Lee Jelt Denim Union Made Dungarees Lot 050-6041

1970's era New Old Stock Lee Jelt Denim Union Made •SANFOR SET• 
Dungarees, Lot 050-6041 Made in USA. 
Sold via The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co.

Pocket flasher along with size and lot tag sewn into lower pocket seam

Backside of pocket flasher seen inside of back pocket, also United Garment Workers of America AFL-CIO union label. I particularly like the opening portion of the description that reads "Designed for a tough day's work, day after day. Pure brawn to meet the stress and strain of the most rugged jobs."

Back pocket with Lee R MR, MADE IN USA printed label.  Details include subtle two tone yellow stitching, triple stitched back yoke & leg seams and pocket corner & hammer loop bar-tack reinforcements

These dungarees share many of the same design details as the highly desirable 1940's-1960's era red and black label Lot 191Z Jelt Denim dungarees including angled front pockets, front rt side coin pocket, rt side pliers pocket & hammer loop, half lined back pockets, subtle two tone yellow stitching and Lee stamped copper dome rivet reinforced front pockets

Lee embossed snap closure

Talon 42 brass zipper

Bar-tack reinforced crotch and fly along with more two tone stitching, this time in yellow & black

Close up of the upper front pocket Lee stamped copper dome rivet, yellow stitching and belt loop bar-tack

Ayrton Senna Qualifying Lap, The Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium @ Spa-Francorchamps 20 years ago

The face of determination

Aerial view of the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium, site of the WWII Battle of the Bulge

Ayrton Senna en route to winning the 1991 Formula One USGP at Phoenix Arizona. Senna would go on to win the F1 World Drivers Championship that year.

With Friday morning practice at Spa set to take place in approx 4 hours and in honor of the 20 year anniversary of the smoking hot lap laid down on what is arguably the finest natural road course in the world, turn up the volume and enjoy this fantastic clip of THE BEST Formula One driver of the modern era (quite possibly of all time) pushing his McLaren MP4/6 powered by the awesome Honda V12 to pole position at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit during qualifying for the 1991 Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium. His blast up the one and only Eau Rouge (the best corner on one of my favorite tracks in F1), seen at the 16 second mark of the video below and the scream of the Honda V12 are not to be missed! Truly smile inducing stuff.

R.I.P. Ayrton Senna, you are sorely missed.

RRL Melrose BROUGH SUPERIOR Summer Bash

A great evening was had Wednesday night at the RRL Store on Melrose which in addition to featuring the clothes and accessories that we all know and love, showcased some fine vintage iron courtesy of BROUGH SUPERIOR, who built top of the line bikes between the years 1919-1940 and are often referred to as the Rolls Royce of motorcycles. Truly a fitting brand to share the RRL space. This post will focus on the bikes with possible future posts touching on the clothing side of things.

I believe this to be a 1920's era BROUGH SUPERIOR

Fry Smith food truck was on hand serving up their signature gourmet "topped" fries and Fat Tire Ale was one of the beverages of choice. The large turnout included many bike enthusiasts, most arriving on their preferred method of transportation. Caught up with some old friends and made some new ones. While I'm normally not one to notice or care of such things, there were many "names" in attendance including the silver haired motor junkie Jay Leno and Jillian Barberie of Good Day LA. Among those with whom I am impressed and I do care about were sculptor, designer & collector extraordinaire Jeff Decker,  Greg Chapman of Schott NYC and the man who for me was the evenings highlight, the one and only Alain DeCadenet. I know of Alain from his days as both a gentleman racer (and a rather fast one at that) and host to the late great program on The Speed Channel (now SPEED TV) Victory By Design. Seems Alain is better know these days for being a vintage bike enthusiast based on the attention he gathered while starting his classic bike and heading off into the So Cal evening.

I still cant get enough of this great clip of Alain being buzzed by a Spitfire years back. Good for a big smile and laugh every time!

Big props to the fine folks at RRL including but not limited to Ben, Travis, Carlos and Ryan, for the great event which showcased their top notch hospitality and ever present sense of style.

To be expected...  yes, appreciated... most definitely. Thanks guys!

1940's Era Carhartt UNION MADE SANFORIZED Brown Duck Work Cap

1940's era Carhartt UNION MADE •SANFORIZED• Dark Brown Canvas Duck Cap in a rarely seen primitive style. Details include stingy brim visor and simple construction reminiscent of early "cake" type baseball caps. Really liking the elongated stitching used to secure the Carhartt Script Heart Mark Trolly Car printed label.

United Hatters Caps & Millinery Workers Union label

Vintage Hickory Stripe Sportin' Pint Sized Railroad Engineer

Great vintage Railroad Engineer Doll offered up by our friend and neighbor Jason this past Sunday at the Rose Bowl. We can always count on The J-Man to brighten the dark mornings and long days with his spot on sense of humor and tales from the trenches. He literally rolled over using a shop stool on casters as his method of transportation, holding this guy which he referred to as a small version of yours truly. This pint sized engineer's express stripe uniform included engineer cap, 2 pocket engineer jacket with watch chain, cuffed overalls and a denim work shirt. A nice alternative to standard bearer Buddy Lee. I believe he's still looking for a good home, interested parties can contact the Good Humor Man via the STARLITE ROOM and be sure to check out his rants via his BEER, BAIT and AMMO blog.

1930s Era STIFEL WHIRLWIND Fabric Button Fly Work Pants

Fantastic deadstock 1930s era button fly work pants constructed using much favored STIFEL WHIRLWIND SANFORIZED fabric.

Lot, Size and Price tag with SANFORIZED labeling identifying fabric that will not shrink out of fit

Love the salt and pepper convert cloth pocket bags

Iconic STIFEL Registered Trademark, Made in USA "Boot" stamp

STIFEL "WHIRLWIND" fabric registered trademark stamp

More info on STIFEL cloth garments including a ultra limited edition STIFEL Cloth Cap for sale via The San Fernando Valley Mercantila Co. here  .

"Experts", Hucksters, Snake Oil Salesmen and the Misinformed… 1950s Era BIG SMITH Engineer Cap, Not 1940s Lee

1950s era BIG SMITH cap misrepresented as 1940s Lee via Galetime Vintage

1950s era deadstock BIG SMITH Hickory Stripe Engineer Cap from the vintage workwear.com archive

Seems that more and more so called experts are coming outta the woodwork these days, claiming to know way more than they actually do and having no problem sharing this misinformation along with falsehoods and outright lies with the unsuspecting consumer.

Case in point is this vintage work cap that a customer recently asked us to help confirm make and era produced.

Cap was sold as a 1940’s Lee while in actuality it is a 1950s BIG SMITH brand.

The way we confirm this fact is side by side comparison to a dead stock 1950s BIG SMITH cap from the vintage workwear archive along with the informative guide to vintage workwear labels that can be found on the Japanese website Red Cloud Co.Ltd.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to both share a passion and educate on the details and merits of vintage workwear. I’m always open for honest exchange of information and encourage everyone with an interest in these wonderful items to do their homework and share the knowledge with like minded enthusiasts.

Here is an example of one such unscrupulous seller and some direct quotes featuring their so called “knowledge and expertise”.  

Customer - This cap is not a 40s Lee but rather a 50s Big Smith. I would be happy to send you a photo of the label from a 50's Big Smith cap from a knowledgeable collector for your reference.

I'm a bit surprised at this mistake since you mention you looked at Red Cloud’s Japanese site in addition to your mention of your upcoming book on dating vintage menswear. Please make note for future reference.    

Galetime Vintage - I know for certain that this is a Lee cap because the label was legible to me and others before it accidentally got put in the laundry with bleach. I didn't even consider Big Smith because I already knew what it was and only referenced Red Cloud so that a buyer could check for themselves. So, no, not a mistake, just a difference between fact and opinion.

Just a difference between fact and opinion, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Galetime Vintage - I just wanted you to know that (as per your suggestion) I did double check the label on Red Cloud; Lee shows a single red box around the logo and Big Smith shows a double red box around the logo. The cap I sold has a single red box. Just the slightest of difference, but major in recognizing and dating.

In response to the sellers claim that “Lee shows a single red box around the logo and Big Smith shows a double red box around the logo. The cap I sold has a single red box. Just the slightest of difference, but major in recognizing and dating”, put on your glasses and you will see the dual red box surrounding the logo. 

Label from misrepresented cap clearly shows same design details as 1950s BIG SMITH cap. Dual red border can be seen in both upper and lower right corners

1950s BIG SMITH cap machine loomed label

I love the fact that this seller is so arrogant that they can’t even admit their mistake, or is it because they intentionally misrepresented the item with hopes of a much bigger payday? I find it funny that most of the gold lettered BIG SMITH bow-tie was lost due to “bleach” while bits of the gold loomed BIG SMITH bow-tie remain along with the red loomed UNION MADE and SANFORIZED text. I’m no CSI expert but it looks to me more like an intentional doctoring job done with a black Sharpie.

The icing on the cake is their insistence that “the label was legible to me and others before it accidentally got put in the laundry with bleach”.

Besides the fact that under close inspection the label clearly says BIG SMITH in its traditional bow-tie design and is longer in length that the three letter spelling of Lee, needless to say, any experienced vintage dealer or so-called expert would never put vintage denim into the wash with bleach, even by accident.

Let’s not even get into their upcoming book “Coming in December - my new book "A Dandy Guide to Dating Vintage Menswear - WWI into the 60s". I’m not sure if I should laugh or scream.

I’m so tired of these hucksters and scam artists claiming to be experts and passing misinformation and outright lies to the buying public. Another classic case of Caveat Emptor or “Let the buyer beware”

Bottom line is if you want a book about dating vintage written by someone who is about as far away from the term expert as the color black is to white, GALETIME VINTAGE has got you covered.

1920s Era PROFILE GARMENT Wool Work Jacket with Lace Side Waist Adjustors

Awesome 1920s era PROFILE GARMENT wool work jacket manufactured by CARTER & CHURCHILL CO. of Lebanon N.H. Made of Genuine Bridgewater Mills Fabric. 

Details include Talon Bell Style Grommet Zipper, Side Lace Adjustment, Wrist Straps with Buttons.

Would have been a great addition to the vintage workwear collection, too bad it sold for $1500 plus.

A tip of the cap to Double Six Vintage for continuing to offer up such great garments.

All photos courtesy of Double Six Vintage

Lee 98-B Hickory Stripe Work Jacket

Vintage 1960's Era Lee 98-B Uniform Service Work Jacket in rarely seen Hickory Stripe fabric

Lee UNION MADE SANFORIZED Size and Lot label, also uniform service label

Brass Talon Zipper with Diamond Pull

Jacket features same details as the iconic Jelt Denim 91-B only constructed of Hickory Stripe fabric

1920's Era BLUE DEVIL Double Knee Overalls w/ Selvedge Details

Our friend Masa just posted these awesome 1920's era Blue Devil overalls in deadstock condition, currently for sale in his wonderful store LITTLE REATA, located in Shibuya, Japan.

Masa never fails to inspire with his selection of dead stock vintage workwear and rockabilly garments from the 1920's -1970's, including a few pieces proudly supplied by The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co.  It's not often that we re-post, but these overalls are just too great to not share.

Details include

• Split upper bib with single pocket

• Military type 13 star buttons

• Shoulder straps with selvedge detailing

• Unique double button strap buckles with prongs to secure material

• Double front material for legs & knees

• Dome type rivets

• Single stitch construction

• Original sewn BLUE DEVIL "Outlasts Them All" lot, size & price tag with bi-plane graphic