Vintage Shopping in the West
Wherein I Go On For A Bit About Three Secondhand Sources I've Found On My Travels
Greetings from Nashville!
It’s great to finally be home, after a week away in Southern California and then Idaho, meeting with two new potential clients. The first half of the trip found me soaking in warm mineral hot springs of Jacumba, a desert town 70 miles east of San Diego; on the backend, I was stationed in a historic hotel in downtown Boise — a city that I know relatively well from visiting my sister, Marie, who has lived there for 13 years.
While entirely different experiences, both stays were excellent in all the right ways, meaning that the beds were comfortable, the food was great, and the people and the fun were of the highest caliber.
I’ll share more about those specific locations in later posts. For now, all you need to know is that I was able to scratch my vintage itch on both stops.
I am quite good at finding places to secondhand shop wherever I go. Initially I assumed that Jacumba Hot Springs, a town of barely 500 without a grocery store or a gas station, would be a challenge. But damn if it doesn’t have a vintage store — a good one, at that.
The Impossible Railroad Trading Post is the passion project of David Lampley, a member of the team that revived Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel (a long but good story that I will share soon). In addition to running IRTP, which is named for the now retired railroad that once brought folks in to soak in the town’s medicinal springs in the early 20th Century, David books all of the live music for Jacumba (there were shows both nights I was there, including one in a gorgeously deteriorated pink stucco bath house.
The store is filled with Western, military and everyday finds that David plucks from thrifts, buys from locals, and turns up while visiting uninhabited spaces in surrounding desert towns. His great collection is made even more special by the fact that there’s literally nothing like it within at least a 70 mile radius.
You know those times when you walk into a store and everything you love fits like it was made for you?
That’s what happened to me at IRTC. I got three tops: an H Bar C checked pearl-snap number, a women’s blue military-issue button up, and a pristine Giorgio Armani women’s tux shirt. I also found a beautifully cut pair of Army pants (there’s a lot of military stationed in nearby San Diego), a blue cotton Mexican embroidered cotton caftan, and a pair of black Roper boots that I can’t believe fit. Oh - and a vintage 1930s men’s basketball tank top with ACES spelled out in royal-blue stitched-on letters across the front. Gonna wear it under a suit this fall. Boom.
Last Saturday, I spent over an hour in David’s store, talking to him about his background, his work (for a long time, he designed window for Nordstrom), the town, the bands he books (and sometimes records on the 1938 Presto record-cutting machine - it looks like this one - he has in a corner of the store), and the ins and outs of dealing vintage clothes in a tiny town. That, of course, led to talk of other vendors we love. And because this is what happens when you occupy a little corner of the extra intimate secondhand seller world, David was a fan of the dealers I was meeting in Boise the next Monday: Erik Bill and Lindsay Crouch, of Bill’s On Broadway and Ripley Clark, respectively.
I discovered Erik and Lindsay at the same time, on a trip to Boise two or so years ago. Back then, they both had a selling presence on the city’s South Broadway Avenue: Erik in the dreamily expansive Bill’s on Broadway, a vintage hub he opened six years ago, and Lindsay and her collection tucked into a cozy room in the antique store next door. He specializes in menswear, predominately from the early to mid-20th Century; she deals in womenswear from the same era.
The couple met cute, vintage-style, when Lindsay came into Bill’s to shop for clothes to re-sell at LA’s epic monthly Rose Bowl Flea Market. The two clicked. Three years ago, she moved to Boise, where the picking is good and the rent is still relatively cheap (like Nashville, Boise is in a major growth phase, predominately sparked by the influx of new residents hailing from, you guessed it, California).
Lindsay and Erik often pick together, a process which can be as straightforward as showing up for prearranged appointment to go through someone’s closet in an ordered subdivision or as baroque as pulling up floorboards of an abandoned farmhouse in some far-flung part of Idaho’s high desert planes, looking to see what might have been left behind. The quantity and quality of what they locate is pretty remarkable. Many things are perfectly preserved (and in some cases never worn), but even the not-so-well-kept pieces are beautiful in their age- or wear-imposed imperfection.
I got one piece each from them on this trip: a navy wool waistcoat from Lindsay, and a dead-stock (meaning: still in the original package, unopened) dark denim Western shirt from Erik. It fits like a dream: even the arms are long enough, which never happens to me.
I’ve just now got around to unpacking my bags. I’ll post some of my new loot on my Instagram soon, so follow me here. Thanks to all of my vintage pals West of the Mississippi for making time for me this trip. I’ll be back.
IMPOSSIBLE RAILROAD TRADING POST
Highway 80, Jacumba Hot Springs
Follow David Lampley on Instagram
BILL’S ON BROADWAY
By Appointment Only
1755 S Broadway Avenue, Boise
Follow Erik Bill on Instagram
RIPLEY CLARK
Shop online at www.ripleyclark.com
Follow Lindsay Crouch on Instagram
THINGS I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW
My New Lucchese Boots
I have a list that I keep in the Notes app on my phone of things that I want to own eventually. Clothes and accessories, in particular. Until recently, there, between “custom three-piece while wool suit” (paging Tom Wolfe’s tailor!) and “diamond stud earrings” (classic), was the prompt “black Lucchese Western boots.” The day after my massive vintage sale in September, I went to the brand’s store in the Gulch and ticked that line item off my list. I got the Edie in black suede. I love them because the shaft is narrow and tall and doesn’t gape a ton around my calves. And also because I love the way suede ages. I’m wearing them everywhere and am pretty happy about it.
The Meatballs at Frankies Nashville
Having enjoyed dinner at the OG Frankies 457 on Court Street in Brooklyn, I knew to order this majorly satisfying dish when I tried Nashville’s new Frankies 925 (the number refers to the street number) a few weeks ago. They are oversized, chunky, and come bathed in a delightful tomato sauce and covered in grated Pecorino Romano. Highly recommend. Now I just need to try the pies at their sister pizzaria next door… Find it at 925 Cherokee Avenue in East Nashville.
Bright Night at The Parthenon
A few weeks back, the good folks at the Centennial Park Conservancy gave me an advance peek at the layout of Bright Night, their upcoming fundraiser at The Parthenon. The event features the work of well-known Nashville artist Duncan McDaniel, whose show is currently on view in The Parthenon’s ground-floor gallery.
The concept for Bright Night came from Duncan’s exhibit, called Fountain, which is a dynamic explosion of light, color, and sculptural design (look for the awesome multi-layered acrylic vessels, my favorite). The idea for the event is to mix and mingle, drink and snack, amid the art — not to mention under that giant gold statue of Athena. The Conservancy team is encouraging folks to dress with the theme in mind, so think brilliant shocks of pink, yellow, red, green and blue.
There are two levels of tickets, both including hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, by Juniper Green and mixologist Rob Floyd. The higher ticket price includes early access to the party, a tour of the show by McDaniel, and a special “immersive” food and drink experience.
You can get tickets here. Bonus: If you use the code LIBBY, they’ll give you 20% off.!
And rest assured that your money is going to a good cause. Proceeds will support the free programs that Centennial Park Conservancy provides throughout the year, including the super-popular Musicians Corner and Kidsville series.
Young Summer’s New Album
Props to my gorgeous and very, very talented singer-songwriter pal Bobbie Allen, who records under the name Young Summer. She released her second album, the self-titled Young Summer, on Friday, October 13 — a fitting day within a fitting month to release a record with intentionally spooky (and fun) motifs.
You can stream Young Summer wherever you listen to fine music. Or you can get all analog about it and order it on red vinyl here.
Congratulations, Bobbie! I’m so proud of you!