Today’s headline may draw a host of new readers, for all the wrong reasons. This post isn’t about Vargas girls of days gone by. It’s about finding old stuff – at yard sales, thrift shops, auctions, on the curb – and being thrilled with your new possession.
MOB reader Anne H tipped me off to this great link from The New York Times, in which readers were invited to post pictures of their favorite vintage find, along with a short description. The resulting slide show is fantastic – and fascinating to a vintage lover like me.
There’s a photo in this link of a blouse someone found at a going-out-of-business-sale at a clothing shop in New England. (Those of us who are hard-core love the backstories, too.) She grabbed a NOS (new old stock – something old but never sold and still in the backroom) blouse created in the 1940s. It was printed all over with imaginary newspaper headlines and articles from the far-in-the-future 1990s. What an amazing find!
Breeze through the slides and you’ll see all kinds of great stuff, nabbed for pennies – some of it very valuable, some loved just for its color or shape.
I have too many fab finds filling my house, but here are two that live in my garden shed. One is an English watering can, galvanized, with a very long spout and a sprinkler head. The other is a Sussex trug. Both are the kinds of things you see in expensive Smith & Hawken catalogs. When I found these items at a garage sale in 1989, they were $5 – total. As we were newlyweds and dirt poor, I actually ran home to get clearance from Chris to spend the money, then ran back – and they were still there, waiting for me. Had I bought them new, these things would have cost well above $100, even back in the Reagan Administration.
If you have some time to kill today or over the weekend, here’s the link to the superb slide show:
As we head into high yard sale season, I would love to hear your story: what are your best vintage finds ever? The more details, the better!
