Salt Water Sandals │Revisiting My Youth One Step at a Time

When I was young, say four or five years old, I remember fondly a pair of sandals I wore and loved. Those wonderfully sturdy but classic sandals were Salt Water Sandals.

After thinking about these sandals the other day, and randomly seeing an ad for them, I began to contemplate the history of the company. I knew the company was older, and I figured they'd started in the 1960s.

I was wrong. They began in 1944 out of the need for leather sandals with very little leather available.

This was in the middle of World War Two. Everything was rationed. Most leather was needed for military supplies so a shoemaker named "Walter Hoy started cobbling sandals using scrap materials from a military boot factory"(Salt Water Sandals Website).

Recently, after a pair of sandals I owned wore out, I figured now was the time to bring back my youthful spirit and vigor and buy a pair of sandals I wore decades ago.

I purchase a pair of olive green classic cut Salt Water Sandals, for a great price (leather upper, leather insert, and manmade sole). They fit every bit the same and I'm smitten with them. Comfortable, with very little break-in needed, they're beautiful, soft, comfy, and adorable.

Olive green is my favorite color, so this choice was easy. While the sandals probably aren't made in the USA anymore, I do love supporting a company that's been around for nearly 80 years.

You too can find some via their website, and of course, there are some available on Amazon, usually overstock and sometimes at slightly better prices. But, the Salt Water Sandal website has a plethora of new styles and colors along with the classic Hoy Salt Water Sandal... the very one I used to have.

Now, I have a pair once more. I feel a little bit younger; like I've made a trip back in time. Life truly is cyclical. And I'm so glad it is. It's a chance to revisit what we love, and what we've lost, and to regain that love once more.

It's a balm to my soul and memory...

Vintage Mug Monday │ Vintage '70s Floral Speckled Mug

This little guy was 99 cents. Didn't have this pattern, so he came home with me last week.

And he looks great with the rest of my vintage mug collection. 

Have a wonderful Monday, my vintage friends.

May your coffee be hot and your mug vintage...

I don't actually keep ALL of the mugs I don't have. It's tempting, always. But I sell many of the ones I find in my Etsy shop. Just an FYI. 

Happy Mug Monday.

Vintage Labels │ Identifying Vintage Clothing │ Vintage Label Love

I just photographed and drafted fifteen items of clothing for my vintage shop yesterday. I had a lot of labels to look at.

And I wanted to give you a sample of the labels.

Labels are an important part of the piece of clothing. Often, many labels fade, fall off, or are removed over the years, so when the piece still has the label, it helps to identify the piece's decade, who made it, and where it was made.

It's literal icing on the vintage cake.

Below is a perfect sample. Here are 10 labels of my most recent batch of clothing I'll be listing in the shop. The labels have changed in fabric as well as size over the years. But the diversity is lovely, as is the fact that this batch of 10 items comes from the 1950s through to the early 2000s.

Many times, today's clothing has been screen-printed or lasered on labels, so once that's washed off, there's nothing to know about the piece.

I prefer actual labels (even if they itch your neck.) Label love is a real thing in the vintage community. A piece is still magnificent without the label, but with it, there's even more to love about the item.

Over the years, with research and repeated viewings, you learn to discern what era or decade each piece comes from. It's not 100% accurate; I'm not 100% correct. For example, some items I think are '70s are actually from the '60s decade.

A great website to learn more about labels is Vintage Fashion Guild. Incredibly helpful website about vintage clothing.

It's trial and error, for me. After nearly fifteen years of selling vintage, I'm still learning new things about vintage clothing every day. Which is a beautiful thing. But, as a vintage lover, wearer, and seller, I love vintage labels with every part of my being.

Circa '70s Phase 2 Dress

Circa '80s Zena Jeans Label

Circa late '50s to early '60s Dress

Circa '80s to '90s Laura Ashley Cardigan
 - The British Hong Kong part is a give away it was made in the '80s

Circa late'80s to (maybe) early '90s 305 Levi's Jeans

Circa '80s Men's Wool Blend Shirt

Circa early 2000s Levi's Jacket (there is no .com in the tag)

Circa '80s Pendleton Wool Shirt Label

Circa '90s Papillon Dress Label

Vintage '80s Wool Skirt Label

Christmas in July │10 Christmas in July Activities

You know, I came across this photo of my paternal grandparents and it made me pause and think of a few things.

I miss these two. They were wonderful people. My grandfather and grandmother lived to serve others and were some of the happiest people I’d ever known.

I’m lucky that I get to use my grandfather’s desk. From writing to running my vintage shop on Etsy, that desk takes care of me.

Also, with the crazy heat we’ve been having, I’m thinking cool thoughts. And by cool I mean Christmas. This photo is from the late ‘70s.

I love that flocked tree and the slight blurriness of the photo. I also love my grandma's sweater set. This photo is quintessential vintage and I love it since it’s the middle of summer. 

We're going to be about 112 degrees today, in  Northern California, so this post is about Christmas in July.

Ten Ways to Bring in Christmas in July:

• Make a Christmas Baked Good: Get creative. Think peppermint or Ginger.
• Start your Christmas List: Seriously, Christmas will be here before you know it.
• Watch a Christmas Movie: You do know Hallmark shows Christmas shows year-round, right?
• Listen to Christmas Music: Elvis Christmas, here I come.
• Decorate a Part of Your Home: Maybe the office, or the bathroom; a little tinsel never hurts.
• 
  Wear Christmas Clothing: T-shirt, earrings, reindeer antlers. Lots of cool ways to wear Christmas.
• Start buying Christmas Gifts: Santa plans ahead a year in advance and so should you.
• Make a Christmas Drink: Iced peppermint mocha or iced eggnog latte anyone?
• Light a Spruce Candle or Holiday Scent Plug-In: I love Christmas candles year-round.
• Have a Christmas Party: Invite, decorate, and have friends bring holiday treats: It's a Christmas in July Party. The best kind.

Also, speaking of Christmas, the shop is on sale through Sunday. Deals are to be had. The Christmas Spirit is to be found.

Merry Summer Christmas, my vintage friends, and to Gram and Papa, I miss you much.

Thank God it's Vintage Friday (TGIVF).

Dr. Jones, I presume │ Sylvanus Grisley Morley: the Real Indiana Jones

Sylvanus Morely

If you ever wondered whether Indiana Jones was based on a real person, in my opinion, this guy is it. Sylvanus Grisley Morely.

As a young girl, my first desire in a career - other than writing - was archeology. Egyptology, to be precise.

Unfortunately, I didn't pursue that path. But I am sort of an archeologist, in a round-about, modern, more-convenient sort of way.

Today, the vintage sourcing I do for my shop is no different than what archeologists do. (Okay, let's be real, it's nothing like true archeology.)

My finds aren't nearly as old or valuable, nor do I have to dig in the dirt to find what I want. Nevertheless, what I do is still treasure hunting. And trust me, digging around for clothing in all the thrift stores is not easy. So, in the end, I believe I was destined to sell vintage because it's somewhat related to archeology. A cousin, if you will.

So, when I came across Morely's photo the other day, it stopped me. I mean, who does it look like?

Dr. Jones, of course: Harrison Ford, as the famed Indiana Jones.

Harrison Ford

Sylvanus Grisley Morley was an American archaeologist and epigrapher who studied the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in the early 20th century. 

Later in his career, after achieving an engineering degree (he didn't want), he finally began the trajectory toward archeology (despite his father's disapproval), and received an undergraduate degree in archeology from Harvard.

That began his exploration, discoveries, and mystery-solving, which included working as a spy for the US government (Yes, it involved watching the activities of the German movement. Naturally.)

Read more about him on Wikipedia or do a Google search. He's a fascinating man.

I'm sure if Indiana Jones had been a real person, he'd be good friends with his doppelganger. Morley was the pinnacle of mashing up archeology and attractiveness, in my book. Just like Dr. Jones.

Sylvanus Morely

While Indiana Jones is fiction, Sylvanus Morely is the real deal. 

There are books about him too, and I'm probably going to read a few now since I'm now curious about who this "real Indiana Jones" was.

He was the real risk-taker, the real researcher, the real lover of archeological finds, and most likely, telling everyone around him with his stupendous finds, "This belongs in a museum!"

Cheers.