There are many ways to spend a sunny day but I can think of none finer than rifling through stall after stall of long forgotten finery and frippery at a good old fashioned flea market. Whether it's fashion or furniture, knick knacks or bric-a-brac that floats your boat, a day spent in vintage heaven is a day well spent in my book.
But of late I have been left a little jaded by my visits to Portobello, Spitalfields and the like. Having become such iconic tourist destinations, an afternoon browse or meander has now turned into the sort of affair that requires one to be in possession of a pair of the very sharpest of elbows and the steeliest of wills.
So having been told that a little slice of vintage heaven existed just a stones throw from the M25 (about 40mins from London) it was with a little skip in my step that I set off, with my lovely Mum, to breathe the fresh air of the South Downs and take in the IACF's Ardingly show in West Sussex.
To my delight, what I found was nothing short of a gargantuan antiques fair set across the sprawling fields and lanes that make up the Ardingly showground. No rumbling Westway overhead, just sky ... and me ... on cloud nine!
I think if I had taken a HGV lorry I could have filled it ten times over with the shabby chic offerings from each and every stall. Eight foot high stacks of antique trunks and suitcases sat alongside the freakishly fabulous, taxidermied delights in their bell jars. Nineteenth century dressers sat neatly with mid century modern classics and all manner of 'brocante' had made its way from the across the channel, including the most wonderful selection of books, comics, roadsigns, industrial lights and lamps et al. Fashion-wise there was the usual glut of questionable furs, a whole host of fabulous Mary Jane's, vintage buttons and bags galore plus many an Abigail's Party style dress.
To say I was truly sold on this particular style of treasure hunting would be an understatement. Never again will I trudge the streets of W11 or EC1 (well maybe not never!) looking for a slice of the retro fabulous as I have found it here, in the rolling hills of the great British countryside.
And not only have I found it here, a little clever TinkT style research has blown this little world of wonder wide open to me. There are quite literally hundreds of these fairs taking place across the UK and Europe, and I for one am getting involved. The first weekend in September will see me and the boy hot it foot it across the channel to partake in the famed La Braderie of Lille. Billed as the biggest flea market in Europe, it is a festival and flea market rolled into one ... Brocante, biere, moules et frites .. happy days!
