A basketful of bargains

I have to confess that I'm always feeling a tiny bit bereft whenever I finish a series of travelogues. Not only do I love writing these posts, they are the perfect way to relive those short-lived, carefree days and smell those roses one more time.

The best thing to do to combat post-travelogue blues is to book another another trip, methinks!

But for now, I'm reverting to my usual workaday schedule of outfit posts mixed with a dose of charity shopping, walks in the park and the occasional day trip.

And flea markets!

In spite of the fact that Indian Summer still firmly ruled two weeks ago on Sunday, we were more than happy to go to our first indoor flea market of the season. The last one had been in May and, as this Summer's outdoor markets had been rather disappointing, we were starting to get serious withdrawal symptoms.

Unusually for me, there was no forward planning involved in assembling my outfit, which was pulled from my wardrobe at the last moment on Sunday morning.

Funnily enough, this floral maxi skirt, which consists of a gauzy layer with a solid yellow underskirt, hadn't been worn at all during the Summer months, and it had been even longer since the green short-sleeved vintage jumper embroidered with pink and white flowers had seen the light of day.

I only wore my blue and orange charity shopped blazer to walk down to our garage, but henceforth it was left behind in the car.

As expected, the gorgeous weather meant that the venue wasn't booked to its full capacity, with quite a few empty spaces.

If initially it was rather disappointing to have our suspicions confirmed, it soon transpired that quality ruled over quantity as we ended up with quite a decent haul.

Here are all our buys displayed on our garden table and as you can see there is a little bit of everything. Intrigued? Then let's have a closer look!

First up are these two tins. I keep telling myself I should stop buying tins as we've long run out of space for them, but well, it seems that once again I stubbornly refused to listen to my inner voice.

I couldn't resist the gorgeously decorated tin (top and bottom left) which, judging from its colours and motifs, I suspect to date from the 1930s. The famous Belgian chocolate brand Côte d'Or is marked on its bottom, so no prices for guessing its original contents! The small yellow Maggi tin, which used to contain stock cubes, has already found a home among our kitchenalia. 

At one of our favourite stalls, belonging to our friend Tania, I spotted this tiny wooden souvenir windmill from Middelburg in Holland. As we'd spent a couple of days there last November, it obviously needed to join our growing collection. Yes, we actually have a small collection of these kitschy wooden souvenirs in our hallway, quite a few of them featuring tiny windmills. They must have been all the rage at one point, as I clearly remember one adorning the wall of my grandparents' sitting room! Lovely Tania let me have the windmill for free! 

Tania's stall is a treasure trove, and we usually end up buying one or two things. This time, my eye was caught by a colourful basket, which Tania said came from France. There's always room for another basket at Dove Cottage, especially as I'm using the majority of them for storage of some kind.

I found the yellow beads on another stall but I thought they contrasted strikingly with the basket.

This vintage lacquered bamboo basket was a steal at € 2. It opens on top, which makes it ideal for use as a small picnic basket. But then again, it'll make a nice handbag too! Either way, it will need an inner make-over as the lining is beyond redemption.

My heart skipped a beat when I spotted this vintage vinyl lunch box, delightfully decorated with two tiny children hitching a ride on a snail. The style and handle reminded me of vintage vinyl Barbie doll cases. Here in Europe, these cases were often made in France, as was this one. I'd say it dates from the early 1960s.

It was quite filthy but nothing I couldn't handle, so it came home with me.

Any additions to my burgeoning vintage fashion library are always welcome. This one on the 1940s look is an interesting read with plenty of illustrations.

Another collection of ours (I was born with the collecting gene, after all) is Tala ware, which started quite unintentionally when we picked up a Tala icing set in a tin box in an antiques shop in Rye, specializing in kitchenalia, many years ago.  

Tala is a well known British baking and kitchenware brand, and one of its oldest, founded in 1899 in Stourbridge in England's Black Country. 

This set of cookie cutters is complete and still in its box, which unfortunately isn't in the best of conditions. We would have paid more than € 3 if it had been, though, as I found a similar set in my Miller's kitchenware guide, which mentions an average price of  € 40-45 for one in mint condition.

Ah, brooches! 

I don't think I've ever left this flea market without any new treasures in that department. They were all found at different stalls at prices varying between € 2 and € 15.

Can you guess which was the most expensive? (*)

Here's a closer look at two of them. Aren't they exquisite? I particularly love the tiny birds perching on a tree branch in the one on the right, which is celluloid mounted on a metal background and decorated with filigree.

The brooch on the left is painted ceramic in a pearly frame.

The final week of September was a blur of rainy days and a busy work schedule, so I only managed outfit photos on two occasions. 

One of my outfits was based around the Springlike hues of this vintage dress, in a pale blue plaid pattern dotted with pink roses.

My accessories consisted of a pink beaded necklace, a tan leather and cream lace belt, and a vintage early plastic butterfly brooch. I wore a bright pink cardi on top, and look: I'm wearing boots for the first time this season!

This Diolen delight with its busy orange, yellow and green floral pattern on a deep aubergine background, made it the perfect choice for a dull Autumn day.

I stirred things up a bit by accessorizing it with sunshine yellow and fiery orange. I'm not sure the lady on my brooch approves, as she seems to favour blue!

One of the bright spots of my week were the final sales days at my favourite chain of vintage shops, Think Twice, where I snapped up these beauties for € 4 each.

Featuring my beloved flower prints, both the black, three-quarter sleeved one on the left and the high-necked and long-sleeved chocolate brown one on the right, are welcome additions to my Winter wardrobe.

And then there was this blue dress with flowers tumbling towards the hem. As the weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse, I'm not sure I'll be able to wear it before next Spring, but it's definitely one to look forward to.

(*) The most expensive of the brooches, for which I paid € 15, was the celluloid butterfly! Did you guess it right?

Linking my maxi skirt to Mica's Weekday Wear linkup!