the last time I was home, I went to my very first estate sale. this, of course is a huge milestone in any 20 year old college sophomore's life. up there with being able to negotiate flea market prices with an 80 year old, convincing her to let you pay 50 cents instead of one dollar for a gold chain she is selling that has most likely been licked by a cat more than once.
sarcasm aside, i just love garage sales and other people's, especially old people, shit that they don't want. to put it bluntly. the mystical and magical idea that is an estate sale, usually means that the person/people died and their family doesn't want to deal with all of their stuff, so they sell it all. it made me have a lump in my throat to waltz through the rooms of this now deceased couple's house, looking at their life just set out before everyone's eyes with actual price tags on their memories and posessions. the husband served in wwII, they were well traveled, loved london and even walked the great wall of china! see how much you could tell from someone's stuff?
sarcasm aside, i just love garage sales and other people's, especially old people, shit that they don't want. to put it bluntly. the mystical and magical idea that is an estate sale, usually means that the person/people died and their family doesn't want to deal with all of their stuff, so they sell it all. it made me have a lump in my throat to waltz through the rooms of this now deceased couple's house, looking at their life just set out before everyone's eyes with actual price tags on their memories and posessions. the husband served in wwII, they were well traveled, loved london and even walked the great wall of china! see how much you could tell from someone's stuff?
I put myself in their shoes (i literally could have for $1, but i just wasnt feelin' in the mood for tiny keds and worn in men's loafers) and imagined people rumaging through my pile of scarves, jewelry, records and even underwear. dude. they were even selling their underwear. it made me feel nervous about what will happen when i'm old & gone. what if someone finds & judges me when they find that I still saved my J.Lo jeans from 8th grade? I wonder what the price tag will be for that? It better be a good one, i'm pretty sure I got them at D.E.M.O in the mall for atleast $50.
the estate sale trip was quite successful though. i adopted some of their wonderful posessions and made them my own. i'm well aware that most of the thrift store items I buy once belonged to someone and now I'm walking around in a coat or shoes that had a previous owner with a life. for instance, the boots that i purchased for 4 dollars that disintegrated in the snow when i was drunk, leaving me looking like a hobo, once belonged to a woman that most likely smoked heavily or burned to death wearing the boots since the insides were completely covered in ash. that's another topic though i think.
the estate sale trip was quite successful though. i adopted some of their wonderful posessions and made them my own. i'm well aware that most of the thrift store items I buy once belonged to someone and now I'm walking around in a coat or shoes that had a previous owner with a life. for instance, the boots that i purchased for 4 dollars that disintegrated in the snow when i was drunk, leaving me looking like a hobo, once belonged to a woman that most likely smoked heavily or burned to death wearing the boots since the insides were completely covered in ash. that's another topic though i think.
that's part of the reason why i love vintage so much because you never know just what happened to that person when they were wearing it. they could have fell in love, or made a new friend, had a bad day or had tears fall on the sleeves. and now it's mine, and one day it'll be someone else's. it's a beautiful circle. however, to see someone's life literally laid out with a price tag on it, in the very rooms that they walked around in and lived in was a little odd. i must admit.
will i go to another estate sale again? uhhh absolutely. the pic above is all of the things that i bought! i can't wait to have my own apartment/house and decorate it.
will i go to another estate sale again? uhhh absolutely. the pic above is all of the things that i bought! i can't wait to have my own apartment/house and decorate it.
ps- follow me on twitter! i just made one today and if twitter had a lunch table, i'd be the one sitting alone.
