delivered).



Also from eBay a pair of faux Ray-Ban Wayfarers ($16.49 delivered). These work for 1950s/60s and 80s looks ....plus are popular again these days with Hipsters.

Vintage Time

Been interest in getting a vintage mechanical watch for some time. Found this one at the Williamstown Vintage Fashion Fair in June, Swiss made, still running, case and bracelet ok, but with badly scratched glass and in need of a service. At $10 thought I'd take a chance. A newbie to vintage watches, was a little surprised to find servicing started at $99, but as I've had my fair share of thrifting savings till now decided to go ahead with it. Now my 1950s timepiece has new glass and is keeping perfect time. It was fashionable for men’s wristwatches to be small and elegant up until the 1960s, the case on this one is only 31mm across, so I think it wouldn't look out of place with outfits from the 1930s on.


Late 1950s "Austral" men’s wristwatch, case by "Eloga", Swiss 17j movement.