When Cody came to pick us up he had already started spitting up. This was the day we were going to be out for a long time, and wouldn’t you know it, it was the only day it was going to rain.
No problem, it wasn’t that heavy and right now we were inundated with hellos, hugs, and comments about Cody’s car. Cody VelemaLongtime friend, hat maker and now vintage buyer, was taking us there rose BowlAnd we were all piling into it Used Honda CR-V.
Cody is one of those friendly, open people who you immediately feel you know well. But when you travel in someone’s car it adds a level of intimacy – like being halfway to their house. Cody’s wrappers and various other baby-related items were strewn about, while the boot contained string, plastic strips and other tell-tale signs of the amount of clothing he needed to send away.
In fact, a fascinating aspect of Cody’s set-up for the day was that as he wandered through the flea market, in his pitch-perfect western hat and rare vintage jacket, he also carried a big plastic shopping caddy, because it was the only way to carry all the stuff.
The Rose Bowl opens at 5 a.m., and true seekers arrive that early, often with head torches to help see in the dark. We weren’t that keen, but our original plan was to arrive at least at 7am, to experience a bit of the treasure hunting atmosphere.
The rain made it useless. There will be fewer sellers, fewer buyers and the atmosphere will also not be the same as before. We scheduled our arrival time for 9 am.
It rained all morning, but it was sprinkles and showers, and it turned out that all the people we wanted to see were there anyway. This helped to fair rarer, more high-end vintage Inspiration It was in the last two days, so a lot of the top international buyers were in town anyway.
And of course the adverse weather is very bad: on a scorching summer day the sun shines through the tarmac, and the place feels like a torture chamber.
The Rose Bowl Flea Market is held in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl Stadium, a century-old arena that looks of its era, all concrete and columns. But is historically and culturally significant: it hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984, has seen five Super Bowls, and was the venue for the 1994 World Cup final (that’s football/soccer; Brazil beat Italy on penalties).
The Rose Bowl is a flea market and it feels like it. Despite its reputation among vintage fans – it must be the world’s most famous market – it has a very local, fun atmosphere. A talkative man with a big white beard laughingly stamped our tickets, and everyone was calling to each other as we strolled inside.
Once inside, there were hundreds of potential stalls to peruse (even on a bad day). Luckily, Cody is an old man and he guided us from one of his favorites to the other, on either side of the little bridge over the canal.
The standard of clothing is high – almost every stall had something interesting – but Cody wanted us to meet certain vendors in particular. One was Bob Mellett, who was one of the guys behind RRL with Doug Bihlmeyer. Bob sells a lot of things, but particularly specializes in shop fitting.
Manish chatted with Bob (above) while the rest of us bought stuff. Lucas was especially pleased to find an old flannel shirt in his size; Having a 54 chest, it is often slim pickings for her when it comes to vintage.
By the way, an old flannel like this one is very good because of the quality (older, less industrially farmed cotton) and the number of wears and washes it takes (producing special softness and traces of small tears or scratches) relative to the quality (older, less industrially cultivated cotton) and the price. Lucas’s price was $60.
was next Woody and Barry, who ran the stall next door. Speaking to Barry we learned that he lives in Bishop in the Eastern Sierra Mountains, and specializes in outerwear like thermals, fleeces and down jackets. They are plentiful in second-hand shops there, but have little access to the city.
This was also echoed at some of the other stalls around the Rose Bowl – although most are generalists, there were enough people specializing in military surplus, or vintage sports apparel, to add real depth to the offering.
Interestingly, at the far end was a group of people selling recent vintage – mostly from the nineties and nineties, some from the eighties. This youth group apparently grew out of the popularity of second-hand clothing and then the discovery of rarities therein. It specializes in American products such as denim, band tees and Ralph Lauren.
We kept meeting people we knew. This may not seem surprising, but honestly, considering the day and location, we were not expecting it.
from jojo Rag Parade in Sheffield There was, as was Atsushi Matsushima from Clutch magazine. we ran inside Ethan WongBrandon Mahler (formerly Aimee Leon Dorr, now Buck Mason) and Marco Tamponi of Sebago/Woolrich, who we hosted a dinner with just last month.
But what did I buy, I hear you cry? Well, two things. A pair of US-made Ralph Lauren chinos with a really beautiful fade, that turned out to be too short in rise when I tried to wear them for long periods of time in the hotel. It’s hard to spend too much time taking on and taking off your trousers in a street market.
But also, more successfully, a beautiful Lee Storm Rider jacket – blanket-lined, very soft, and in need of some repair but nothing major. lucky me there’s a boy for her.
And it was $90. Great value for what it was, and exemplifies the fact that I swam higher than usual – I was buying from the flea markets where buyers go, not from a physical store with buyers in a convenient location, where all the research would have been done for me, and maybe even the repairs. As Eric recently wroteIt’s all about time paid.
The Rose Bowl happens once a month – on the second Sunday – and if I were to visit LA again I would definitely time my visit for it.
Then again, I’m not so old-fashioned, or the offering so unusual, that I’d travel specifically to visit. So maybe it’s on the level of a very nice, destination menswear store. In view of the lack of Such shops are usually in L.A.He is still important.
Thanks to Cody, Kentaro, and everyone else who showed us such a beautiful time on a rainy Sunday in Pasadena. Hope to see you all soon.
