Trying to find anything specific at a Brimfield Antique Show is like trying to find the elusive needle in a haystack. Alas, North America’s oldest outdoor flea market is the perfect place to get lost for hours–or days or weeks even, if it were open that long–enchanted by object after object, each one stranger and a little bit more bizarre than the next. In a world where it’s becoming increasingly hard to find authentic vintage or antique jewelry to shop in-person, Brimfield is the perfect place to hunt for whimsical baubles, eclectic chunky gold necklaces and 150-year-old gems from the Victorian era with time and patience. Under wooden shacks, billowing tents and on top of thick plastic tables, you never know what you might find.
Located in rural Massachusetts, the market unfurls each year across miles of empty fields for six days at a time in May, July and September. I’ve been going for years, and make a point to try to return at least once a year in May, when the sun isn’t too scorching. The market is free to attend (besides paying for parking) and divided into sections, aptly named everything from “Quaker Acres” to “New England Motel”. You can find almost anything you ever wanted at Brimfield. But my favorite thing to look for? Maximalist costume jewelry.
Every time I go, I typically start out at the “Brimfield Auction Acres” area, which is ample hunting ground for jewelry with great prices. There are hundreds of vendors in this section alone, and jewelry is mostly displayed in bins or scattered on tables rather than placed under glass. Finding pieces that speak to you takes time, but almost instantly, I can tell if a particular seller is going to resonate with my style.
Source link
