a guide to heritage clothing, canvas bags, steel bicycles, and Japanese web shops
Just spotted this wonderful, Women’s Land Army jacket at one of my favorite online vintage shops, Saunders Militaria. Here’s a description of the jacket from the site: “Without a doubt a stunning article of clothing. This deadstock (mint/ unused) pattern is dated 1943 and was designed for the Women’s Land Army as a sort of …
The Sierra Club-Angeles Chapter History Archives recently published these fab photos of Glen Dawn and other club members on the summit of Mt. Langley. The images were taken in the 1940s and feature club members posing during outings and at camp.Per usual, the photos illustrate a bygone approach to dressing for the outdoors absent of …
Here are some recents finds from my search for Filson Japan and Filson Black Label items on Yahoo! Japan auctions. Also, if you want to wax nostalgic about what you wish you had purchased from the Filson Italy, here’s a 2010 blog post from Mister Crew with more details. In trolling the Yahoo! Auctions, I …
It’s November so naturally I’m shopping for a new down vest. In the past few years, I’ve gotten sidetracked by Rocky Mountain Featherbed and Western Mountaineering. But this fall, I’m checking back in on an old friend, Crescent Down Works. If you recall, Archival did a collaboration with CDW back in the day using Swiss …
Ed. Note: Archival Clothing guest contributor Tom B. submits the following report on a formative sartorial handbook, The Golden Book of Camping and Camp Crafts. The Golden Book of Camping and Camp Crafts (1959) offers terrific examples of outdoor apparel. The illustrations are remarkably consistent, suggesting a uniform of jeans (rolled cuff), moccasins or …
The 1941 Montgomery Ward catalog reads like a menswear manifesto from the heyday of heritage clothing. I usually repost images of Ward product offerings. But this time, I’m lingering on the soothing, info dense pages at the back of the catalog. Here, I’m imaginging myself as a skitterish, 1941 shopper, short on cash, scanning the …
Under quarantine, I’m consoled by livestreams of apartment concerts with Ceceile McLorin, free access to Met Opera broadcasts and Blossome Dearie playlists on YouTube. Soundtrack secured, I’m browsing comfort print catalog content and ephemera via Google Books, Flickr Commons and the Library of Congresss Digital archives. Beyond that, I’m turning back the clock to a …
Summer is passing but it is not too late to bring your campsite and camp wear up to the standards of the Outdoor Life Cyclopedia (1943). Friend Dave Baker brought this amazing sporstman’s guide to our attention. It offers practical advice on everything from training gun dogs to field dressing elk. My favorite sections address …
Ever since UO Digital Arts professor, Craig Hickman, published Apparatus, his clever homage to US Patent Gazette drawings, I’ve been obsessed with browsing the patent archives for long lost product ideas. I’ve amassed a large collection of patent illustrations, primarily focusing on bags, garments and bicycling gear. Here’s a recent, favorite find: a special …
Thanks to Thornproof for providing me with access to this hard to find, 1987 Barbour catalog. Sharp eyed folks will note all the ways Barbour has tweaked and edited their line over the years. My two favorite models from this era are the Spey Wading Jacket and the Solway Zip – both discontinued. If you’re …