By way of Lindy Dandy, today’s featured retailer is the J. Peterman Company. Although I can’t help thinking of Seinfeld when I see this name, the J. Peterman Company is anything but a parody, offering “high-quality men’s, women’s, home and one-of-a-kind merchandise,” “traveling the world to find uncommonly good stuff.” Sounds like a fantastic job, right? Where does Lindy Shopper sign up?
There are definitely a lot of items with a nod to vintage in the catalog, made to look even more so with the help of the catalog’s hand-drawn illustrations of the clothing (which, themselves, look like a nod to vintage pattern drawings in the way that they are shaded). I’m trying to decide if the hand-drawn illustrations of the clothes are helpful or not. Generally, clothes are modeled by someone who is tall and rail thin, so it’s hard to tell how it will fit in that instance as well. In any case, the clothes are beautifully sketched and it is a novel way to present them.
I am particularly in love with the 1947 plaid dress and the seersucker sailor pants for women and their men’s pants and striped shirts.
When the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars went on their first mini-tour this past weekend to Greenville, SC and Charlotte, NC, I knew we’d have a few hours to kill in Charlotte before the Saturday night dance, but wasn’t sure what exactly that would entail when traveling with five guys. Fortunately, our esteemed band leader, George Knott, is a vintage hunter and gatherer of things, including old musical instruments, which leads him to some interesting destinations like the Sleepy Poet Antique Mall in Charlotte, NC. He’s driving the bus, so who’s to argue?
A wide view of the shop
I’ll admit, I had low expectations of finding any worthwhile clothing at Kitsch-y-Cool Vintage, as antique mall clothing tends to lean more toward undesirable leftovers from someone’s closet thrown in with their antique furniture and knick-knacks. To my surprise, in the center of this antique mall, an entire store was set up, with racks upon racks of real vintage shoes, clothing, jewelry, and accessories. The area was even decorated well! There was definitely a lot of 60’s and 70’s clothing, but there was enough 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s clothing that I would recommend stopping by if you are in the area. That said, the 60’s clothing was really good and I was tempted to leave with a pair of mod silver heels.
The prices are fantastic, between $30 and $70 for dresses in excellent condition ($70 for the “designer” 1940’s dress I saw), but the real steal were the men’s accessories – $2 for really awesome tie clips, loads of cufflinks, belt buckles, and our saxophone player, Peter Lamb, left with a really shiny pair of sunglasses and a pipe. I was in heaven because the clothing was organized by size and each item had a tag describing the item and the decade. I do love an organized vintage store!
I picked up two adorable 1940’s dresses, one of them dead stock with the original tags still on. The label says “Lindner-Davis.” A quick Google search shows that this was a department store in Cleveland – funny that I’m picking up Cleveland vintage in my home state when I was just there last week…anyway, the price tag says $12.85, marked down from $22.95. How much would this dress cost today? Lindner & Davis merged with another store in 1950, so calculating from 1949, according to an inflation calculator, this dress would be like buying a $210 dress on sale for $118, only I really paid around $30 in today’s dollars for the dress. How’s that for bargain hunting? 😉
Here are pictures of the space and some vintage finds:
The entranceOh, the sport coats!1940's dead stock dress1930's/40's flowered dress with belt - better in person!Navy blue 1940's designer dressDetail on the neckline of a lovely navy dress
Design Archives, a vintage clothing store in Greensboro, NC, has posted this fantastic 1940’s/50’s letterman’s sweater on their Etsy site. The sweater was previously owned by David “Shorty” Robinson, as marked on the label, and is a size small (measures 38 inches in circumference at chest, waist, and hips).
Looks like Shorty lettered in cheerleading – too bad it doesn’t come with a matching megaphone!
Lindy Dandy always does a great job posting sales on this blog, so I thought I’d pass a sale along to you. I always find good things at Forever 21, no matter what day I check in. I can recall a time in my life when I was checking their site daily and they actually do post new items daily during the work week. Here are some items to put in your shopping basket today:
Love chevrons!Peach wrap dress with flutter sleeves - wrap dresses are so helpful with leg movement and weight fluctations!Forever 21 even styled this as a flapper dress, adding the quintessential long strand of beads.This dress looks like it would be really comfy for dancing - comes in four colors.Classic shirtdress in lightweight denim with shiny button detail.Silk tie front top in green and purple - only $12.00!This is cute, but I'd add a belt to give the bottom a peplum effect.Heart petals hair clipsFeather headband - just the right amount of feathers.
This one is for the gents – while Old Woogies has some adorable women’s shoes, the focus of the company’s apparel, accessories, and footwear is men. Old Woogies is based out of Italy and sells men’s shoes, pants, suspenders, belts, jumpers (aka short sleeve sweaters), hats, jeans, caps, and other menswear items inspired by the swing era and the 1950’s. There’s much more on the website, but here are some of my faves (which may turn out like your mom dressing you…). 😉
Take a break from your white Aris Allens and sink your feet into these white lovelies.Classic pant, wide leg, cuffs...yes, please.Two tone in white and brown.The website offers a variety of patterned suspenders in classic color palettes. Mesh and leather...I'd like to see more of these on the dance floor.Caps in many fabrics!Some burly looking denim.
It was a banner day for listing dresses of the swing era on eBay! Let’s get started:
I am not usually accepting of lace clothing, but for this dress I overcame my stigma about lace looking matronly or overdone. The color is cheerful, the cut impeccable, and it comes in a wearable size. Just look at the goring on that skirt! I bet it twirls like a dream…
This formal gown is definitely not danceable, but was too gorgeous not to post – love this!
Beach pajamas! Classic wide-leg, high waisted style in one colorful piece.
I love chevrons! This chevron dress has summer dance written all over it.
Lindy Shopper 