Field Trip to DUMBO

This past Saturday, Marissa and I braved the frigid temperatures to check out the Brooklyn Flea Winter Antiques Market in DUMBO.  I was excited, with visions of old copper pots, 30s era furniture and first edition books dancing in my head.  

The facility was great...not the drafty warehouse I was imagining, but instead a fairly posh space at the corner of Front and Washington.  Perhaps a vacant retail space?  Who knows, but regardless it was warm and spacious.  

Unfortunately, the mix of merchandise was a little disappointing.  It is entirely possible that if we had gotten there an hour or two earlier, closer to the 11:00 opening, the options would have been better, but it was a lot of clothes (despite my love of thrift shops in high school, now I'm not so into used/vintage clothing) and a ton of costume jewelry.  Some of it was actually quite cool, but I found the prices a little...optimistic, shall we say?  Marissa was vaguely interested in a golden Givenchy necklace but the vendor was inflexible on his $125 price.  Sir, Givenchy was quite chic back in the Audrey Hepburn days, and is having a bit of a renaissance now with the shoes that were featured in the Sex and the City movie, but your 80s trinket is certainly not "a very fine piece".

But all was not lost.  We spent so little time in the market that we had quite a bit of time to explore DUMBO, which is not something I've done too much of in the past.  First stop was Powerhouse Books.  It's certainly not your typical arty bookstore.  Lots of New-York-In-The-80s photo books, skater/surfer culture photos, and quite a random collection of food books.  I felt cooler for having been in there...it's perfect for browsing (although not the type of place you go to find a specific title).

Second stop was the Tivoli Home Shop at 111 Front Street.  Tiny, and in the back of what looked to be a lovely restaurant, it was packed with items that I wanted to spirit back to my apartment.  I particularly loved the pillows, and virtually all of the tableware.  And, as they carry my new obsession, Royal Copenhagen china, I got some very enjoyable ogling time in.

But the find of the trip was really Loopy Mango, a quirky little women's clothing store.  I recognized many of the brands carried in this lovely little shop, but I have to admit I didn't recognize any of the pieces, which to me indicates that there is an independent spirit alive and well at this establishment, which is always heartening to see.

I was most taken with all of the day dresses that they carried.  I'm always lusting after those tailored, vaguely french looking day dresses that the women in Bill Cunningham photos seem to own so many of so was thrilled to see the likes of this Yoana dress adorning the racks:     

In the same family (but a coat) by Tony Cohen:

And as I'm currently on the hunt for a new everyday black bag, this Malene Birger bag intrigued me:

So most certainly worth the trip.  And given the compact nature of DUMBO, it's a perfect outing on a cold day, when you don't want to spend too much of your time wandering down the street against bitter winds.