Vintage Wabash stripe workshirt

I found this last year in a local charity shop, I've no idea who made it or how old it is, there are no tags or clues to it's age.
It's very well made of a fairly heavy cotton Wabash stripe with triple stitched shoulder seams.

front view

pocket detail

cuff detail

plaque detail

shoulder detail showing triple stitched seams

rear view

Vintage mens scarves

Vintage men's scarves can be difficult to find, often they are mistakenly displayed amongst the ladieswear section of charity shops.

They offer a splash of colour to the winter wardrobe which can often be quite drab.

The three main British manufacturers are Tootal, Sammy and Duggie......there are others but these are the three that turn up most frequently in charity shops and vintage fairs.

Here's an old Tootal which is made from a 'Rayon' fabric most probably pre 1950 in date.

The early Tootal scarves rayon fabric has a soft almost cotton type feel to it, later scarves became more plastic in their feel.

Here's an overall shot of the scarf.

These two were recent finds one is an early 'Sammy' scarf which again is made from a rayon fabric though it is a far more silky feeling cloth than the early Tootals it's also two sided the reverse being a gold colour.

Detail of the Sammy and Tootal labels both of which may be very early?

Here's a picture of the Sammy showing the reverse side too, tassels are a pale blue in colour.

A later Sammy that has one side in wool and the other in a man made material though I am unsure of it's composition due to no label being present. 

It was found in the same shop as the Welch Margetson pictured with it below, again this is wool backed. 

Here's two I found a while ago, the left 'paisley one is I strongly suspect a 'Duggie' or 'Sammy' item but has no label' 

The dark green one at it's side (possibly an evening scarf)has no label at all but feels like silk or rayon. 

Below is a two sided wool/rayon Sammy and a Tootal that for some reason has had it's tassels removed.

This last one is a very luxurious item that sadly has no makers label but feels very much like silk, it is unworn and quite beautiful in the flesh as it were.

Vintage 1930's Overcoat

I was recently up in the Peak District and whilst there I popped into a couple of charity shops as the father in law wanted a 'Crombie' for the winter for when takes a 'constitutional' to the local hostelery.
I saw this hanging on the rail in the very first shop after a quick check over I tried it on, basically to fit the father in law it had to be tight on me and a bit long on the arms, sadly for him it fit me perfectly...his loss my gain!...anyway it was/is probably not 'Crombie' enough and a little too ostentatious maybe for him?

The weight, quality of the cloth and fitted 'nipped in' cut of the coat plus a quite a bit of research have convinced me it's from the c1930's period, here's a few shots...sadly when photographing black clothing it can often look washed out, this coat is in fact very fresh looking indeed only having very slight wear on small areas of the 'leading edges' and a couple of small bits of stitching needing attention inside to the lining seams.

Front

Back

Inside pocket detail

Cuff button detail

Inside rear vent closure detail

Hanging strap with tailors details that I can't make out!!!

Exterior detail of rear vent closure

It's obviously a well made and I think bespoke coat with lots of hand finishing evident in it's construction.

It's since had a good brush and has come up a treat... a dry clean and getting the sleeves taken up and inch will see this one ready to wear, it'll be great for winter weddings etc.

If anyone can make out or recognises the tailors label please leave a comment or get in touch.

Seasons Greetings!

A bit belated but here's to Christmastime and all it entails.

 

Your blogger outside 'the local' on Christmas day after sampling a couple of the fine English ales on offer, 1950's-60's ginger tweed suit by Mairi Macintyre of Oban- Fort William, waistcoat a Gurteen item, 'Four Way' tie retailed by E & G Wilson, Killin, Scotland, Bedale brogue boots by Loakes.

 

 

Myatt Vintage Open Comb Razor

I bought this off Ebay a while ago, the picture wasn't the best but I took a punt and was pleasantly surprised.
On arrival it was in better condition than I expected though it obviously needed a good clean and sterilizing.
Here's the before pictures;

As it arrived in a '7'o'Clock razor Bakelite box.

out of the box in it's component parts and not looking too bad.

and the reverse side with makers marks.

In it's box after a thorough clean and polish along with some unopened 7 'o' clock blades.

cleaned component parts.

front view

back view

top view, the handle may not be correct? the overall weight is good and it's one of three daily razors that are used in rotation, it actually shaves really well as many 'open comb' razors do.

Myatt were a Birmingham based manufacturer, W. J. Myatt & Co. Ltd. of Graham St who appeared to cease trading around 1947? 

Vintage Pendleton shirt

I've long had a liking for 'Western' style shirts,  usually fitted with two pockets and 'pearl' snap fastenings they are an easy shirt to wear and the double pockets are very useful.
This woollen 'Pendleton' shirt I found a short while ago in a local charity shop, condition is /was excellent..in fact I seriously doubt it had ever been worn more than a couple times if at all.
Generally I can't wear wool next to my skin because the bloody stuff itches me like mad so it's handy that this shirt is big enough to wear a cotton undershirt, together in the cold weather they provide plenty of warmth- the colour and pattern also make it a good shirt for dining out, especially if you're eating anything with a tomato sauce base!!!

Front view showing double flapped pockets and 'pearl' snap fasteners.

Rear view showing 'western' shoulder yoke.

Collar detail showing pearl snap fastener.

Collar button with hand finished button hole.

Fastener detail.

Pendleton label, made in USA from 100% Virgin wool so post mid 1960's.

Dry cleaning label, you can see the satin edging this is also inside the collar but not inside the cuffs.

Vintage Tuxedo

A nice and very recent find at a steal of a price, discovered in my lunch break...I spied the 'look' of the piece from a few feet away and the feel of the cloth and weight told me straight away that it had real age.
A good check over and a close look at build quality and tailoring told me it was very well made, the label inside told me that it was made just a hundred yards or so up the road from the charity shop that it now hung in!
My original thoughts were that it was a 1950's piece but further research and suggestions from several experts pointed it firmly in the 1940's...which was nice!

The silk/satin lined jacket is cut from a medium/heavy weight wool and has a double breasted front 1 button closure with crosgrain silk lapels, jetted skirt pockets, a welted breast pocket  and unvented rear, cut slightly short as was fairly common for the period.

The unvented rear of the jacket, the waist is slightly 'nipped' in but is not apparent from the photographs.

The 'crosgrain' silk peaked lapel detail.

Four button cuff.

Hand finished shoulder detail.

The single inside pocket and original makers label, the lining is a medium/heavy weight black satin-silk with the sleeves linings in white.

The full cut trousers are ever so slightly too big on the waist and will need taking in an inch or so, they do have side adjusters but nominally are 38" and when pulled in to my 36" waist they bunch a little on the side.

The right side pocket detail showing the silk trouser stripe and just the edge of the front watch pocket visible top right.

One of the side adjusters.

Internal brace buttons and silk-satin waistband with heavy cotton pocket linings.

The three button fly.

and one of the two 'HOOK-FLEX' fasteners.

Condition is just about mint with just one or two extremely minor faults that I only found by going over it with a very fine toothcomb, luckily none are visible when worn even at a foot away, no moth nips tears or holes and it still has a very good 'nap' on the cloth.

All in all I doubt it's been worn more than a couple of times....so Winner, winner chicken dinner!