Round Four at the Vintage Fair

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending another one of Victoria's lovely Vintage Fairs! This was the fourth fair I've been to since moving to Victoria and unlike my past visits I decided to go solo to this one. Okay, so that "decision" wasn't a very hard one since Fraser is still away on practicum, Jim was recovering from a pub crawl the evening before, and my  vintage loving gal pals were all busy - but it turned out to be a ton of fun attending alone! I got to take my sweet time searching through all the treasures and did't have to worry about holding anyone up. I also had a few nice conversations with some of the sellers there and got a peek into how they run their vintage businesses! How cool! It turned into one heck of a rad Saturday and I got quite the hall of bargoons! I think my treasure hunting skills have really improved with age because I came home with a huge bag of goodies! Let's check it out - starting with the necklaces:

I seem to have really gone for the neutrals at this fair and am trying to be more practical with my finds.  When I found something that tickled my fancy I'd check for flaws, think about how it would look on, and plan out how many outfits I could work it into (while keeping the price in mind).  Since I clearly have an accessory addiction (and if anyone took a gander at my dresser and the multitude of jewelry stands on top of it you'd have a better understanding of that), I try to stick to pieces that will add to the collection and bring some quirky vintage flair to my wardrobe.  Let's be honest here - my goal in life is to be an updated version of Jessica Fletcher and trips to the vintage fair certainly take me one step closer on that one! Haha! Next up on the finds reveal - some pins!:

I'm such a sucker for flowers! It was hard avoiding the masses of bedazzled rhinestone brooches on this round (that all seemed extra tacky) but I think it ended up well. I'm really loving the texture and detail on the cross stitch pin and think it will be great on a cardigan! I was thrilled to find the white poinsettia brooch too since most of the enamel metal ones I find are uber american and are always red, white, and blue. White is a little more subtle and  I love how it will work into some festive holiday outfits! Hooray! Next up are the pendants:

Okay, so I need to take a trip to the bead store to get some chains to finish up these beauts, but that sounds like the perfect afternoon project for the sake of new necklaces!  The two oval ones are sure to make it into weekly rotation and I got the little bear because it reminded me of a gold bear pendant my Grandma used to have! I think the anchor will be cute when I take off that top ring and thread it onto a nice long silver chain! How fun! Last up is the gold electroplated leaf that is totally not vintage but is lovely all the same. I actually bought one of these in silver last winter for Lindsay from a little shop in Fan Tan Alley and was happy to get this one a good $23 cheaper! Score!

My next find has a bit of a story to go with it.  While I was searching my life away at the tables a customer stopped by to say hello and introduce me to his wife.  He isn't a particularly an over friendly or talkative guy so I was a little shocked that he approached me but was pleased nonetheless. We had a pretty awkward moment where I was holding up a quite ridiculous piece of costume jewelry which he looked extra confused about and disgusted by and replied with, "So....you like...jewelry?" Yup. Sure do. And what was that one particularly ridiculous piece you wonder? Why a bright gold scaly snake bracelet of course! So awesome it deserves its own picture!

Yay! Every girl needs one of those right? It was just too memorable to leave behind! Now to figure out what to wear it with...

Last up on the vintage finds reveal are the bits and bobs of other goodies that really didn't work in with the other pictures I took.  I rarely leave a fair without falling in love with a good doily and can't wait to make a craft project out of this extra delicate one.  I also scored a set of 50 cent green bangles, a coconut ring, a lacy looking silver ring, a sweet silk scarf and a skeleton key! What deals! 

Even though this Vintage Fair was the stocked up with loads of xmas goodies and was holiday themed, as you can see from my finds above, I didn't actually buy anything very festive.  I suppose I'm just more into getting the costume jewelry than expensive fancy glass ornaments that have no special meaning to me. However, it was fun to check out and all the decorations and it did sort of make me want one of those silver tinsel fake trees! It was a little difficult to avoid total sensory overload too because those booths were packed with stuff:

I actually ended up getting 90% of my purchases from the bargain table that was covered with masses of disorganized stuff. I'm sure this sort of treasure hunting doesn't appeal to anyone without some patience but I just loved searching through all the junk! Just look at those bins:

I methodically went through each basket of goods and picked up anything that really called to me. Near the end I went back through my bin of finds and discarded anything that wasn't going to immediately make my life more awesome and bolted out of there before I was drawn back in. Whew!

Overall the Saturday was a success! I found so many amazing treasures and after a good scrub and sanitation I'll be throwing these into rotation!  After looking over all my finds again I am most excited for this lacy pearl necklace I snapped up! It was in the first shot I showed you in this post but since it's my favourite I thought I'd take another one so you can soak it up in full glory:

Isn't it just dying to be paired with a nice jersey black dress? OoOo or maybe a high waisted pleated skirt, tucked in blouse, and cardigan? Oh my! It's pretty much a classy doily for my neck and I couldn't be more pleased about it! Yay!

How about your thoughts? What do you search for when you're thrift shopping? Any tips? Could you have resisted that snake?