It’s always on my calendar, the first day of the first Brimfield flea market of the year. At this point we have a plan in place. Drive up Monday night to get a hotel, wake up early and have breakfast in Palmer and then we do the show for exactly one day. By late afternoon we head back —this time making a detour to see Mr. Frank Pepe— and then back home. Easy as can be, and just enough Brimfield until next year.

Two things to say about this year’s outing: 1. the weather was perfect, good temps and no rain. 2. I didn’t buy one thing. That’s never happened to me before, but it doesn’t really bother me either. I enjoyed just being out there and seeing the people and all of that old stuff. This time around it felt like I was having plenty of fun just taking pictures. No promises for next year when I’m sure I will be back to my old tricks.

Go to Brimfield at least once in your life. Walk around, be at a field when it opens, eat a Pilgrim sandwich and maybe even find some treasures to buy.

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Not surprisingly, one of the most interesting things I saw in Tokyo was an old pair of jeans from Levi’s at Pueblo. I’ve seen similar jeans like this before, but not specifically anything co-labeled like these 501s were. Judging from the detailing seen here, these jeans were made specifically for Brooks Brothers anywhere from 1937 to 1942. Pueblo’s owner and resident vintage hunter, Eiji Asakawa told me that before he found these specific jeans he has never seen another pair like them. I’m not a Levi’s vintage expert (though, full disclosure, we do work with Levi’s on several projects) I too have never seen or heard of jeans like these, which is pretty amazing thing to happen in San Francisco or Tokyo.

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So much of Tokyo is tucked away in a small alleyways or hidden upstairs in a plain-looking office buildings that if you aren’t actively looking for things you probably won’t find the really good stuff. Part of this is because Tokyo rents are amazingly expensive, and part of it seems to be based on the thrill of the hunt. Such is the case for the vintage shop Pueblo. The owner Eiji Asakawa keeps a sign out front, but unless you know what you are looking for or are an adventurous sort you are probably going to miss the place. There are so many randomly named places in Harajuku that if you were to check everything out you would probably just spend most of your day discovering hair salons. The Japanese obsession with hair is something I can’t even begin to understand. The Japanese obsession with vintage Americana, that I have a better idea about.

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We only got spend one day shopping Brimfield, but there was a lot to see and document, so here’s round II of the photos. You’ll note a giant Westinghouse sign (that came close to coming home with our group), some classic ephemera, a BB gun target and a flock of Ralph Lauren folks plotting their takeover. Part I of our spring 2012 Brimfield adventure can be seen here.

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Walking down Route 20 on a rainy day in Western Massachusetts, I spotted many a familiar face. Brimfield, the expansive outdoor antique show, has become it’s own little trade show for vintage lovers; a place to get your flea market fix and maybe even to buy something. The event is a bit of a phenomenon, some of the people at Brimfield are there for work (you’ll notice those people with their two-way radios), and others are there purely on a voyeuristic pursuit. I’m somewhere in between those two categorizations.

“We could all just meet in the city if we could coordinated better.” -Kings County Salvage

Brimfield for me is more about the journey than the destination. At this point I’m not looking for anything specific, I’m really just in-town on the ultimate browsing session. With that said, I was partially unimpressed with what was on offer yesterday, a feeling that also keep me away last year. Though, that’s the nature of flea markets — they are hit or miss. Often, the success lies in one’s quickness and persistence. You have to know good things (and prices) when you see them, and then you need to have the ability to get to stuff before someone else beats you to it. That’s just if you are crazy about it. I like to wander around and not worry about who gets what and if I buy anything. Lord knows I don’t need any more stuff.

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There’s The Impossible Cool, and then there’s this collection of home movies from Roddy McDowall’s personal archive featuring many an iconic actor and actress enjoying themselves on the California coast. Paul Newman (with his can of Busch beer) is present, as is Jane Fonda (looking exceptionally young and beautiful), Kirk Douglas, Anthony Perkins, Judy Garland and many more of their famous friends who make appearances.

While it is truly amazing to see all of these stars relaxed and having fun with one another, it is also amazing to see what they are wearing. The clothing in these films are incredible. The only branding I noticed during the whole series was a few shots of one perfect red Lacoste polo shirt. A fascinating glimpse into an otherwise private and decidedly stylish life. Thanks to Andy for the tip.

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While perusing the madness of Brick Lane in East London a few weeks ago I stopped into the vintage shop called Levisons on Cheshire Street. The tidy little outpost has a nice selection of men’s and women’s vintage on offer with lots of what you’d want from a good British vintage shop — schoolboy scarves, tweedy accessories of every want, country brogues and nearly an entire rack of well worn Barbour coats. Those coats almost almost fall under the classification as ‘tattered’ (and I mean that in the best possible), but considering the way Barbours are made, they will probably last quite a while longer. Everyone working in the shop was welcoming and knowledgeable, making it even more enjoyable to look through every single item on hand and maybe even take some of it home.

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