1930's Montgomery Ward canvas jacket

Picked up this great 1930's Monkey Ward canvas jacket a couple of weeks ago. It was tucked in amongst a bunch of contemporary clothes at a yard sale and my sharp - eyed wife nailed it.
Canvas shell with wool blanket lining, knit collar and cuffs with all of the original buttons. Nice waist cinch button detail, too. Nice to find something that's different once in a while and this one has great style!

1930's Buckle Back JC Penney Foremost Jeans

Fresh from estate hunting this weekend is this pair of vintage 1920's or 30's PENNEY'S Foremost jeans. They have everything going for them, from the buckle back and crotch rivet to the LEVIS pocket arcuate, yellow line selvedge, donut button fly and suspender buttons. They are in fantastic condition for being 80+ years old! The denim is still holding on to the indigo dye and there are very few condition issues. These great jeans were made for working, with wide leg openings and lots of room to move. The size is totally out of the norm for this age of jeans- they have a 36" waist and 30" inseam!

Always a few surprises out there when you least expect it. Cheers!

Vintage Photo-Branding Time on the Ranch 1963

Haven't been on the road lately, so thought I might post something vintage. Here is yours truly around 1963 on the Doll Baby Ranch in Arizona during Branding time. My Dad has his back to the camera and we both are wearing lots of denim, which was what we always wore on the ranch. Sure would like to have those Levi's today!

Colorado Cowboy In LA

I'm sure glad I don't live in Los Angeles, but had a great time at Inspiration with my wife and son. Back here in Colorado now and searching for more cool stuff.

Killer Vintage Denim Jeans Find

Sometimes a great find comes along that has to be seen to be believed and this past weekend was one of those finds. The estate had been in storage since 1974 when the lady died at age 94. She never threw anything away and there were pieces from the 1870's to 1970-absolutely amazing stuff. I'm posting some photos of the denim from the 1940's - Wrangler Blue Bell, Penney's Foremost, Mongomery Ward Powr House and 2 unlabeled dungarees. The Wranglers are button fly, so they would be from the late forties, unwashed indigo denim, they still have dirt from 1948 on them, as do the Foremost jeans. There were also a pair of 1940's Can't Bust 'Em Frisko Jeens and a pair of twill TEST work pants.

Happy hunting!

PENNEY'S Foremost

Wrangler Blue Bell

Wrangler Blue Bell

Original Sweet-Orr signs still hanging in store

Finally getting to a post after a long break! Came across these fantastic old Sweet-Orr porcelain over steel signs still hanging in a clothing store while on the vintage trail. Alas, I was not able to purchase them. This is the best clothing store I've ever been in, all original condition, all original fixtures and been in the family for over 100 years! Every time I pass through the little town, I stop in just to admire the place.

We spent 4 days on the hunt for vintage in Colorado this past weekend and it was an adventure. Typical of January in the Rocky Mountains, we went from sunny to windy to snow to sunny in those 4 days, as well as crossing numerous mountain passes that were as high as 11,000 feet. All in the pursuit of awesome vintage to share with you all. Hope to post a few selections over the next few days-stay tuned!

Vintage early 1950's snapshots

Enjoy these great vintage photos and the great clothes!

1925 Men's Workwear

These pages are out of a 1925 Bella Hess & Co. Clothing catalog. This is the stuff we all dream about finding!

Happy Thanksgiving!

VINTAGE PHOTO-1940's MEN WITH AN ATTITUDE

Just picked up this great old photo of these four guys that says all over it : "I know exactly what I'm doing and don't mess with me".

Don't we wish we had all of the great clothes they are wearing!

1930's A.G. Spalding & Bros. Warm up pullover

Another sweet estate find from this week. A cotton pullover made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. from Lakewood, Colorado.

Fresh estate finds! WWII US Navy denim, 1940's Basketball uniforms

Haven't posted in awhile, so here are some great estate finds this weekend. A nice World War II  US Navy denim work jacket with almost all of the original buttons.

These are some neat 1930's or 40's basketball uniforms.

Awesome Victorian Indian Head Pillow cover

Picked up this great old pillow cover at an auction last week. The graphics on this pillow cover are incredible, not to mention that it is well over 100 years old!

Sweet Buckle Back Thrift Score

Scored this cool pair of 1930's or 40's buckle back carpenter jeans at a thrift shop of all places, go figure!

They were work pants for sure, they have great character and are totally wearable.

Buffalo, Wyoming Longmire Days

We were on our way to Buffalo, Wyoming yesterday and discovered that they were having "Longmire Days", a celebration of the A&E television series set in Wyoming. We love going to the Occidental Hotel when we are in Buffalo, so we made reservations to stay the night. The bar at the Occidental (which is totally original from the old days) was packed with fans of the show and the stars of the show showed up to entertain and sign autographs. It was actually fairly entertaining, but to be honest, I have yet to make it half way through the first episode of the series. Growing up in the West and living here all my life, I thought the show was totally ridiculous! I suppose I could give it another chance, maybe it gets better as the series continues. The author of the book series that the stories are based on lives near Buffalo and he knows the area and people, but I don't think Hollywood really knows!

Anyway, enough of that, the Occidental Hotel is very old west (we stayed in Owen Wister's room that he stayed in while writing The Virginian) and should you ever be in Buffalo, go there.

Very cool vintage Sinclair Oil signage in Wyoming

Came upon this old garage with fantastic original Sinclair Oil advertising sign in Hudson, Wyoming.

On The Vintage Trail In South Dakota With Filson

We are on the hunt for vintage treasure in South Dakota after traveling through Wyoming and the panhandle of Nebraska. I will post our finds as I have time, although nothing spectacular has surfaced yet.

This is shot in front of a small train depot in  Hot Springs, South Dakota. I have by my side 2 Filson bags I have owned for 20+ years and have seen thousands of miles of travel, from Alaska to Florida and all points in between.

Dirt Bike Riding in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

Spent a beautiful day riding in the mountains with my son. The views are so spectacular that the photos don't even do justice.

Chili Roasting Time with Vintage Pioneer HBT Coveralls!

This is one of my favorite times of the year, fresh green chilies from Hatch, New Mexico! August and September bring harvest time for these wonderful green delights and the smell of roasting chilies is Heaven on earth for a born and bred Southwest fella like me.
I thought it appropriate to show these cool vintage 1940's or 50's Pioneer herring bone twill coveralls with some chilies. The chain stitching on the back is great, but the spelling of chili (chile?) is questionable-was it a mistake or was that how they spelled it back then?
If you can find them, try some fresh roasted Hatch chilies and savor the taste of the great southwest!

Very Cool Estate Find, very vintage Colorado!

We found this vintage post-war painted B-4 flight bag this week at an estate sale. The owner enlisted in the Army in 1946 and served in the 61st AGF (Army Ground Forces) band, where he played the trumpet. He was also born and raised in Colorado and loved the western lifestyle, hence the mounted cowboy on one side. Even though it is not a WWII theater painted bag, it is still very rare and very cool!

Beautiful Vintage Smith & Wesson Score!

Just scored this beautiful mid 1950's Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver. I've been desiring this model for years, and through patience and perseverance, I finally have it! These are highly sought after and hard to find, especially in this condition. The bluing is so deep that you can see your reflection and as a bonus, the grips are the rare "Coke bottle" grips that are easily worth 4-600 dollars!

No great vintage clothes finds lately, but there's nothing like finding a sweet vintage Smith & Wesson to make me a happy camper!