Vintage at the Beach: Something Old, Something New

Back in July, I ventured to the Outer Banks with my family and boyfriend for a week of relaxation and beach-bumming, with a healthy dose of shopping. On the way to the bait and tackle shop to stock up on supplies for the boyfriend-father bonding fishing excursion, we happened to pass this eye-catching building from the highway.

Obviously we had to stop. Although the interior was what some might describe as 'junky', I thrived on my usual excitement at the prospect of digging around and finding some treasures.

Unfortunately we didn't have much luck finding anything of interest. However, when I got home I googled 'thrift shops' in the Outer Banks and came across this gem:

Right away I knew this was going to be good.

Inside, we were immediately greeted with this:

And this:

And this:

Heavens to betsy. Can you say vintage lovers HEAVEN? I quickly went into kid-in-the-candy-store overdrive. The place was stuffed to the brim with funky junk, and the prices weren't even too astronomical. Ian was an awesome sport about roaming around for an hour and a half, and was chatting it up with the owners, whose names are now escaping me...

Even though I could have bought the entire store, I decided on a funky 1970's maxi dress, a style I've been teetering on the fence over whether or not I dig. I even made my first barter, haggling the price down to $30 from $38. (Thanks for the boost of confidence Ian!) Since I saved on the dress, I got some funky earrings and a green necklace to go with it.

If only this store wasn't 8 hours away. Oh well, my wallet will thank me.

Happy thrifting!

-Bren