Two weeks ago I made the decision to attend THREE estate sales in one day, rather exhausting but all around worth it. The last sale that I went to, in Park Ridge (an affluent city just Northwest of Chicago), was advertised as a 'digger' sale so it was hard to know what to expect. According to the ad the house had been empty/shut up for 18 years and was now going to be open to the public.I ended up getting there about 45 minutes after the sale started so I figured there wouldn't be a line. But no, there was definitely still a line when I got there so I browsed through the piles of crap they had out on the lawn, in the garage and in the basement. By going into the basement I probably exposed myself to lead, asbestos and three types of molds, yay!
While I would have been the 114th person to get into the sale, luckily someone in front of me decided it wasn't worth the wait and gave me their ticket (so I was 55th instead). Half of the people that came out of the sale before I got in left empty handed, the only interesting things I saw were some swell '50s lamps, I wish I could have bought them! Anyways, I hoped that the people before me just had different tastes and/or were looking for something specific and that the sale was actually worthwhile.
When I finally got into the sale it was hard to know where to start first, especially because there was no electricity! We were correct in our assumption that they turned off the power but they didn't turn it back on for the sale, no they expected us to dig around in the dark. Thus I just kind of glanced around the bottom floor before heading 'upstairs'-- which turned out to be a half-finished attic. Not only was it extremely dusty up there but also boiling hot. So I managed to scoop up some vintage dresses and a few kitchen items downstairs before making my way out the door. They actually suggested that people make several 'rounds' and take breaks outside inbetween. There were also disposable gloves provided which didn't use, so my hands and fingernails got caked with dirt (yuck).
All in all the prices were super low (I paid a dollar a dress) but I felt like they should be paying ME just to go into that place and look through stuff. I don't get why they would put customers through that situation, couldn't they have spent a week (and turned on the power) to go through the stuff and price it? They could have made a lot more money.
Apparently the reason the place has been closed up for 18 years is that the former owner moved to a retirement home and no one bothered to close up/empty the house. I guess she's either passed away now or someone in the family wants to sell the house. It was an old house, built in 1896 but it's surprising anyone would just leave a house sitting like that for nearly two decades! It makes the whole moving out process a lot worse when that much grime has accumulated.
[Click on photos to see the larger version]
At the sale I bought 12 dresses for $1 each. Surprisingly they all fit perfectly and even though they've been hanging in an attic for 50+ years are in perfect condition.The first two pictures are what I presume to be a square dancing dress, the skirt is very full and there's silver and aqua thread stitched in an intricate pattern on the bodice and skirt. From the length and shape of the dress I assume it's from the 1950s?
An early 1960s dress with a fun bohemian print. I also got the little 'weekend at grandmas' suitcase from the digger sale. I replaced the original cord belt with a skinny gold belt from Ann Taylor and the large segmented owl necklace is from an Evanston estate sale.
I'm starting to have quite a few vintage pink dresses, I think this is my 6th? It has amazing light pink and rhinestone buttons that go down the front (it takes a while to fasten them all!). This was the only dress missing its original belt so I borrowed a belt from another of my pink dresses.
The little black dog was found at another estate sale, he has a sweet little ribbon bow around his neck and a little green string as his 'leash'. He seems quite old, maybe from the '30s? He's stuffed with some kind of wood chipping/sawdust.
My favorite dress out of the lot, it has little scalloped rickrack trim along the pockets and collar. Mother-of-pearl buttons run the length of the dress and the shawl collar and the colours make it seem nautical. The little carpet purse is from the White Elephant thrift store in Lincoln Park and the leather case is an old doctor's instrument case found at an Edgebrook estate sale.
Back view of the dress. If you were wondering about the setting of the photos, this is actually the dusty barely used backstairs of my 1920s-era apartment building. For some reason they enclosed the porches sometime in the last 80 years so we just use it for storage. I've always had the issue of where to take 'outfit' photos as I feel a bit funny taking pictures in the shared courtyard and I don't go often go on trips to quaint areas like the following vintage fashion bloggers: Liebemarlene, Sallyjane Vintage and Strawberry Koi. The stairs were boiling hot and super dusty but provided great light. Expect them to appear in future outfit posts.