June 30, 2010
New (old) bicycle – Schwinn Hollywood
I’ve been obsessing over buying THE perfect bike for 2-3 months now. I haven’t ridden a bike since I was a teenager, so I had to learn all about what makes good bikes good and what I should look for since I’ll just be riding around the city. In the end I decided on a single-speed vintage Schwinn (which may or may not be a girl’s bike). Old Schwinns are amazing because they’re American-made, high quality and have the vintage aesthetic that I’m always into. Many 50-year old Schwinns are still around and fully functional today.
I started looking and found a few different bikes in Brooklyn but unfortunately didn’t act fast enough before they were sold. Then this past weekend I was walking around my neighborhood and some dude was selling this on the corner for $125! I bought it right then and there, and it was absolutely worth it. This particular bike is a Schwinn Hollywood probably from around the 1960s. I got this pretty cheap all things considered, so I’m going to buy some new parts for it and fix it up over time.
The first thing I plan on switching out are the grips. I’m going to get either leather grips or cork grips to replace the current childish ones.
I also have a few other bike-related purchases coming up now. I plan on getting a new messenger bag from Archival Bags for when I’m out with my bike for the day. My current bag is way too large to wear over the shoulder comfortably. I also need some new shirts for biking, because it’s been 90+ degrees in NYC lately and madras shirts just aren’t cutting it.
May 30, 2010
Vintage Florsheim Shell Cordovan Longwings in burgundy
I’ve been looking for a pair of shell cordovan longwings for a while now. A few months ago I bought a pair of Church shell longwings in burgundy off eBay that unfortunately did not fit me, so they had to go. I stumbled across these Florsheim longwings last week though, and had to get them.
The uppers on these are in near perfect condition, it looks as though someone tried these on and then never really wore them afterwards.
For those who don’t know, Florsheim is an American shoe company that today produces very cheap quality shoes. In the past, Florsheim shoes were very high-end and were on par with shoe companies like Alden today. Some even say the build quality is above and beyond Alden, which is saying a lot. They even used the same Horween shell cordovan that Alden (and many others) use in high-end shoes. At some point the ownership of Florsheim decided to change strategies though, and started making low-end shoes that really aren’t worthwhile. Fortunately a lot of vintage Florsheim shoes are still out there either lightly used like mine or legitimate deadstock. This is sadly the case with many other American shoe companies, such as Bostonian, French Shriner, and apparently Allen-Edmonds might go the same way. There are pretty amazing deals out there if you just look for shell cordovan shoes by these companies.
April 28, 2010
Vintage Navy Omega Seamaster
I recently retired my Seiko automatic and put the shell cordovan band on this vintage Omega Seamaster. This has been one of my ideal watches for a while, and I was fortunate enough to find it in navy. I love the face on this, it has a deep purple shade to in most light. I’ve tried dating this watch but haven’t been able to find any precise info just yet. Right now from what I’ve found online it seems this was made in the 1970s.
January 15, 2010
The Deer Hunter | LL Bean c. 1969 « A Continuous Lean.
The Deer Hunter | LL Bean c. 1969 « A Continuous Lean..
1969 LL Bean catalog scans, includes tons of bean boots
August 10, 2009
Vintage Timex watches
I’m not particularly big on watches, but recently I decided to purchase a few and ended up going with some vintage Timex watches. I really love the simple classic styling of them, and fortunately they’re usually under $20 on eBay. Below are my new quartz and mechanical Timex watches.
BrownBoots 