Like most flea market hounds and thrift store junkies, my sense of style is an upshot of financial constrictions. As a college student, I quickly came to understand that although I love fashion, the fleeting trends of the day were out of my reach, and if I were to get any style of my own, I would have to find it at the consignment/thrift store. These circumstances, and a rich ancestry of antique collectors, quickly turned me into a lover of the vintage and primitive.
Beyond economics and aesthetics, there is however another reason to love bargain stores and flea markets, and that is...
the love of the hunt! When I was a small child, my favorite holiday was Easter, and not because of the bunny or chocolate, but because I loved the egg and basket hunts. The concept of hidden treasure stirs something very deep in me, and I've come to the conclusion that it's got something to do with evolution... that the hunter/gatherer has not yet been wiped from my hard wiring. I see my visits to flea markets as intensely pleasurable search and rescue missions. There are objects out there that have been abandoned that need love, that need me. When I pick up one of my hundred vintage aprons, I can't help but think about the grandma that toiled endless hours in the kitchen baking pies and canning goods for her family, or one of my old quilts, the mother who stayed up late sewing every patch by hand to keep her children warm.
Recently however my sense of style has become slightly confused. I have a little more money than I did in my early 20s, and certain more "expensive" stores have been looking easier (with two kids and less time to "hunt") and frighteningly more attractive. Should I be heading toward the more modern, sleek minimalism that graces the homes of a lot of my friends? Should I throw bargain hunting to the wind and open a credit line at "Ethan Allen"? Not a chance. Not yet at least. Though I have found that my style is a definite mix; I love the old with the new. There is nothing that looks better than an old crock atop a modern glass piece, or a vintage table cloth on a shiny new table.
Really though, what it comes down to is this. When I think about the homes that I really love, the places that make me feel warm and good, the objects that inspire true lust and jealousy on my part...I think of the old, and the used, and the loved...the things that are at the next booth, under a pile of old pillowcases, waiting to be rescued.
here are a few of my recent finds...
bedside lamp..perfectly shabby chic. $14.99-antique store
vintage tablecloth...linen, perfect condition $8.00- consignment store
guilded mirror (which I'll likely paint) $25.00-estate sale.
