Back from Vacation and have turned our Ebay, Bonanza, Etsy and Atomic Mall shops back on yesterday.  Here's what we sold on Sunday!

HAWAIIAN Aloha SHIRT M pit to pit 23 SUXXESS Polyester New Orleans Logo Tropical

  Charging African Rhinoceros Rhino Necktie SILK

 HAWAIIAN Aloha SHIRT M 22 pit to pit CHEROKEE Waikiki Wear Tropical drinks rayon

  HAWAIIAN Aloha SHIRT L pit to pit 24.5 PIERRE CARDIN Cotton

A Collectors book treasures Aquarians Hippies Berkeley sixties culture

Hawaiian Shirts with Horizontal patterns

The other day I was looking at a page of Hawaiian shirts that I have for sale in my Ebay store, and I recognized some distinct patterning that I really hadn't considered before, although, in the moment, it was really clear.  Shirts can be classified in many ways; by color, by theme, by size, design elements, fabrics, you name it; this is about the layout of the elements of the print. So, I'm thinking, let me show you a  few shirts with a horizontal lay-out, for starters.

 Setting the tone and expectation....line them up on the bar. Party time!

 This shirt is one of my current favorites. the strong horizontal border  bands on the hem and sleeve are a great contrast to the vertical lines of the swaing palm trees in this incredible night-time beach scene of silhouettes.

 This red number is a Pierre Cardin rayon shirt with a horizontal 

band across the chest featuring woody station wagons.

 One of my favorite brands is Kahala.  The shirt above is by Hawaiian artist John Severson.  In this cast, the scene itself creates a strong horizontal line.

 Bands of beer!  It's a light-hearted design..is it lite beer?

 And palm trees

 Color creates strong contrasting bands

And alternating pineapples and palms in wide bands are separated by narrower 

bands of traditional tapa designs in a monochromatic print.

Today's Hawaiian Shirts - Vintage Matchbooks and Dragons on vintage 1990s shirts!

So, I've just been working on my new website, oldoldstuff.com and re-acquainting myself with some of the shirts that I have in my inventory.  Some new old favorite brands I seem to gravitate to are not-too-distant past labels such as Utility.  Here's  a prime example of the range of subject matter now attributed to the phrase "Hawaiian Shirt", seemingly co-opted to mean just about any printed shirt with a colorful design.  Here's one that might suit a philumenist. (That's the word match cover collectors call themselves - lovers of light, invented probably in the 1920s or 30s.)

  Other subject matter popular in shirts of the recent past includes Chinese dragons!  Menacing or friendly, symmetrically laid out, or twisting all over the fabric, they're a great addition to topical prints.  5-clawed dragons are generally associated with Emperors of Imperial China, while less claws are found on less auspicious dragons.  Check out several styles and sizes in my current stock on Ebay.

Amplify

Claudio Nucci

Million Guy

So, here's a curious Norman Rockwell tie.  I've seen a number of these in which the graphic seems to be stretched, as if it were computer generated and the ratio box was left unchecked when the print-maker designed  the plates. Or, maybe it's an "artistic license" issue.  Would love to know more about this. At any rate, you can see more by clicking here.  This fellow is wearing vintage football gear and being tackled by some with a lot of nerve.

Latest Finds in Colorado Springs

Went back for a reunion and couldn't help but hit some of my old haunts for finding great stuff. Came back with some great shirts.

The one on the left is a 1990s Tiki God motif with tropical drinks with tiki swizel sticks!













This next one on the left is another great find from the Springs - a Bark cloth beauty from the late 60s, early 70s, made in Hawaii.

Recent Sales and Acquisitions

Lately I've been finding groups of ties - a good thing. Sure cuts down on the gas if I can find a couple dozen in a trip as opposed to one at a time.

First tie with the guitars is a Carlos Santana Silk tie - the purple one is a vintage 1990s silk Legacy label; the surrealist tie is an Italian brand called Stefano Milano.




Some recent sales -




I love the tie in the middle A. Rogers label; it's not quite old enuff for me to consider to be "vintage" but it's already anachronistic...floppy discs and a big box monitor - definitely a great collectible already! The Mickey Aviator tie went to a guy in Michigan who just collects Mickey Mouse as an Aviator items..virtually esoteric. A corporate tie rounds out this batch - a Uniform tie for Holiday in managers, bartenders, perhaps?