my old clothes: tarheels edition part I

a few months ago i admitted my vintage t-shirt addiction and promised to share a few of my personal favorites here. 

then nacho died, sugarhoney arrived, and the second busiest month of the vintage year (october) steamrolled along, but here i am today with the first real glimpse into my own closetful of vintage treasures.

i spent 9 of my most formative years in chapel hill, nc. i love love love love UNC basketball. (i don't care about football. get rid of the team, fine by me). my tarheel ardor is diminished not one iota by the recent academic scandal - i truly believe athletes at every college in this country get special treatment. every single college. we have all heard of 'rocks for jocks.' not that 3 million wrongs make a right, but i am just not shocked or appalled by the news. the issue is complicated, and i am not judging. 

i've been collecting UNC t-shirts for 20 years now. i have about 15 of them. i've sold many over the years that did not fit me, and i don't keep every UNC shirt i see. the ones i do keep are extremely soft and comfortable. they may be the best collection of North Carolina vintage t-shirts in size Medium in the entire world.

they are not for sale.

first up is this paper thin, soft Carolina Tarheels t-shirt with grumpy Rameses on the front.

made in the early 80's with a Signal tag.

this fits like a dream and is silky soft. perfect summer t-shirt.

next up is this North Carolina Tarheels Coca-Cola reminiscent design on a poly-cotton-rayon blend heathered gray t-shirt. 

made by velva sheen in the early 80s. again, soft and thin and broken into perfection. versatile.

number 3 is this Carolina blue gem with a rainbow chest print from the 1982 NCAA National Champion Men's Basketball team. (hello Michael Jordan). 

i love how the basketball is swishing. it's so soft. so festive.

number 4 is similar, but in a baseball raglan ringer form: 

 the word National is the net. it is so comfortable and thin.

last, and definitely not least is this gem of a UNC Chapel Hill t-shirt from the freakin 1960's. 

extremely broken in heathered gray. classic. 

ooooold velva sheen tag:

there you have it. 5 of my most prized t-shirts of the UNC variety. 

thanks for following along and stay tuned for more of my favorite t-shirts in months to come. 

WTF Wednesday: Humping Seals, Smoking Snorkelers, Driving Dogs

Good day, Wednesday. Good day, WTF.

The pickins are rather slim this week as I spent several days in Tallahassee for a sweet 6 year old's birthday and haven't hit the thrift like usual. 

Here is a princess castle cake that Kevin and I decorated. It may not look exaaactly like the one in the video, but it did not fall over. 

hey we tried

Next we have a charming story from the BBC.  Seals discovered having sex with penguins. (warning, video is graphic - One seal eats his penguin mate).

Antarctic scientists have recorded at least 4 instances of this behavior - the only times pinnipeds (mammals) have been known to attempt mating with birds.

Jesus Christ Mother Nature, WTF?!

Here are a couple of dolls.

Research has shown that old couples look alike, but this is pushing it. 

Next up, what better place to store your hot water bottle and Advil? 

Here is a full page ad for Newport Cigarettes in the 1977 issue of Country Style magazine. 

Snorkeling and cigarettes go together like seals and penguins. Why bother, indeed.

Now for a couple of photos sent to me by my brother.  I am including his captions. 

Ok, you can drive this time.

So I was thinking maybe have Chinese for dinner tonight honey...what do you think?

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 80s Rainbow 3-D Bead Fringe Tee
• 80s Love Pours Umbrella Sweatshirt
• 80s Tiger Cross Stitch Blanket Tapestry

trucker hat bonanza

while thrifting last week i came upon a bin chock full to the point of overflowing with vintage 70s and 80s mesh and foam trucker hats. 

it was clearly the collection of one man.  a man who loved baseball caps. he may have had an obsession. 

there were 58 of them, a few of them have doubles, 95% were in unworn brand new deadstock condition.

i've already sold a handful, but you can see photos of the fronts of the entire original collection here: 70s 80s vintage trucker hats

i think it's a fascinating snapshot of a human being. 

what did he do for work? 

where did he buy his tractors?

where did he buy his tools? 

where did he do his banking? 

what did he like to eat?

where did he go on vacation?

what did he do for fun?

 

 what did he consider himself?

to the farmer from western north carolina who donated his lifelong hat collection to the goodwill, i say thank you!

all of the hats that are still for sale can be found here: 70s 80s vintage trucker hats on Skippy Haha Vintage Etsy

WTF Wednesday: Anna Septic, Mucho Gusto, Mountaintop Bass

It's Wednesday already, WTF!

Here's a doll stuffed in a plastic egg. Russ came out with this line of "Preserved Personalities" in the 80's. Maybe a riff off Garbage Pail Kids?  This is Anna Septic. 

 She has a thermometer and nurse's hat. WTF?!

I don't know what to call this.  It's a broken clock. Shaped like a dog. Covered in gold glitter glue. His back feet are floating.

If you're going to donate a frame with the photo still inside, I'm going to WTF Wednesday you.

Hey muchacho! You got a vest of bullets and a bistro chair. Ole!

The Waymasters. Good times in a gazebo. 

The mighty hand of God must have swooped down and lifted that stand up bass clear to that mountain top. 

I would like to be Tony's friend. 

Here's a wall hanging 3-D sculpture. I call this Knock, knock, knockin on heaven's door. 

Last but not least, a puppy tooth:

Sugarhoney was crunching on something, looked over, it's a sugarmolar.

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 80s You're Rich, I'm Available Gold Digger Duck Tee
• 80s Jeep Cherokee Airbrushed Tee Shirt
• 80s Shih Tzu Myrtle Beach Tee Shirt

how to clean disintegrated foam from a vintage trucker hat

you found a sweet 70's or 80's mesh and foam backed snapback trucker hat. congratulations! 

the snap in back still works, and it fits like a dream.

but....what the hell is this powdering? snowing foam particles covering your hair like dandruff?

the foam used as padding in the back of vintage mesh hats has been known to disintegrate. even a brand new, deadstock hat will eventually lose its foam and start powdering. 

it's not a matter of if, but when. the more you sweat and move, crinkling the hat, the faster it will powder. unfortunately, once it starts powdering, the only thing you can do to make it wearable is to remove all the foam.

the hat will no longer stand up on its own, but it will still be sweet, wearable, functional, and stylin. 

70's trucker hat with foam removed

this is how i have easily removed the foam from powdering vintage hats. 

1. fill a bucket or large pot or bowl with 1 liter of hot water and 1/3 cup white vinegar.

2.  soak, then agitate the hat in the solution. rub the foam against itself. agitate, agitate, agitate some more. (3-5 minutes)

3. rinse with more hot water into the bucket.

4. agitate more until the majority of the foam is disintegrated and floating in the solution. agitate, agitate, agitate.

5. carefully remove the hat from the bucket, roll up a clean rag into a head shape, and stuff inside the hat to dry.

6. dump the water into a container and place in the trash. i don't recommend dumping foam into the ground. 

7. when the hat is dry, take it outside and slap it against something until all the last remaining foam flies away.

*TIP* - do NOT use the sink as a bucket. i can't imagine your pipes would like the addition of a hat's-worth of disintegrated foam.

*This is just one method, which I made up after seeing no other methods online. If you have other, cleaner, faster, better methods, please share them!

See all vintage trucker hats on Skippy Haha Vintage.

WTF Wednesday: Potty Boy, Moon Watching Me

Wednesday is here, yet again, and so bringeth the WTF-ery.

Happy Easter Mamaw! Here is a sweater-wearing teddy bear with no pants. 

Lovely figurine of two old friends.  Maybe they can't walk but they can still swallow, and what more can you ask for in a friend.

Here's another example of WTF bathroom art. 

Hello Potty Boy.

Way to go, Potty Boy.

 Stay gold, Potty Boy.

WTF?

This looks like a "paint-your-own-pottery" creation. 

What's your favorite team? Bears? Panthers? Rubik's Cubes?

Last but not least I leave you with a short poem written by Willie Johnson. (Poetry of a Father Lover & Friend, p, 105)

MOON WATCHING ME

Moon way up high, so bright and full of heavenly light.

I see you, so beautiful, for all the world to see

just sitting but roaming so free

MOON WATCHING ME

Your colors at various stages of the day

and majestic cycle, just blow me away!

Full moon, gibbous and quarters, it really does not matter.

You have your orders, to rise and fall through the atmosphere

each and every day of the year

MOON WATCHING ME.

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 80s Pocket Full of Ferrets T-shirt
• 80s Bill Construction T-shirt
• 80s Goat Farm Polo Golf Shirt

daily sugarhoney: sugarsnow

2 days ago it was 80 degrees.

this morning it's 30 with 5 inches of snow.

sugarhoney says that's okay!



she has already peed on the deck and learned how to make snowballs.

happy halloween from 1983

ah the good old days! the floor was linoleum and plaid.

the ashtrays were on every table.

the toaster was full of muffins.

i was strawberry shortcake.

my breath was condensing inside this mask.

my brother was "a warlock."

complete with broom.



happy halloween everybody!

ruff time for pups

since the passing of nacho just 2 months ago, 4 of my good friends and family's dogs have gone to join him in doggie heaven.

betsy had to say goodbye to tally.

kid D had to say goodbye to baxter.

sargentina had to say goodbye to baron von sleevenstein, aka steve the dog.

and then my parents had to say goodbye to henry.

it's been ruff! i would like to extend my sincerest sympathy to these 4 families - losing a beloved pet is traumatic and takes a lot of time to heal from that loss. 

the only thing that i know of to speed the healing has four legs and rhymes with fluppy.