18 March 2012

Fine day for a fair

Today mum and I headed off to the biannual vintage fashion fair held at the Burnside Ballroom. This was about the fourth time we'd attended, so I think that officially makes us regulars ;) We definitely have our plan of attack down pat, which basically involves spending the first hour and a half browsing through all the stalls, heading back to the car for a pre-packed esky lunch, then going back in for round two.


I bought this beautiful full skirt made of a shiny crepe material with black velvet roses. The colour is a bit hard to describe but it's like a lovely mix of purple and brown, almost a dark taupe. The stall owner runs a consignment store and she was telling me that the lady who brought this into the shop wore it in the 1950s. There were some other clothes which came from the same lady including a mustard coloured linen dress with buttons all the way down the front and a tie at the waist that fastened with a buckle. I think clothes like this are made even more special by the fact that they were worn and loved by someone so many decades ago and are given a second life all these years later. That they have survived in such good condition is amazing.


I thought this penguin brooch was too cute. It's as if they're all holding hands and about to go for a penguin family waddle.


I found this little squirrel sitting amongst a table of bags, purses and other bits and pieces. After bringing him home I realised his ear had been re-glued at one stage. He's now sitting happily amongst my other woodland critters despite his wounded state :) My last purchase was a pair of sterling silver marcasite earrings. I love marcasite jewellery and these are a perfectly dainty shape.

The fair is heading to Brisbane next in a couple of weeks, so make sure to get your skates on :) Did you have any thrifty adventures over the weekend? Check out lots of other flea market finds and share your own over at Her Library Adventures.

15 comments:

  1. Such a gorgeous skirt! You had a very sucessful day at the fair in deed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the heads up I will definantly being going to the Brisbane fair. You got so many gorgeous goodies, that skirt is perfection.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thankyou ladies :) I already have an outfit planned - I'm going to wear the skirt with a cream lace top I op shopped a little while ago, and some black velvet wedges. I might even do an outfit post if I feel brave enough haha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The skirt is just gorgeous looks like a great investment piece for the wardrobe, I love it.
    I so hope to catch the fair in Brisbane as I missed a fair in Brisbane last weekend to other commitments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I definitely agree with the investment piece philosophy. More and more I've been looking for well-made, good quality pieces and a lot of vintage clothing ticks those boxes :)

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks Nat :) Your deck is looking great!

      Delete
  6. I nearly went to this! But I was put off when I heard the clothes were quite expensive. Thus, I couldn't justify the entry just for the privilege of buying overpriced vintage. What are your thoughts!? Sounds like you had a full day & there was some one of a piece items that may have been worth going for. And clearly taking my boyfriend would have been a bad idea ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the entry fee is worth it just to gawk at the amazing vintage clothes some of the stalls were selling :) Some of the clothing was really expensive and perhaps (very) overpriced, but there were also more reasonably priced pieces which, while still expensive, I think reflected the quality of the clothing. There were some beautiful unique pieces you just wouldn't find in an op shop. Plus there was lotsss of lovely jewellery, homewares, craft supplies and all sorts of things! I would recommend against taking your boyfriend - I know my walking around in circles and um-ing and ah-ing would've driven mine mad haha!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the reply. Looks like I'll have to check it out next time ...

      Delete
  7. The penguin pin is the cutest thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was $5 which I thought was quite good!

      Delete
  8. Love that skirt, and the cute brooch and squirrel! I really like your blog, and the awesome stuff you have found! I love op-shopping too! Hope you can check out my blog! :)

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.