Discovering something new

By now friends know how much I love hunting for finds at brocantes and flea markets. However, I took a bit of a break over the weekend because I came across something called a vide-dressing. Vide dressing literally means "empty your closet" and I've observed that recently, more and more vide dressings were being held in town. What this basically means is that a group of like minded fashionistas get together and empty their closets of their unwanted but still in good condition clothes/ accessories and sell it to others for much cheaper prices.  I'm sure it started out among groups of friends but has now involved into highly organized events that more than hold their own against the traditional brocantes and vide-greniers.  These days they've even included young designers in the line up of vendors.

As there was one held very close to where we live, I thought it couldn't hurt to check things out. As expected the focus was mostly on clothes and shoes.  But I have to say that the organizers had made sure to take only people with nice items to sell.  While there weren't that many sellers, they did have quality merchandise to sell. To be sure most of the items were used but several stands carried unworn items. 

To be sure the crowd was mostly girls and I have to say that this kind of sale is a good way of getting rid of one's unwanted clothes but what I found to be the most interesting to look at were the displays put on by young designers.   It is here that the vide dressing becomes more than just a place where you empty your closet of unwanted items and instead becomes a place to find clever and talented artists who otherwise have no other way to display their wares. As one pointed out to me, there is always the internet but nothing beats seeing the actual object for sale and being able to try them on. That's certainly true.

One stand carried different hair bands decorated in various fabrics and prints.  Normally, its not my style but it was certainly fun trying them out!

Another stand carried hankerchiefs, little bags and jewelry made out of very pretty liberty prints.

By far, the best one was the stand carrying crocheted jewelry. This one was really special and it stood out from all the rest.  The necklaces were striking in the bold use of colors and dramatic looking thanks to their heft. What was most impressive however, was the fact that the artist makes the thread herself. Not for her the normal crochet thread one finds in the market, she painstakingly weaves the thread before creating the actual jewelry.  The result is something extremely original and beautiful!

I'm not about to give up my usual forays into the brocantes but just this one time, I was glad to have skipped it and to have discovered something different but nice.