Collapsible Top Hat
Happy New Year! One of the symbols of New Year's Eve is the fancy dress top hat (the collapsable kind pictured here is called an Opera Hat). Men's formal hats have mostly disappeared, but the top hat still sticks around as
a symbol of wealth or formality. Or.. um... stage magic, but that's another story.
I always thought that it would be fun to have a high hat, but even when I worked at a tuxedo shop they were hard to find (the ones that the store stocked looked more like pilgrim's hats). I found this rather beaten topper for a few bucks,
and it's the perfect party hat for New Year's Eve. When a top hat is a bit ragged, it goes with practically any outfit. :)
I've since inherited a very fine top hat from a relative who was a statesman, but unless you are being inaugurated president (Nixon was the last to be sworn in morning dress and a top hat) or are Alice Cooper, you'll probably have little use for one.
While my beat up top hat and I hat are out celebrating the New Year
tonight, I'll be reflecting on the 2006. I can say sincerely that one of the best experiences
for me this past year has been writing for Retro Thing. It's nearly a year
since James invited me to collaborate on this blog, and its been tremendous fun all the way. I'm proud of our many quirky posts (a few have even been cited as sources in the Wikipedia!), and that so many of you have taken the time to write in say that you enjoy what we're doing.
Our readership has grown steadily over the last year and we hope to keep growing throughout the next year.
James and I have been planning a number of things behind-the-scenes for 2007 (more free giveaways for one thing!), so this should be a fun year for us all. Of course the best way to help make this blog what you want it to be is to keep writing in! We love reading comments, and it's the most direct way to let us know what you keep coming back for.
We also want to tip our hats to our sponsors throughout the last year. Their support keeps Retro Thing alive - our thanks to them all. We do it for you - so keep coming back, mention us to your friends, and most of all pop on your top hat and have a fun and healthy 2007! Thanks for a great year everybody!



I got these glasses years ago at the thrift for pennies a piece, and I still see them for sale from time to time. The Sugar Shack must have sold a lot of these back in the day for them to still litter Chicago thrift stores 20 years later.



This set has a special Chicago link. Town House TV & Appliances ("Milwaukee & Oakton!") was a frequent advertiser on local TV & Radio. Their jingle became part of Chicago's soundscape, and every Christmas since the 70's they gave away these train sets. It's a cute starter set, featuring a boxcar lettered for the store and the many brands that they sold. This super sturdy Lionel train set is around 30 years old, and yet it powered up right away running smooth as silk - amazing!
Town House is gone now, another fallen flag to the might of big box retailers, but their memory lives on. When I mentioned to friends that I'd found this set at the thrift for $2, they each sang Town House's jingle through envious grins. I guess that holiday traditions come in many different forms.
If your children need extra persuasion that Santa is near, click over to
Until recently, the unit was only available through offshore distributors. Because of its growing popularity, the system is now available in the USA directly from GP2X Store in Yorba Linda, California. One thing I really appreciate is that they offer spare parts at reasonable prices - so you don't have to pay a fortune to replace a scratched screen panel or lost joystick cap. We're also really pleased to mention that GP2X Store is sponsoring Retro Thing this month. Thanks, guys!
My faithful companion is a secondhand "Made in the USA" Swing-A-Way that's been with me for at least fifteen years. An updated version of the same device is still on the market, and it hearkens back to the good old days when things were constructed out of solid steel and intended to last a lifetime. The design definitely puts function over form. I dimly realized my Swing-A-Way was a worthy Retro product when I researched the company and discovered they were founded in 1938 (the spiky bottle opener attachment should have been a giveaway, too). Swing-A-Way participated in the Space Race, too; one of these incredibly high-tech devices was used to stave off starvation on NASA's ill-fated Skylab missions in the 1970s.

