Pantus maximus

Speaking of pants, did you see the oldest pair of Levis will be live auctioned at the first-ever Durango Vintage Festivus this Saturday at Tico Time? If this sounds like a setup for a bad joke, it’s not.

 Back in the 1990s, longtime Durango resident Brit Eaton had a vintage clothing store on College Ave. called “Carpe Denim,” at a time when vintage clothing wasn’t exactly en vogue. “I’d go to yard sales and people thought I was crazy for buying old clothing,” he said. 

Well, now the joke’s on them. Carpe Denim closed in 2015, but Eaton has a warehouse full of vintage clothing. He thought about holding a grand opening at the warehouse, but soon enough, his fellow vintage clothing colleagues wanted in, and the event evolved into a full-on, three-day festival at Tico Time.

 “It started to become like Woodstock with people coming out wanting to be part of this thing,” Eaton said.

 Vendors from all over the country will come sell their vintage garb, and there will be fun competitions, camping and live music. Oh, and the live auction on Saturday of Levi jeans dated between 1885-92. Eaton said vintage clothing experts are able to date the jeans based on certain “nuances and geek stuff,” like design and clues such as stamps inside the pocket. 

At press time, The Durango Telegraph was unable to confirm whether they qualified as “skinny jeans.” If so, you may want to jump on them in case the Hipster Snowdown gets selected for 2024.