I have been on a quest my whole life. Most of my younger days were spent escaping into some made up world or some other time period. I read, watched movies, and generally wiled my days away dreaming about these other worlds and times. At some point, growing up, I realized that I was probably never going to find a wardrobe, that would lead me to some other world or go down some dark alleyway in London, that would suddenly transport me back 100 years. While this recognition is somewhat sad, about the same time I was coming to this conclusion, I was beginning to realize that I could, in fact, surround myself with everything (minus the elves and lions that spoke) that made these worlds and these times magical.
How did I go about doing this? Well, first I accompanied my father to a little store called the Venice Antique Mall, in Ross, Ohio. Up until this point, I had robbed (or rather begged) most of my vintage finds from my Mamaw's closets. These included many handkerchiefs, a few aprons, some costume jewelry and one amazing swimsuit from the 1950's. Once plundered, all hopes of obtaining more magical things disappeared. My grandmother was the only elderly person I had a relationship with, certainly the only one nice enough to give me all these relics from her past that I would treasure. But my dad taught me a rather invaluable lesson. Most people thought this stuff was worth a lot of money, but hardly anyone thought this stuff was worth taking care of or using. Here is where I come in. My first finds that day, that my Dad purchased for me, were a cream corset and a beautiful gray hat with a veil (hence the name of this blog). At this time, $8 dollars for a hat ("..that probably had lice..," exclaimed my Mom) and $11 for a used undergarment was a ton of money, but my Dad still bought it for me.
Over the years following that first day, we have been to flea markets, antique stores in dozens of small towns and more garage sales than I could ever count and I have filled my life up with lots of long forgotten relics of the past. Some of my favorites are ones I found almost two decades ago. And one, in particular, I found not even a week ago. This one will be the topic of my next post. A beautiful Steamer Trunk made in Cincinnati, Ohio that I got for a steal at 59 dollars and that I plan on restoring and using in my bedroom just as soon as humanly possible.
This is a small-town girl's quest for a vintage life.
