New Wave

Vintage Ocean Pacific apparel circa eighties has been a big source of interest for me as inspiration for color palettes as well as graphics for surf tees for a while now but it looks like its starting to really take off this summer not only with some great references to the archives in Op's current line but also in the eighties aesthetics ( lots of mod patterns, angled layouts ) from a variety of board short companies.

Bandanna Ads

Love these vintage promotional bandannas from OshKosh and Lee's. They add a nice decorative element to the plainer weaves and linear stripes that are typical of workwear. It's also interesting to see text on this bandanna 'medium' which is more typically paisley or dots or western themed- gives it a modern edge.

Kachina Dolls

These Kachina Dolls carved from cottonnwood by the Hopi and Zuni Indians are fascinating- primitive but some of them look a little alien/futuristic too.

American Bohemian

With the increasing trend for revivalism of classic, traditional and preppy american style, I begin to hanker for the random, idiosyncratic, bohemian aesthetic of Paul Bowles in his ethnic shirt. The inevitable counter movement begins.

Tricky Mix

I really liked Dries van Noten's new collection whose show notes read "Tokyo meets Calcutta" which for me certainly suggests the clever pairing of large and small primitive/ethnic patterns. Nothing American about this so not material for this blog, I thought until today when I walked past this poster store which had a huge image of Nixon bowling. Something about the pattern combination, color scheme, even the sheen of his clothes looked eerily in the same vein.

Madras Patch Shirt

MADRAS PATCH FITTED SHIRT

Homesteaders

homesteaders | The Library of Congress)