maldon, daylesford, round and round she goes!

What a weekend. If I could sum it up in one word… it would have to be VINTAGE.  OH what a fabulous word, and it certainly was a fabulous weekend!

Itinerary was as follows:

Friday night was spent organising the mass of market items.  What fun.  As previously mentioned, this does not involve chucking random items in a bag and then kicking back to watch Forrest Gump.  Oh No.  The correct procedure involves a thorough search of all facets of my wardrobe room, along with the other items I had secretly hidden in the bureau in the spare room; of which bf is oblivious (and will forever remain so).  It then involves extensive umming and ahhing about whether to part with said items, usually broken up with periods of outfitting, trying on and parading around just to make sure.  Once fully committed to passing it on to a good home, the next steps are to price each item, pair up the shoes, fold all the jeans and pack everything neatly (or squeeze as much as I can get away with whilst still managing to carry said bags) into four oversized Ikea bags.  Done.  

Saturday began bright and early at the Maldon Antique Fair.  Met mother dearest and we set about perusing the rows of antique and collectable laden stalls on the local football oval.  Two rows later and I was already melting; it was about 28 degrees and a perfect blue summer’s day and I was over it.  Spotted – a homemade lemonade stall. Snap.  Feeling refreshed and revitalized, I managed one cutsey-kitsch purchase.  I call him Frank:

Next stop on the vintage tour train was Daylesford.  After a quick and absolutely fabulous lunch at Koukla (the café sister of Frangos and Frangos – LOVE); we hit possibly the best regional Victorian vintage sourcing location. Ever. The Mill Markets.  Filled to the brim with a huge range of fab vintage clothing, shoes, bags and accessories, an amazing collection of retro danish furniture, knick knacks, vintage china, spectacular coloured glassware, fabulous West German pottery and even a life-size Michelin Man from the fifties - this place has it all.  AHmazing.  Even better - a boutique version has recently opened in the main street.   Take a look:

Ahhhh.. vintage heaven.  A pair of vintage ray bans and a glomesh bag later, we stumbled across another retro gem only a few doors up the road.  I didn't catch the name of the place... but after curiously heading up some old wooden stairs, you are faced with one of the most amazing sights ever encountered:

I was lost for words.  What a sight.  If you can tear yourself away from the racks of amazing vintage pieces (sequinned blazer or sixties tennis dress perhaps?), there are also some fabulously quirky gift giving items to be scored.  Spotted: a super cute pale green floral print Asian tea-set (complete with  four matching cups and a china tray - just gorgeous), a whole vase full of vintage brightly coloured paper parasols, an art deco white and gold lamp that would be just gorge in my home office and a glass ashtray that read 'Jesus still loves me even though I smoke'.   

Next we headed on up the hill to the original Mill Market - the mother ship of vintage shopping.  Over the years we have devised a super-successful shopping strategy based on our key areas of interest; which ensures we cover every single item in the entire market.  I circumnavigate the vintage clothes, shoes and accessories, whilst Mother peruses the antiques, collectables and jewellery.  Upon entering we part ways and head off in our different directions.. only to regroup a few hours later to share and compare our finds and purchases.

So this is what I bought:

So, here I am in vintage heaven surrounded by the most amazing finds ever and I come out with two current season Sportsgirl skirts.  Yes - that is correct.  Uh - what was I thinking?  I did feel like I was totally going against the theme of the day - but I just couldn't leave these babies behind.  The paisley button-through midi was $28, and the cotton/silk coral maxi was $20.  Both were brand new and fit perfectly. WOOP.  I did come out with a vintage Ralph Lauren Polo tan embossed skinny belt which is perfect as a high waisted cincher ($10 - snap); so it wasn't a total non-vintage purchasing failure.  Saturday - done.

Sunday.  Market day.  Sunday begin bright and early at 4:30 am.  Okay - so it wasn't so bright but it was definitely early.  One of the many benefits of no longer living in metropolitan Melbourne meant that we were faced with a wonderful two hour drive to get to said market.  Fab.  Set up time was from 7:30am, and with stall selection being first in best dressed; I wanted to get there early and nab a fab possie.  Arriving 45 minutes before opening allowed us to be third in line for stalls.  Woop.  Nabbed one right in the doorway of the main hall - quite possibly the best site ever.  The next 2.5 hours were spent VM-ing said site; four layout changes and 2.5 hours later - all set.  Take a look:

Fast forward to 3pm - I was exhausted but thrilled to bits. Having followed all of my steps highlighted in my previous market instructional post had meant that the day was a cash flow bargain bonanza - best market ever money making-wise.  And, just to top it off, I only bought one thing for myself from neighbouring stalls (this must be some sort of record. This never happens. Period).  A fuchsia pink vintage silk shirt in immaculate condition.  $25.  Love it.

So that was the weekend.  Amazing. Vintage.

Guess who is going to bed??

FFIFY xxx