La Bomba

Just a few of the awesome tees I picked the day after Christmas at my favorite spot (freshly hand washed and dried). A mountain of vintage clothes at least 12' high! Seriously. Always fun to chat with the employees and regular attendees of this ritual monthly event.

Location undisclosed.

Primo!

Mid-70's Hang Ten tee with Primo Beer logo.

A favorite from my personal collection. Perfect vintage. Slightly faded. No rips, stains or holes and great fit.

Iconic 70's. My favorite era.

1975 Devil Destroyer

1975 AH-64A Apache

My new favorite vintage tee from the 70's.

In 1975 the AH-64A Apache was the original production attack helicopter. I'm not usually a fan of war memorabilia or war machines for that matter. However, I can't help but be amazed by this machine and the people who fly them. Touted as being the most lethal, survivable, deployable and maintainable multimission helicopter in the world.

Impressive.

 

Give 'em the Boot

1973 Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven Bootleg by Trade Mark of Quality

It pays to have a friend who works at your local record store. Picked up this nice Zeppelin bootleg this weekend! Pressed by the infamous bootleggers known as Dub and Ken out of Los Angeles in the 70's. Recorded by an audience member during the band's 1973 tour, probably on July 3rd at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Not too many of these randomly appear as most are in the hands of collectors already. This one was probably tucked away in someone's small record collection for over 30 years and hadn't seen the light of day since. Score!

1970 Monday Nights!

file under: when we were kids

super rare original monday night football promo tee
year: 1970
tag: missing
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage
value: $400
note: thrift store find.

first monday night game 1970 browns vs. jets

original announcers in the booth: cosell-merideth-gifford

86 Lords

In 1986 The Lords of the New Church were on tour. By this time they had released three studio albums and had a considerable following from Stiv Bator's Dead Boys legacy. When The Lords tour rolled into California for two shows, one at the now sadly defunct Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach and one at the Timbers Ballroom in Glendora an almost unknown band at the time named Guns-N-Roses opened for them. This tee is from that tour and is undoubtedly the rarest in my collection. I've never seen another one anywhere, ever. R.I.P Stiv.

Wörn

Nothing like a 35 year old leather belt with an iconic 70's buckle. There's just something about them that speaks so clearly of a time when life wasn't so complicated. No internet, no cell phones, no rehabs, no global warming, etc....Just a few from my personal collection.

Early 70's solid brass Coors

Mid-70's brass Harley Davidson

Early 70's Primo Beer

Classic Aerosmith 1975

file under: hell yes

rare original aerosmith iron-on t-shirt
year: 1975
tag: long gone
material: 100% cotton
condition: worn vintage
value: $300
note: iron-ons were extremely popular in the mid-70's. very rare to find one in such nice condition and a wearable size as most have shrunk too small from over 30 years of scorching dryer heat.

burt sugarman's Midnight Special TV program 1975

1972 Lennon Inspired

I grabbed this 60's U.S. Air Force jacket a week or so back at my favorite spot where once a month they open the back area of the shop and you can dig through a mountain of vintage that's twelve feet high! (no joke) Best part is I usually walk out with a bag of gems for $10 bucks.


The piece really speaks for itself.


John & Yoko 1972

Star & Stripes

I headed out this morning for my usual rounds at the local thrift stores not really feeling like I would find anything. I can't say exactly why I felt that way except to say that looking for choice vintage usually feels somewhat like dropping a quarter in a slot machine. Sometimes you're hot and sometimes you're not. I ventured out anyways, absolutely convinced I wouldn't find anything.

To my surprise (and this is one of the many aspects of hunting for vintage I love) I stumbled onto this original pair of 80's American Flag Converse. Perfectly aged, white rubber slightly discolored from 20 years of storage and the canvas somewhat crispy from all those years of sitting in the back of someone's closet. You can bet I'll be rockin' these tomorrow as summer fades to fall in SoCal.

As it turns out John Varvatos for Converse had reissued these classics in the summer of 07 under the Rummage All Stars line replete with aging and distress. I had no idea until I did a little research trying to pin down the exact date these babies were originally released. (I'm gonna' say 1984 when the Olympics were in L.A.)

I'm not sure how I know something is "cool" or not. I don't read fashion mags, I don't follow trends and I certainly haven't had anyone guide or coach me. I just know when I see something that fits the image I have in my head of a time when rock-n-roll and having a good time ruled popular culture. And for me one of those moments frozen in time was 1984 my first year out of high school. O' man! Those were the days!