There's Treasure Everywhere: A Costumer's Guide to Yard Sales

by Jillian Venters, First published for the July/August 2004 issue of Finery

The weather is getting warmer. The days are getting longer. You know what this means! Yes, ok, it means summer is here. It also means that yard sale season is upon us!

Yard sales are a gold mine for costumers who are willing to be patient and a little unorthodox. Patient because trekking around sales and searching through heaps of things you’ve never seen and don’t know if you want is indeed time-intensive.

Unorthodox because, well … you probably won’t find the exact thing you need. But you may find something that is so odd, so one of-a-kind that you suddenly have a vision of a new project you must undertake right now, based on that item.

At first glance, a yard sale full of broken costume jewelry, sheets, and odds and ends might not be remotely exciting. But wait! Can you take apart the broken jewelry to make something new or hoard the pieces for later? Could the sheets be used as fabric for a garment or to cut into a trial muslin?

(Yes, these suggestions imply that you might be a pack rat. Fess up. I haven’t met a costumer who isn’t a pack rat.)

Things to keep in mind while scouring yard sales:

– Early or late? If you go to the sales right when they open, you might be the lucky person to swoop down on a fabulous find. Of course, if you go late, the sellers are more willing to haggle if not hand things to you for free, just so they don’t have to look at them anymore.

– Always bring change. People running yard sales will love you forever if you show up with small bills and a bunch of loose change.

– Bring a tape measure. Measuring a garment is much easier than trying it on.

Now go forth and drive slow enough to read the signs taped to telephone poles, but not cause huge traffic snarl-ups!