Bowling was very, very popular as a Fall and Winter sport during the 50's right up through the 70's and waned a bit through the 80's and early 90's, but happily the sport is actually making a huge comeback! It is even a better way to exercise than going to a gym!
With the advent of fall and winter the team spirit of league bowling is an anticipated activity for many. It's that place you head to once a week to meet up with those friends and acquaintances who enjoy the sport and to interact socially with those friends we haven't been in touch with all summer long! Bowling is a physical sport that provides much needed and healthy exercise without the need for use of a Gym! All of your muscles are aching and every joint creeks until the first two weeks have passed and then your back into your fit self, feeling good after a few games and ready to take on the score.
When I went Vintage shopping I actually found some bowling items enough to trigger a walk down Bowling Memory Lane! There are Etsy Vintage vendors who have managed to find a good number of bowling outfits, shoes and even bowling paraphernalia which might be fun to see today!
As a young woman and at my very first job, I was asked to join the company bowling team! To my amazement I wasn't half bad, bowled a decent game and ended up owning as much bowling gear as my meager salary would allow. Like a pair of these bowling shoes?
My shoes were lady Rebels too and I loved them, they were so comfortable on my feet, but were never worn outside of the bowling alley, like the teens do today! Today these are a fashion statement! Nope, these were strictly for bowling then!
This particular shoe style can be had through PinpricksPitchfork and these are in excellent vintage condition, actually these look close to brand new!
I kept my personal shoes, shirt, slacks and spray deodorant inside my own Brunswick Bowling bag which was always in the car on the days I was to bowl after work, nice and handy those bags, mine even had a little inside side pocket where I kept my league and pin money!
You can get a Brunswick Bag here at KressHillVintage Shop and this one is a beautiful bag for women its a lovely shade of vintage pink. Women are toting these around now as personal gym bags, or huge personal weekender bags..
Mind you the men had their own bags too, least ways most of the men who took the game very seriously that is, and this weekender bag (as it was called) seems perfect even today for your bowling equipment...or a weekend suteye flight on a gambling junket, or overnight business trip (without the suit)!
Now every one on our League had the same shirt with our team name or sponsors logo printed or embroidered on them, and that was in a way a novel thing to wear! For myself I always knew someone's name and it allowed me to be noticed too! So I thought these shirts were terrific ice breakers especially on the singles side of bowling better than doing a bar scene anyday!
My shirt resembled this style of League shirt only mine was Navy and light blue trimmed...this one looks to be in terrific condition for its age, I think mine ended up in the rag bag after many, many years of wear.
This particular vintage bowling shirt was found at GabrielasVintage. She has some nifty vintage in her shop...
I played in my particular League for nearly 13 years until I married and moved away and never got back to really joining another League, but I remember and still have these types of brooches among my jewelry from time spent in the league and winning some years as high scorer handed out through the years at the Banquets along with those special Highest scoring Team trophies ...
We'd have all of our pins pinned onto out shirts and what a nuisance to take off every time the shirt had to meet the washing machine! These were lovingly collected and vied for though and I wouldn't trade mine with all their memories for anything... This one I actually found at the ButterflyEffectInc shop! Still this type of brooch is coveted again today as a fashion piece or statement, vintage brooches are all the rage now!
I never did get one of these silky bowling jackets, but I did admire them especially when worn by a member of the opposite sex! I mean they looked and acted top drawer and usually these were worn by the "Fonz" type of single guys who considered themselves macho! Most the the Leagues who went on out of town tournaments all wore them. These jackets were quite an investment for the fellows..
I found this particular jacket at the Plantdreaming shop reminds me of a special fellow on our League and he wore that darned thing as often as he could get away with it!
I know I have been dating myself with this walk down Bowling Memory Lane but honestly, if you want some exercise with some good fun thrown into the mix, go bowling or join a League, it really is a good thing! Today the young fashion trendy people are wearing whatever they happen to take a fancy to and the bowling gear and clothing is no exception.
SO gran yourself something from the Vintage Bowling scene and go have fun exercising, it's better than those 15 minutes at the Gym...
**Hey there, have you managed to cast your votes for a fellow Etsy shop?
Etsy shop owners are all Independent Small business owners, and NewMorningGlass is such a shop. They are a Wildcard nominated finalist in a prestigious Martha Stewart competition and could use our help is its bid to win. Any of these small business will benefit as a winner and into the bagain can and will produce some new job opportunities which are truly needed in today's hard economic times.
So, if you have a mind to help out a small business owner please head on over and cast a vote or 6 for NewMorningGlass! You can do that easily by clicking here!
****The choice of items I choose to write about is my own, I am not affiliated with any crafting community, sellers or store owners and no individual or company pays for my blogging about any article or item contained within this blog. I do not know nor am I affiliated with any person or shop I write about in any whatsoever*****
No comments:
Post a Comment