Playing by the Rules

I have some rules. Treasures can be found at most any location: yard sale, consignment store, thrift shop, basement. Once I was at work and a man came to the door with a big box, “I heard there was a young woman here who likes costume jewelry?” he offered. Indeed. That's how I received Mrs. McGarvey's collection of costume jewelry.

But, you cannot “find” treasures at antique stores or collectables shows. Vendors have already cut to the chase: It is their job to hunt for marketable goods and arrange them with folksy allure. I’m not saying that you can’t buy something delightful, wonderful, unanticipated at an antique store (I did today!), but it is not a discovery.

See left, modeled by Myrtle: Not a discovery: kicky 1960s mini-dress from Uniontown antique store. While not officially a treasure, at a solid $5, it was a steal (pair with thin-knit black turtleneck, opaque tights, Mary Tyler Moore flats, knock ‘em dead).

I got a carload of stuff today. I went to the Uniontown community-wide yard sale with super-scavenger Sueann and her most tolerant fiancé. Although there were some ancillary yard sales in the Uniontown community, the focus of the day was concentrated at the park. Unfortunately, this day was grossly mis-marketed: the park was swimming with antique vendors. Depression glass gleamed; collectable toys dotted tables of linens and pottery. The scene was devastatingly seductive. What a sham.These were full-on dealers: high prices and high expectations that we’d fall all over their wares. Sueann soon discovered that the vendors were averse to bartering and even the local antique shops had more reasonable prices. But, at a slightly bearable $3.00, I got these:
Kind of gaudy. Kind of dated. Totally Christian Dior. Entirely loveable.

As the photo indicates, these sunglasses are green plastic with a purple swirl pattern and gilded accents on the sides. At $3.00, I wondered if they were from Christian Dior’s 1980s bargain line. I checked ebay and found these Vintage Christian Dior Brown Clear Sunglasses, with a Buy It Now option of $99.99.

While not a twin to my pair, they possess similar styling: plastic, oversized, same “CD” logo on the side. But is their $99.99 price tag an unqualified guess from Richmun, our seller? No. It appears that Richmun has successfully sold 5,400 pairs of vintage sunglasses and I infer has a reasonable sense of market values.

These sunglasses were purchased at a vendor. But does the low price tag versus market value qualify them as a “discovery?” You know, I love my rules, but even I’m not too staunch to see antique vendors with a new set of eyes. Especially when they’re framed by Dior.