Vintage Picking and Road Tripping with Dinerman

The shawl collar cardigan is 1920s. Already I've had a lot of, "this is a birthday present for a friend, can you sell it to me now for the opening bid" and "that old thing? Knock a hundred off the starting bid and I'll take it off your hands" from dealers. So it'll probably do well.
The hard hat is 50s or 60s wildland forest fire fighting equipment from Helena Montana. Belonged to the former Associate Deputy Chief of the Forest Service. Big in fire management in this part of the country in the '50s and '60s. Don't know what the market is if any but it's just a cool piece of local history. So incredibly beat up- looks like it saw a lot of action.

 

Glad you're liking it. It's a pleasure to be able to share the journey. Such beautiful country out here, friendly people and old things of all sorts squirreled away. I think when there's so much open space, and when the population has declined as steeply as it has in so many of these old mining towns, it's easier for people to just park that big '40s car out back or put that box of jackets in the attic rather than have it taken away or thrown out.
And if any of you are ever out this way, please do shoot me a line- I'm always happy to meet up to chat.

It's always a tough call. I'm pretty tall, so finding things that fit can be a challenge- that weeds out most of what I find. I can't afford to keep the high end pieces, as much as I'd like to, so they get passed along to people with deeper pockets. I'm fine with slight damage, moreso than I'd be comfortable sending off into the world, so coats with a few moth bites, hats with stains, that kind of thing, generally find their way into my closet. My personal tastes in vintage have always been a bit outside the market. Early 1960s Resistol westerns, Hudson's Bay coats, "Hand Loomed by Indians" neckties- are all staples of my wardrobe, but none of them have as strong a following as say, Whippets or belt-back jackets.

 

This weekend's road trip was a return to Anaconda, Montana, for a photo project Alex is working on. No vintage clothing finds, but a few neat survivors of decades gone by.


Yesterday was the Bozeman Flea. Even though it's called a flea market, it's a bit more upscale. Lots of local ebay and etsy sellers, with an emphasis on vintage and handmade goods. It was a pretty hipster crowd, and I was the only booth really doing menswear.

Photos by Alex DeLong

I brought the things that I thought would sell well with the college demographic, the plaid coats, the early 1960s tweed, the late 1950s neckties. The things which are vintage and high quality, but which blend in with a modern wardrobe. My net for the day was less than my profit on the sale of one good hat or coat, and with the new racks I had to buy and fees, I probably broke even if you don't include the cost of any of the inventory or of finding it. So not something I'd ever do to make money, but it was really nice to be able to get the business out of the internet and into the real world, to chat with other dealers, make local connections, to be able to tell customers about what they've just bought.

Photos by Alex DeLong

Some of the other booths.

Photos by Alex DeLong

 

I usually post things on https://www.facebook.com/vintagehaberdashers as they get cleaned up and posted