Liberty Antiques Festival, Spring 2014

Last weekend was the one event that try to never miss, the spring Liberty Antiques Festival.   Twice a year some of the best sellers in the region gather for a big two day sale in the middle of a large field.  I can honestly say that I always find at least one exceptional item every show.

And now for the virtual shopping:

I used to collect vintage Halloween before the prices went sky-high-crazy.  These cards were tempting.

Store and salesman display boxes always get my attention.  I loved this one from Kickaway because I have a pair of black wool Kickaway bloomers.

This was a huge table of just summer handbags.

I thought this display for hair nets was interesting.  “For the Woman in Every Stage of Life”

That’s a great pair of 1920s or 30s outing boots.  The wooden thing behind them is a sweater block for knitters or for reblocking a sweater after washing.

This great dress was in the booth of Down South Vintage.  It is actually two pieces, with the skirt being attached to a bodice, and the beaded top is worn over it.  Note the curving waistband of the top. This was an exceptional garment, and I was not surprised to find an exceptional label:

Helena Barbieri was a very high-end evening and cocktail dress maker.

I’m afraid I’m starting to enjoy the self-portrait in the mirror thing.  Here I’m modeling a 1940s tilt hat that was all one big bloom.

Nice travel tag

This is a reminder to always look under the tables.  This was a lovely 1950s suit with matching shawl.

1966 Ar-Ex cosmetics color card.  I sure wish I’d saved all the ones the Avon lady used to drop off at my house.

I’m not a big fan of  Catherine Ogust for Penthouse Gallery dresses, but this print is great.  Seen at Design Archives in Greensboro.

For years Shadowline was a family-owned business in Morganton, NC.   Then the business sold and production stopped.  Now they have reopened with many of the products still being made in the USA.  Seen at Granddaddy’s Antique Mall in Burlington, NC.

Liberty Antiques Festival, Fall 2011

I’ve written about Liberty before.  It is by far the best seasonal market that I know of in the South.  People who know say it is like a mini Brimfield, being held outdoors in a big field.  The difference is size.  At Liberty there is only one field, which can be a plus because in one day you can pretty much cover it all.  So even though it is a three and a half hours drive for me, and the blooming thing opens at 8 am, I rarely miss it.

This year, the weather did not look promising.  It’s rare that the weatherman ever commits to 100% certainty of anything, so why did he give a 100% chance of rain for Liberty on Friday?  When this sort of thing happens, I usually have the good sense to hold off a day, but the forecast for Saturday was almost as bad, so flinging fate to the wind and drowning out in my mind the reports of the dismal rainy, muddy time that was this fall’s Brimfield show, I threw my rubber boots in the car and headed off.

So did I make a big mistake?  Surprisingly, no.  When I arrived, having driven four hours in the rain, there was just a fine mist falling.  Most of the booths were still covered up due to the earlier rain, but things were improving to the point that I almost left the boots in the car.  If there is one thing I really hate it is having wet or cold feet, so I pulled the boots over my thick socks and entered the show.  The crowd was considerably lighter than in previous shows, and the sellers were eager to please.  The rain had completely stopped, and so for the next two hours the show was as always.  I was finding some pretty amazing things (to be reported later this week) and I was pretty smug about having taken the risk.

I took my first round of purchases to my car, and realized that some parking spaces had opened up closer to the entrance.  I pulled my car up to the front, totally forgetting that I had propped my umbrella next to the car.  I was sitting there eating the spinach cheddar scone I’d bought that morning at Ollie’s Bakery in Winston-Salem when it started to rain.  That’s when I remembered the umbrella.  I scurried back to my old place, hoping that it would still be there, but no such luck.  So to the person who happened upon my umbrella, and who did not have the decency to turn it into the lost and found, shame on you.

But I still had a rain jacket and a hat, so I felt like it would not be too bad.  And, really, it wasn’t.  I got a little wet, but the crowd had thinned to the point that sellers where happy to discount without me even having to ask.  And because of the pouring rain, I (and other buyers, it seemed) tended to spend more time in each dry tent, and so I’m sure I spotted some things I normally would have missed.  The sellers were saying that all things considered,  they were having a pretty good sale.

By the time I left, the place was a horrible, muddy mess.  I felt really sorry for anyone who was not wearing rain boots.  As Banana Republic used to advertise, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

I don’t have many photos, but here’s a sampling of what was there:

This was so funny.  I really think that movie might be about me!

Missoni inspiration?  This little girl’s skirt came with the fair award it won in 1908!

The clasp has a mirror on the underside:

These mittens were label as Victorian.  Any thoughts?

And, finally, something I did buy, after much wavering and negotiating:

Yes, I’ll do a post on the swimsuit, probably on Tuesday.