The exposed brick walls of Philthy Vintage Clothing (2017 W. Franklin St.) are covered in racks of rock band T-shirts, tacked-up old sports jerseys, and boxes of classic Converse sneakers. Tucked among these vintage finds is a thick Hard Rock Café denim jacket awash in collectible pins of all shapes and sizes, hung on the wall like a pop culture work of art.
Ranging from local sports (Bosse Bulldogs) and recreation (Evansville’s Freedom Festival) to television (“Miami Vice”) and politics (Bob Orr for Indiana lieutenant governor), if you’re looking for cool pins from the 1970s to the present, Phil Ashenbremer’s denim jacket has more than 150 ready for purchase.
“I’m more of a patch guy,” says Ashenbremer, a 2014 Castle High School graduate who collects vintage clothing and opened Philthy in 2020. “But I had a bunch of pins that I didn’t want to get rid of, so I started putting them on the jacket.”
Ashenbremer now is fine parting with his stash. Pins are priced $1-$5 depending on their size, and the jacket retails for around $50. A few priceless pins are for decoration only, including as a Texas Ranger badge with “Philip” on it and a junior baseball league button featuring a young Ashenbremer.
Stay Vintage
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