5.8.15

Vintage in Vacationland!: Maine Adventures Part 1

Hello darlings!  I'm back today after being in the state of Maine for a divine week-long vacation.  My step-dad's parents, Vicki + Herm, spend their summers at their lake house, and invite family and friends to take some time off and visit.  My family has visited the past few summers, and this year I finally was able to join them!


I had the most amazing time - Vicki + Herm are so much fun, and Maine is absolutely beautiful.  We spent our week boating and swimming in the lake, taking day trips to different parts of the state, eating Gifford's ice cream, and of course, shopping!  

Vicki and I spent a full day shopping in Waterville, and had the best experience shopping at Heirloom Antiques and Vintage.   I'm still in the process of taking some pictures of my goodies for you, however, I also did some shopping in Farmington with my mom, and our experience there was....interesting, to say the least.  I absolutely had to tell you all about it as soon as possible!  

My family and I stopped in Farmington on the way back from Smalls Falls, a scenic rest stop that also doubles as a great spot for cliff jumping.  How gorgeous is it?!


On the way to the falls, we had seen signs for a few shops, namely one called Outskirts Vintage.  My mom and step-dad actually initially saw the sign, and insisted that we stop so I could check it out.

There's a lot to say about Outskirts, so I'll get right to it.  First of all, the owner was extremely nice, pleasant, and clearly knowledgeable, however...she was a bit of a hot mess!  Even if you didn't talk with her much or have the experience I did, you could get that vibe from the store itself.  The store was dark; so dark you couldn't tell that it was mid afternoon on a gorgeous sunny day!  They were apparently going through a remodel, so some areas were weirdly roped off, there was stuff on the floor, and things just looked haphazard and shoved in random places.  It was store policy not to allow any pictures, so unfortunately I can't give you guys an idea!

There were some really beautiful items in the store, but the problem is, I'm not really sure if the owner really wanted to sell any of them!  Prices seemed kind of high to me; they definitely were not set to move items out the door.  Also, as we were shopping, items on the floor suddenly were actually not for sale....seriously.  Let me explain:

It started with an adorable fruit charm bracelet my mom found; the owner heard my mom showing it to me, walked up to us, and exclaimed "Ohhh... you know... I'm in the midst of remodeling, and I need certain items to create the right aesthetic...so I'm so sorry....that's not for sale!" Okay... understandable, the area where we found the bracelet was off limits. Our bad!  However, a few minutes later I picked up and adorable straw bag, with a price tag, from a different area of the store.  She came up to me again: "Oh my gosh!! You clearly really have great taste!  I just realllllly need to keep some things, so I'm so sorry.... but it's not for sale!".  Alright...it was a cute bag so it would look great on display, but then why was it tagged and on the floor? Also, aren't the point of displays to sell things?  I haven't been to a vintage shop where the items in a display are not for sale, unless they are clearly marked.  Lastly, I tried on an adorable pair of sunglasses I found on top of a glass display case...once again I was told I had great taste, but she was so sorry, another customer must have put them there by accident, they weren't for sale either!  At that point, as Vicki put it best, "and you were still in there, why?".

I stuck it out because I do feel like you never know where you'll make the find of your life, and what you may have to endure to do so.  Unfortunately, that was not the outcome.  I was there for about an hour trying different things on, to no avail.  Again, the owner was super friendly, but a bit manic and nonstop like the energizer bunny.  She kept barging into the dressing room with piles and piles of other items for me with good intentions, however it just got overwhelming and I finally had to call it quits.

Actually, I should mention that there was one dress I really liked; a '60s mod dress in an awesome lime green houndstooth pattern.  The dress wasn't priced, so when I had it on she gave me a price of $69.95.  That really wasn't what I was looking to spend, so she offered $65.95 - a $4.00 discount.  I understand that you charge what you need to in order to run your business, but in that case....why did you say no to selling me three other items I absolutely would have bought!?  I was just so confused.  My mom summed it up best as we walked out:  she was keeping a museum of great vintage clothing, not a shop!

In the end, I'm not quite sure I would recommend making a trip solely to stop at Outskirts. However, Farmington has tons of other shopping; there were other thrift stores, a Remy's, and other cool unique shops that you only find in college towns.  If you happen to be there, stop by, and let me know if you have a similar experience!

I'll be posting my other Vacationland adventures this week - stop back for details about the amazing Heirloom Vintage, and some other great finds I made!

Until then loves!

xoxo, Bettie

0 comments:

Post a Comment

 

Copyright © 2015 - Designed by Pictures and Paragraphs