Shopping on the Road

One of the joys of a road trip is the knowledge that just ahead is another antique mall.  I’m not the type who can spend lots of uninterrupted hours in a car, so I plan shopping stops along the way.  It usually works out to a thirty minute stop every hour or two, which is just right.

That plan went awry when I encountered the mega-mall above.  Can you tell from my photo that this place had twenty-two aisles?  After two hours in the place, I realized that I had to just skim the unbrowsed remainder, which was about one third of the building.   And because  of it I had to skip the next few stops.  Yes, the life of a vintage shopper is full of drama.

And now for what I liked, but did not buy:

This was just an ordinary novelty print blouse, cute, but take a look at the label.

A Jack Daniels Famous Original.  I’m quite sure it has nothing to do with the whiskey.

This was really cute, but made from the cheapest materials, like they would do for teen consumers.  Kate Spade ought to re-do this one in nicer materials.

This is from a straight skirt, embroidered with raffia.  I’ve seen circle shirts with this type embroidery, but never a straight one.

One seller had a stack of deadstock acrylic Boy Scout sweaters, probably from the 1970s.  If they had been wool I’d have bought one for myself.

I hate seeing military medals for sale all jumbled up this way, especially a Purple Heart.  It just seems to be so disrespectful.

One place had the absolute best idea for displaying paper items.  It was so much easier than flipping though a stack of stuff.

And there were lots of pretty things to see.

Do any of you remember these little snap button hair rollers?  My Great Aunt Mary used them.  Don’t believe that part about “pretty in the hair.”

This is “The College Girl at Basket-ball” a print Harrison Fisher did for the Ladies Home Journal around 1908.  Note how he made the bloomers look like a skirt.

And finally, women, this herb tonic was good for what was troubling you.  Note that the alcohol was purely for solvent and preservative purposes.