732-774-0007 | info@backwardglances.com

Backward Glances

Your one-stop vintage clothes shop.

The Shoppes at the Arcade
658 Cookman Avenue
Unit 20 (lower level)
Asbury Park, NJ USA

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Directions
  • News & Vintage Fashion Blog
  • Events
  • How to Order
Home » News & Vintage Fashion Blog

News & Vintage Fashion Blog

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Welcome to our vintage fashion blog! Keep up with what’s happening at Backward Glances!

vintage fashion blog

Check out this page regularly to find out about special promotions and sales going on here at Backward Glances, as well as fun things going on in our hometown of Asbury Park. We’ll be posting articles about the history of vintage fashion, features about fashion icons of the past, and cool places to go and wear your vintage clothes.  Those are just some of the upcoming vintage fashion blog we’ll be posting. Stay tuned!

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and Instagram to find out even more about the fashionable doings at Backward Glances, your one-stop vintage shop!

« Previous Page

Goodbye to Our Vintage Jukebox

October 16, 2019 By Cindy C

It was a bittersweet day when we said “Goodbye” to our vintage jukebox.

Goodbye to our vintage jukebox

Me, saying “goodbye”

After 28 years, our 1959 vintage jukebox is off to its new home in Sweden.

It was such an important part of Backward Glances, I had to write a post about it.

I’d always wanted a jukebox for my store. When I was a teenager, there was a clothing store in Middlesex Mall in South Plainfield and they had a jukebox.  I thought that was the coolest thing.

Did you know that the well-known turquoise and pink AMI was the 3rd jukebox in our store?  The first one I bought was big and orange and black. It was from the 70’s, and should have been in a bar with a shag carpet and paneling. I never could get it to work properly.  Got rid of it pretty fast.  Then there was a 1953 AMI that I was selling on consignment.  It didn’t always reject the records properly and smashed a few of my 45’s.  I gave it back to the owner.

But just like Goldilocks, the 3rd jukebox I tried was just right.  I loved the lights and the 50’s colors.

When I started my website back in 1995, the jukebox inspired the design.  We used song title strips for people to pick the various departments, just like choosing a song on the jukebox.  We weren’t able to replicate that in later web designs, but we still use the jukebox colors on backwardglances.com.

Bruce Springsteen at Backward Glances vintage clothing store

Me and Bruce, posing by the box at the Monmouth St. store

Later, when I moved from Monmouth Street to Broad Street in Red Bank, we wheeled it down the street to its new home.  Backward Glances was now painted turquoise and pink in its honor, and it’s the color scheme we still use today in Asbury Park.

When we arrived in Asbury Park, I loaded the jukebox with as many 45’s by New Jersey artists as I could find, ranging from the Four Seasons to Bonjovi. Of course, there were many local AP acts. That was a fun project.

The jukebox even took a stage job! It appeared in a production of “Always Patsy Cline” with Sally Struthers at the Algonquin Arts Theater.

Over the years, it’s been a backdrop to many people’s photos. I loved seeing parents showing their kids what a record is, and watching couples dance to their favorite song. But I couldn’t keep up with the needed repairs, so it was time for it to move on.

the new owner of the vintage jukebox

New jukebox owner Robert

So on to a man cave in Sweden! We hope Robert loves it as much as we did. Adjo and farval, old friend*.

(*that’s “goodbye” and “farewell” in Swedish)

 

 

Take a 3D Tour of Our Building

July 26, 2019 By Cindy C

Now you can take a 3D tour of our building from your computer!

This is the coolest thing. You can now walk through our building, the Shoppes at the Arcade, and visit every store, right on your computer.  This amazing 3D tour program was filmed by our upstairs neighbors at Motion City Media. (Visit their studio at the back of the 2nd floor).

So just visit this link to start your tour. Click and drag to look around the space. Click on the circles to move around. Use your scroll wheel to move in and out.  Use your arrow keys to turn left and right.

You can visit Backward Glances at the front of floor one.  Walk though the store and explore all our nooks and crannies.  There’s a lot to see here!

Then visit all the unique stores in our building. Find out more about who’s in the Shoppes here. I wish you could taste the great sandwiches and pizza at Crust and Crumble, but there are limits to virtual reality!

3D tour of the Shoppes at the Arcade

50s Jukebox for Sale!

June 19, 2019 By Cindy C

We’re selling our 50s jukebox!

50s jukebox for sale

Have you ever wanted your own vintage 50s jukebox?  Here’s your opportunity to purchase the well known Backward Glances turquoise and pink 1959 AMI.

50s jukebox for saleAfter 28 years, we’ve decided it’s time to part with our musical friend.  This is a rare AMI Model J from 1959. It comes loaded with 100 oldies records, with songs from the 1950’s to the 1980’s.  It does play, and it sounds great. If you’ve been to Backward Glances on a Saturday, you’ve heard it blasting throughout the building. (We don’t run it during the week as not to disturb the offices on our floor). Here’s a video of the box in action, taken by a fan.

However, it does need some work to get it back in optimal condition. We’ll be happy to give you a list of parts that have been replaced over the years and parts that still need repair. Asking $1995 for it. Wouldn’t it look great in your house? Contact us to get more info.

50s glasses cat eye sunglasses

 

Greetings from the Shoppes at the Arcade!

June 6, 2019 By Cindy C

Have you seen all the excitement happening at the the Shoppes at the Arcade?

That’s the extremely cool building that Backward Glances shares with ten other unique stores and one delicious restaurant.  Originally, the building was Woolworth’s 5 & 10 cent store.  Now it has become a bustling hub of local businesses.

The big news is that the Shoppes at the Arcade now has its own Facebook and Instagram pages! Follow them to keep up with all the businesses here in one place.

Rusty Anchor Trading at the Shoppes at the ArcadeOur newest tenants are Rusty Anchor Trading, who hand carves their own tikis and sells all types of wooden signs and kitschy tropical items, and AP Modern Gallery, featuring the modern art of painter Norman Perlmutter.

They join Groovy Graveyard (vinyl records, movies, and collectible toys), Food Lube (fine live oil & vinegar bar), Flux Modern (mid century furniture), Paws Pet Boutique (hand made dog biscuit & pet accessories), Sheby & Sheby (recycled furniture & interior design), Type B Tie Dye (ties dyes,Grateful Dead items, & local art), Kill Screen Games (vintage video games), and Asbury Woodcraft (furniture designed from reclaimed salvage wood). And don’t forget about the yummy pizzas and sandwiches at Crust & Crumble!

Shoppes at the Arcade eventsWhen you are visiting, check out our new events board. It’s directly across from the Backward Glances door on the lower level.  Our building always has something happening, from musical performances to pet adoption days.  You’ll find all these plus special sales and giveaways listed on the board.

Hope to see you in our building soon!

 

 

 

Asbury Park Mardi Gras Events 2019

February 26, 2019 By Cindy C

Did we have fun at the Asbury Park Mardi Gras events?
You bet we did!

Our 4th Annual Asbury Park Mardi Gras was held on Saturday, February 23rd.  What a blast! We had lots of Mardi Gras events going on around the downtown. Here’s the full report:

MASK MAKING:

Mardi Gras events: mask making

Everyone loves our yearly mask making project.  We’ve got no age limit! We give them an undecorated mask, then send them to 14 businesses in downtown Asbury Park to get free items to apply to their masks. Creativity is unleashed! You can vote for your favorite masks on our contest page until March 5th. We got a special treat this year, when Crust and Crumble Pizzeria and Bakery brought over a big pot of gumbo for the mask makers to sample.

Mardi Gras events: mask making
Mardi Gras events: future king of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras Events: completed mask

MARDI GRAS HAPPY HOUR:

Taka Restaurant came up with another creative menu for our Mardi Gras happy hour: Japanese style jambalaya with crawfish, chicken, edamame and enoki mushrooms; New Orleans style steam buns with andouille sausage; and togarashi shrimp with miso grits.  Plus special cocktails! The bar area was filled with costumed revelers, fueling up before our masquerade ball.

Mardi gras events: jambalaya
Japanese jambalaya
Mardi Gras events: Happy hour food
Andouille steam buns
Mardi Gras events: happy hour revelers
Enjoying happy hour

THE MASQUERADE BALL:

Mardi Gras events: masquerade ballThis year’s ball was held at Asbury Park’s funkiest club, the Saint. The VooDUDES kept the crowd dancing for hours.  People went all out on their costumes, and the crowd chose our king and queen of the ball.  Our queen was Debbie from Middletown.  Our king, Wolf, came all the way from Harrisburg, VA for the party.

Mardi Gras events: the VooDUDES
Mardi Gras events accordian
Mardi Gras events; masquerade fun

Mardi Gras events: masquerade couple
Mardi Gras events; crowning of the queen
The queen’s attendants help with her crown
Mardi Gras events: King & queen
Our royal couple 2019

Thanks to the merchants of Asbury Park for the prize packages and mask decorations, and the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce for their help! And a big thanks to everyone who supports and loves this event–see you next year!

New Christmas Music

December 18, 2018 By Cindy C

Our regular Backward Glances customers know how much I love holiday tunes! We’ve always got an interesting assortment playing in the store in December. So I am very excited that there is so much new Christmas music this year. I think these new collections will appeal to the vintage lovers out there.

I just picked up J.D. McPherson’s new CD, “Socks”. Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a holiday title, but the song is about how kids don’t want socks as gifts.  “Why’d you waste the paper on a lousy pair of socks?” This CD has a great 1950’s throwback sound.  And our local girl Nicole Atkins co-wrote one of the tracks.

I’m always a sucker for a song about ugly Christmas sweaters. JD comes through “Ugly Sweater Blues”.  Here’s the video of that one, complete with cool 50’s looking graphics. There’s a cute video for each song on this album. 

The Old 97’s also put out a holiday album this year, called “Love the Holidays”. They came through Asbury Park last week, and they really did a great job decorating the stage, with inflatable reindeer, trees, and a giant Santa! The show rocked, and the new Christmas songs were a lot of fun. Good old fashioned rock and roll.   Here’s the title track.

New Christmas music by the Old 97's

If you really want to go retro, William Shatner put out his first Christmas album this year, singing in his own unique style. Check out this video for a wild party with Shat, Billy Gibbons and Rudolph.

So enjoy all this new Christmas music, and happy holidays from all the Backward Glances elves!

Asbury Park Upcoming Events

October 4, 2018 By Cindy C

It’s going to be a hell of an October! Check out these Asbury Park upcoming events.

Summer’s over, but there’s still so much happening in Asbury Park! 25,000 people (and Bruce) showed up for the Sea.Hear. Now festival in September. Now look at all the Asbury Park upcoming events for October:

Saturday October 6th: the 11th annual Asbury Park Zombie Walk. Join the undead in their walk from the boardwalk to Main Street, or just watch them shamble down the street.

Sunday October 7th: the Asbury Park Punk Rock Flea Market. You know we’ll be there!Join us along with some of the shore’s most interesting merchants and record dealers.

Saturday October 13th: Asbury Underground is back, with over 200 musicians playing for free! We’ll be hosting Dan Rauchwerkof the Lords of Liechtenstein here in the Shoppes at the Arcade at 1:30. Watch their spooky video below.

Saturday October 20th: the Haunted Carousel is a fundraiser to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation at the historic carousel building. Show your ticket confirmation at Backward Glances to receive 15% off any one item.

Sunday October 21st: our neighbors at Type B Tie Dye are presenting more live music at the Shoppes! Come down and see Waynard & Rainbow Full of Sound acoustic with Jimmy Law, Paul Avrutin, and Justin Hetrick at 4:00.  If you can’t make it, you can watch the live stream.

Saturday October 27th: it’s time once again for Convention Hell! Your favorite local bands become someone else for Halloween at historic Convention Hall. Pink Talking Fish performs Dark Side Of The Moon with Phish and Talking Heads mixed in; Wild Adriatic performs Led Zeppelin; Waiting on Mongo performs James Brown; and The Burns become The Doors.

So you’d better get ready for this wild Halloween season! Time to shop for a costume.  You know where.

 

 

Vintage Summertime Music

June 21, 2018 By Cindy C

Our Summertime music video playlist!

It is now officially summer! Summertime and music go together. There’s nothing like a vintage summer song to bring back memories of youthful days on the beach or summer vacations.  With that in mind, we’ve compiled a playlist of 10 summertime music videos that are hopelessly retro and immensely cool. These videos are time capsules of vintage fashions of the past 60 years. Check out the links to bring back some summer memories!

Summertime Blues Eddie Cochran 1959:  I love Eddie Cochran, a great talent who died in his prime. Fashion watch: the cool 50’s shawl collared tuxedos on the Town hall Party band, and Eddie’s DA hairdo.

Summer’s here and the time is right for Dancing in the Street 1964: Classic 50’s girl group! Martha and the Vandellas, in their sequin dresses and bouffant hairdos. And the pop art flowers behind them are reminiscent of  “Laugh in” or the “Dating Game” which would come along in several years.

No comment on the 80’s pastel fashions worn by David Bowie and Mick Jagger in this version of the song.

Summer in the city The Lovin’ Spoonful 1966 : This video is a mid 60’s fashion show! From John Sebastian’s mod striped jacket and round wire glasses, drummer Joe Butler’s flowered print shirt and suspenders, Steve Boone’s turtleneck, to Zal Yanofsky’s striped t-shirt and leather hat.

Hot Fun in the Summertime Sly & the Family Stone 1969: Well, you know there are going to be some funky fashions here: Sly’s midriff tie satin shirt with puffy sleeves; super collars and big hats on Freddie Stone and Larry Graham;  and the matching space age turban and necklace on keyboardist Rosie Stone.

In the Summertime Mungo Jerry: Huge sideburns! Fishnet mesh shirts with scarves! Mungo, what were you thinking? Lots of facial hair in this clip, but it was 1970 after all.

Summer Nights 1978 : I’ve always faulted the “Grease”movie for giving us their 1970’s version of the 50’s but the fashions in this one are pretty right on. The short jackets and button-up shirts on the nerdier guys. The peter pan collars, scarves, and cinch belts on the girls. Sandy’s hair-do and sweater hung over her shoulders are perfect. And I gotta admit, it’s a lot of fun.

Cruel Summer 1984: Bananarama dancing around in baggy jeans, showing off their tousled spiky hair. How 80’s is this video?

Summertime DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince 1991: 1990’s fashions to the max: neon prints and athletic wear! Can someone turn down the volume on Jeff’s jacket?  Let’s give some props for Will’s Smith’s retro Speed Racer t-shirt.

Forbidden Nights Darlene Love: Filmed on a summer day here in Asbury Park in 2016. Darlene and her back up singers are headed to the beach in a snazzy red convertible, and taking pictures with vintage cameras. Plus guest appearances from Joan Jett, Paul Shaeffer, Elvis Costello, Bill Murray, Little Steven & Bruce Springsteen. How retro is that?

Hope you enjoyed our summertime music flashback. Have a wonderful summer of 2018!

Fresh Prince Summertime music

Happy Summertime! Fresh Prince lighter $3

Bell Bottom Trousers: A History

June 12, 2018 By Cindy C

Time for today’s fashion history lesson: bell bottom trousers!

We recently found a great bunch of old Landlubber brand bell bell bottoms, and started wondering about their history. Bell bottom trousers have been around since at least 1813, though most people associate them with the 1960’s. Let’s look a little deeper at the development of this groovy style.

Blue bell bottomed pants were worn by U.S. sailors in the early 1800’s, along with canvas hats and blue jackets. In the mid 1800’s, the British navy began wearing wide legged pants, but they weren’t really bell bottoms. They finally converted to flared trousers in 1977–took them a while to join in! So why does the navy wear bell bottoms? Possibly because they are easy to roll up, so sailors can work in bare feet. No one is really sure.

Coco Chanel put women is wide legged “yachting pants” in the 1920’s, but it was revolutionary for women to even wear pants then, so they did not become mainstream fashion.

bell bottom trousers landlubber bell bottomsWe’re not really sure why they became such a big hit in the 1960’s, but suddenly bell bottoms were everywhere. They became a huge part of hippie fashion. Bell bottoms continued their dominance of fashion into the 1970’s.  They were now made of satin and more materials than just denim. And the bell just kept getting bigger. Who could forget “elephant bells”, those extremely wide bell bottoms that became popular in the mid 70’s? They looked perfect with platform shoes.

But in the late 70’s, bell bottoms were no longer popular. The preferred pants of the club scene were tight spandex, and punk rockers wouldn’t be caught dead in them.

But in 1996, bell bottoms were back! Only this time they were called “boot cut”, and had a smaller flare. However, over the next ten years, the bell got bigger and bigger all over again. Then suddenly, they were gone again, replaced by “skinny jeans”.

This shows you how cyclical fashion is! Everything comes around again, just wait a few years. But if you don’t  want to wait for the vagaries of fashion, you can always find cool bell bottoms at Backward Glances.

Happy Customers at Backward Glances!

April 24, 2018 By Cindy C

Have you seen our happy customers on Instagram?

Happy customers 50s dressIf you are a follower of Backward Glances on Instagram, you’ve seen the posts I’m talking about.  When a customer finds the perfect outfit, we like to snap a photo for our Instagram feed.  We love to see the smiles of our happy customers! So if you don’t follow us on Instagram, you should. It’s not the same as our Facebook feed (which is filled with fun links and other cool stuff). So like them both! You can click on the icons on the top left of this page.

Come visit our store in Asbury Park, New Jersey and let us help you find the perfect outfit, too. We’d love to add you to our #happycustomer gallery.

happy customers psychedelic dress groovy girl
happy customers 1970s red dress
happy customers 1970s corduroy set

happy customers jukebox girl penny pingleton hairspray
happy customers 80s prom dress
happy customers 1970s green pantsuit

happy customers 1980s print shirt
happy customers hippie dude 1960s guy

« Previous Page
Next Page »
  • 40s & 50s Clothing
    • 50s Girls
    • 40s Dames
    • Men’s 40s & 50s
  • 60s & 70s Clothing
    • Groovy Girls
    • Groovy Guys
    • Head to Toe
  • Awesome 80s Clothing
    • Material girls
    • The Dudes
    • 80s Accessories
  • Roaring 20s Clothing
    • Flapper Style
    • Gatsby & Gangster Clothes
  • Retro Tees
    • TV & Movie Shirts
    • Classic Rock T-shirts
    • NJ Shore T-shirts
    • Funky & Unique Shirts & Hoodies
  • Fun Gift Ideas
    • Retro Home Decor & Themed Party Supplies
    • Cool Collectibles
    • Old Fashioned Toys
    • Visit New Jersey
  • Jewelry & Accessories
    • 60s Mod Jewelry & Hippie Jewelry
    • Disco 70s Jewelry
    • 80’s Jewelry
    • Music Jewelry
  • Retro Glasses
    • 50s Glasses
    • 60s Glasses
    • 70s Glasses
    • 80s Glasses
  • New & Vintage Costumes
    • Retro Costumes
    • Fantasy Costume Department
    • Storybook Costumes
    • Movie & TV Show Costumes
  • MARDI GRAS MASQUERADE
  • Ugly Christmas Sweaters
  • How to Order
  • Directions to Our Store
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Store Hours

Monday: 12 – 6
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday: 12 – 6
Thursday: 12 – 6
Friday: 12 – 7
Saturday: 11 – 7
Sunday: 11 – 5
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Sunday 5/28: 11 – 6:30
Monday 5/29: 11 – 5

Location

The Shoppes at the Arcade
658 Cookman Avenue
Unit 20 (lower level)
Asbury Park, NJ USA 07712
732-774-0007

Copyright © 2023 Backward Glances · Site Map