It was quite some time ago since I last visited the Ijhallen in Amsterdam. As a matter of fact, it was *researches*
September 2011 we went there and came back home hugely disappointed. Last weekend, friends of ours made their way to the old Amsterdam harbor where the Ijhallen are located and asked us to join. We figured we would give it another go and off we went..... this time however we came back thrilled and happy. It was fan-tas-tic! We enjoyed the sunshine, hamburgers, poffertjes (Dutch delicacy), each others company and some healthy competition. All while scavenging through piles of.... anything and everything, looking to call someone else's trash our treasures.
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Our men started of by challenging each other to find to most ridiculous, offensive, disgusting and/or off putting beer glass they could find. This turned out to be a hilarious competition, having to dig through boxes of old glass work and even worse... ask the sales person how much they wanted for it. I am proud to say my husband managed to find one of the most offensive pieces of glass work I have ever seen..... why would people even make this.... or want this in their house!? (Seriously, anyone.... any takers?)
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Not being a participant in this competition gave me all the time I needed to find those hidden gems. I started off pretty good with finding a gorgeous eggshell colored linen blazer. I had been craving a linen blazer to go on top of circle skirts (ergo; with that New Look fit) for the spring/summer season. I own a lot of woolen winter-y blazers but not too many lighter versions. So this was a great find for 3 euros. I will be showing the blazer later on... The second lovely treasure I took home was this amazing fifties hat in a old rose color. I love the way it fits my head and the simplicity of the design. The hat was being sold by two adorable gents who probably witnessed this hat actually being worn in the 1950s. I thought they were too cute to be true, they were happy to see the hat prolong it's life... a great deal for 5 euros I'd say!
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So my last, but definitely not least find of the day literally came to me. As the market was reaching it's end, we were in a bit of a hurry to finish of seeing all the stalls. Tip: The market at the Ijhallen is HUGE, so be there early enough if you want to see everything! While fast pacing through the last of the market, I spotted a gorgeous magenta piece of 'something' on the side of a clothing booth. When I walked towards it, I must have bumped into the booth because the 'something' fell into my hands. When I grabbed the piece of cloth to check out what it was, I gasped. Here I was, standing with a GORGEOUS ankle length 1930s dress in perfect (never worn) condition. I couldn't believe my eyes.... finding cute vintage, mostly from the 60s-80s, at these markets does occasionally happen. But stumbling upon the most stunning thirties dress in the most impeccable condition is a dream come true! The divine color made this find even more amazing.... and the fact that I estimated it to be my size (which it is YES).... well do I even need to elaborate on the thrill I felt haha. I'm pretty sure you darlings can imagine the excitement. Which leads me to the part; 'How much do you want for this dress?'
"Ehmmmmm for you.... 4 euros."
And this is where I died.
Hihi I'm kidding of course, but I am pretty sure my heart skipped a beat of two. I didn't know how fast I could reach for my coins and I quickly handed them over to the seller. I swiftly rolled up the dress and prepared to make a run for it, in case the seller was temporarily struck with insanity and he would all of a sudden realize he bestowed a treasure upon me for a fraction of its worth.... *run Forrest RUN - Fly you Fools - Going going GONE* When we got home, the first thing I did was try this gorgeousness on and she fits me perfectly. The button closure on the back is a bit short, so getting into the dress is a bit of a challenge but I couldn't care less. This is LOVE!
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