Vintage Workwear

[flat-top]

Whoa DM^
Yours?

 

[Dinerman]

Yes indeed. Found it as a buy-it-now.

 

[Gene]

Looks a lot like a 20's US Army shirt privately purchased.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

My oh my ....


http://www.ebay.com/itm/40s-vtg-Wol...?pt=US_Mens_Vintage_Shoes&hash=item1e66259427

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-30s...pt=Vintage_Men_s_Clothing&hash=item4841cd08dd

 

[flat-top]

My oh my ....


http://www.ebay.com/itm/40s-vtg-Wol...?pt=US_Mens_Vintage_Shoes&hash=item1e66259427

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-30s...pt=Vintage_Men_s_Clothing&hash=item4841cd08dd

I was watching those pants! And those boots! Whoa!

 

[mattfink]

Those boots were pretty tiny....6 1/2? This pair went for practically the same...size 7 1/2:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_11253wt_1202

 

[flat-top]

Those boots were pretty tiny....6 1/2? This pair went for practically the same...size 7 1/2:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_11253wt_1202

They're all pretty tiny! Great examples though!
I remember back in the early 90's when I worked at a close out store---the owner would buy up the inventory of out of business stores from around the country-- there were just TONS of deadstock work boots from every era it seemed. Cork soles, the whole 9 yards. And in every size. I wasn't really into that style at the time, and I only bought one pair.
I'd be a rich man if I had the foresight to snap all of them up and unfortunately that place is long gone.

 

[mattfink]

I'm sure in the 80's you could have bought all of the work boots, workwear, etc. that you wanted for next to nothing.....where did I park the Delorean?

 

[flat-top]

I'm actually haunted by the memories of the stuff in that store. I'm happy I got the one pair that I did (I'm almost positive that they are from the 20's, but I have no proof), but I'm talking styles that looked like the RRL boots and the other Julian boots, in any size you wanted and cost next to nothing.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They're all pretty tiny!

They're all good sizes for many Japanese.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

T
I remember back in the early 90's when I worked at a close out store---the owner would buy up the inventory of out of business stores from around the country-- there were just TONS of deadstock work boots from every era it seemed. Cork soles, the whole 9 yards.

Yup. Los Angeles's RE-MIX shoe store used to get in a ton of deadstock vintage work boots, dating from the '20s to the '60s. RE-MIX often priced them lower than its vintage '30s-'40s dress shoes.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'm sure in the 80's you could have bought all of the work boots, workwear, etc. that you wanted for next to nothing.....

That's pretty true. The Europeans and Japanese were already heavily buying vintage Levi's by the mid 1980s (at prices even higher than today's -- this was before Japan's economy collapsed), but the obsession for ALL TYPES of vintage workwear had not yet solidified. Basically, it was just vintage Levi's, with a rising demand for vintage Hawaiian shirts. There wasn't a lucrative market yet for Sweet-Orr, Brown's Beach, etc.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The mid 1980s ... those were the days.


Back then, a British guy I know found an entire pallet of deadstock 1930s Levi's dungarees in the cellar of a house in East Berlin. Dozens and dozens of jeans. They were originally from a U.S. Army PX after WWII, back when Berlin had an "American Zone". When the PX closed, a nice German family got the pallet, packed it in their cellar, and left it there -- occasionally taking out a pair of jeans to wear, or to sell on the East Berlin black market.


My British acquaintance ended up buying the dozens of remaining Levi's from the German family; he smuggled them out of East Berlin in a truck filled with potatoes. With the money he made from selling those jeans to Europeans and Japanese, he bought a HOUSE.

 

[mattfink]

The Japanese and Euros were buying back then, but there was no internet or eBay, so most sellers wouldn't have had a clue as to what they could go for overseas.

 

[DoubleXX]

The mid 1980s ... those were the days.


Back then, a British guy I know found an entire pallet of deadstock 1930s Levi's dungarees in the cellar of a house in East Berlin. Dozens and dozens of jeans. They were originally from a U.S. Army PX after WWII, back when Berlin had an "American Zone". When the PX closed, a nice German family got the pallet, packed it in their cellar, and left it there -- occasionally taking out a pair of jeans to wear, or to sell on the East Berlin black market.


My British acquaintance ended up buying the dozens of remaining Levi's from the German family; he smuggled them out of East Berlin in a truck filled with potatoes. With the money he made from selling those jeans to Europeans and Japanese, he bought a HOUSE.

-I heard a similar story about a couple of young Japanese guys in the early 80s who travelled throughout the Southern US, going to small towns and enquiring at general stores about whether they has any old clothes in the basement, backroom, or whatever. As the legend goes, they eventually had enough deadstock Levi's from 30s-60 to practically fill a warehouse in Tokyo. Supposedly they still have stock left today which is for sale at high-end vintage shops in Japan. When I lived in Tokyo in the late 90s, I often visited such a shop called "Banana Boat", which was like a denim museum...stacks of neatly folded deadstock Levi's displayed in glass cases. I remember seeing prices anywhere from USD$1000-$10,000+. That's why I was always "just looking" when asked by the shop staff if they could help me.

 

[bretron]

WTB Red repro work shirt!!!

Hey, very interested in picking up a RED work shirt from the likes of IH, FH or Sugar Cane. The one I most want is this one at History Preservation, but they just sold the last one

Anyone selling this one or similar, pls PM me!!

 

[luke]

Some great "workwear" photos:

Charlie

Brilliant photo!!

This is my first post on Fedora Lounge (after spending a good year or two using it for 'research'), but I must admit, this photo really is the nuts!

Couldn't help noticing the hats those two guys by the car are wearing - they seem to have a short brim like 'Trilbys', but a high top unlike most 'Trilbys' I've seen.

I'm not much of a hat expert - are they of a certain style, do they have a name?

Great to be posting on here at last!

Luke

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?58595-Hat-Life-January-1936This was the style at the time the photo was taken. The wide brim hats are from the 50's. The 20's and 30's had high crowns and shorter brims.
You can download and read Hat Life from 1936 to see the style that was in then.
Hat-Life-January-1936

 

[luke]

That's great - thanks!

I now feel enlightened.....

 

[mattfink]

Check out the vintage workwear, leather, etc.. in this JD McPherson video! I sold him the WWII era coveralls he's got on:

[video=youtube_share;U_GEch9cyJg]http://youtu.be/U_GEch9cyJg[/video]