FIRE SALE No. 30

🤠 🪷Cowboy mysticism , Native American artisans, and 🏜️ the real Southwest vintage you actually want.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was fortunate enough to visit with my girlfriend’s brother’s family at their pueblo in a small valley in Tesuque, New Mexico, just outside of Santa Fe. The nature was pristine and the vibes immaculate. We had a fire going in the kiva all week and gorged on turkey and enchiladas.

This was not my first time in the southwest; my parents were particularly keen on Arizona for Spring Break, and I had a formative experience staying at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona Biltmore resort, where, with childlike wonder, Wright’s custom brick structures, statues, and stained glass shaded me from the heat and evoked the extraterrestrial yet native and ancient – incredible for my wide-eyed imagination. This was my first encounter with the West as beautiful, Spartan, and even spooky. Even the irrigated golf greens couldn’t totally hide the haunting beauty of the natural environment.

I felt the same way standing outside Georgia O’Keeffe’s home at Ghost Ranch, looking up at the monolithic Cerro Pedernal, the home of the native Gods in many traditions and the inspiration for O’Keeffe’s 28 paintings. On a tour of the natural landscapes that inspired her work our guide, who left the Upper West Side “for a cowboy” touched on the Rockfellers, the railroad, the First World War, walking meditation, eastern philosophy, the Navajo Goddess – the Spider Woman – old west outlaws dismembering their victims, Jurassic bone beds, O’Keefe’s custom Ford Model A, Ralph Lauren, Los Alamos, and the 250 million year history of the painted desert.

Gerald’s Tree at Ghost Ranch

It was a guided tour with laminated prints, a microphone for everyone to hear, and tourists from the UK and America, but it also felt like a quiet shamanistic experience. Surrounded by the majesty, a person can relate more with the stones on the dirt path than to being a taxpayer with bills, emails to answer, and a calendar. In the Celtic tradition, there are places where druid priests described the “veil” as “thin”. Ghost Ranch is certainly one of them, where the mystery of God is like a spider web, and reaching out to grasp it, the web dissolves in one’s hands.

Now that we have thoroughly tapped into the ~supernatural~ and ~the divine~, we can turn our attention to the material world. Santa Fe has some of the most fantastic vintage clothing the country has to offer and beautiful artisan heritage, but it is a bit of a trap. If you aren’t careful, it is incredibly easy to slide into boho hippie cowgirl and/or Johnny Depp vibes.

Uniform for people who are “still healing, but proud of where they are and sorry to the people they hurt along the way.”

So here’s a guide to the good stuff, truly authentic New Mexican pieces that won’t make you look like a boomer “healer” who is really in touch with “spirits”.

Left: Pueblo Market photo courtesy NYT Right: Miki’s Coral Ring photo courtesy Miki

🌄 Santa Fe Indian Market

Nearly every day, but especially on Fridays, the local Pueblo tribespeople set up shop along a shaded area near the historic Santa Fe plaza. It’s an interesting dichotomy. You find art galleries with artistic screen prints of Custer and a Luchese flagship store selling $12,000 lynx coats. But you’ll also find Native Americans selling handcrafted, exceptionally gorgeous wares at a great price. There, they sell polished black sand bowls, silver jewelry decorated with turquoise and coral, and beautiful hand-beaded earrings. My girlfriend picked up a delicate coral ring made from an oyster shell from the friendliest woman in the whole lineup. The market on the plaza is the most genuine and direct way to support artisans on the nearby reservations. These crafts are older than these United States, and making sure they continue to be made is just as important as any national endeavour.

Onto the vintage!

🤠 Double Take

My first stop was Double Take, which reminded me of L Train vintage’s cool southwest ex-hippie Aunt. There was a bountiful selection of Santa Fe specialties: bolo ties, suede jackets, snap-button shirts, cowboy boots, denim shirts, jeans, vests, and blanket-lined work jackets. I picked up a vintage ‘90s Gap button-up in blue with peppered black native stripes. The New York Times recently included Double Take in its list of 50 Best Clothing Stores in America. FIRE SALE reconnaissance can confirm the reliability of the NYT methodology.

🌵 Santa Fe Vintage Outpost

Almost the exact opposite of Double Take, is Santa Fe Vintage Outpost, a quiet, small shop just up the hill from Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Inside, you’ll find highly curated pieces from across the southwest. Suede Schott jackets, denim boiler suits, jewelry sourced from the 20s and 30s, and 50s western shirts. It felt so much like a RRL showroom that I was not surprised when I asked the proprietor if the design team ever comes by; he said yes.

What I absolutely zeroed in on were these unique 1930s Chimayo jackets. There are two major indigenous weaving families in the nearby town of Chimayo – the Trujillos and the Ortegas, and early in the 20th century, artisans began repurposing their blankets into jackets, shirts, skirts, and dresses. You can purchase one new directly from them, or you can sort through eBay, but a truly authentic one will cost you a pretty penny.

🐴 H Bar C

I was vaguely aware of H Bar C, a California western wear brand, because I had seen the label while digging through vintage here in New York and online while searching for snap-button western shirts. I didn’t realize that they were still making clothing. This is a classic move I’ve been seeing lately with brands like Quaker Marine Supply and Etonic (which I wrote about in my France post). A semi-defunct brand can sell its name and IP to a bidder for little to nothing, and the buyer can refresh the brand while also claiming its heritage. It’s a bit of a workaround to building credibility, but I was really impressed with H Bar C’s offerings and the splash it’s made since it reconstituted in 2016. Standouts include the Silver Lake Cord Jacket, the Boldero Men’s Jacket, and many vintage snap buttons you can find on eBay.

🎨 Finally, check this incredible clip, which is from a 1977 documentary on O’Keefe, where she talks about collecting bones in lieu of flowers, the “Great American Everything”, and the sky. Divine stuff. She’s also wearing her handmade clothes throughout.

If you like 🔥FIRE SALE🔥 or know someone who is looking to elevate their style, we will be offering two personal styling services:

• Virtual Package ($150): Includes a detailed style consultation, bespoke moodboard, and curated shopping list.

• In-Person Package ($250): Offers all the perks of the virtual package plus a personalized in-person shopping experience.

• Interested? Book here!