Wednesday, July 21, 2010

New LA Flea Market: The Good, The Bad, & The Crazy

*me at the Grand Opening*

This past weekend was the Grand Opening of the new LA Flea Market at Dodger's Stadium. There was a lot of hype surrounding this new flea market, and at a general admission price of only $5, the man and I thought we'd definitely give this one a try. Well needless to say, if you've talked to anybody who went, it started off on the wrong foot. We sat trapped in the car for over an hour because they weren't ready to open on time and they wouldn't even let people in the parking lot (if you live anywhere near LA you know this is the type of thing that would cause a riot...a lot of very unhappy people standing outside of their cars yelling...). Then once again, after we bought our tickets they made us wait AGAIN, because vendors were still driving around inside frantically trying to set up.

I felt very bad for the vendors. I talked to one of them that told me she had to wait for 2 hours before she could get in to even set up her booth! 2 hours!! That is crazy compared to how well run the next closest flea market is run (Rose Bowl Flea Market and Swap Meet). Now with that said, yes this was the very first time they had run anything like this here, so I'm pretty sure it would improve next time. Well they basically HAVE to improve the management aspect of the flea market or people will simply not go.

*waiting in the car*

Now on to the Good: While there weren't as many vendors as I expected, and it certainly wasn't as large as the Rosebowl Flea Market, I managed to score some great finds. In fact I spent at least an hour at just one of the booths and scored some beautifully constructed clothing for a really great price. A designer got into a legal battle with his backer and wasn't able to sell his collection. It is a really long story (I will share in another post some time with some of the items that I snagged), but he was basically forced to donate his collection and have the proceeds go to charity. The price tags were still on these babies, I literally bought $1,200 jackets for less than one-tenth that price. The attention to detail, craftsmanship and vision in these clothing were just amazing. I was really sad to hear the story behind it, but was glad that I was lucky enough to randomly fall upon it.

This flea market also has a great view of downtown LA. That's always a plus when you get a chance to see the "pretty" side of the city, and somewhere way in the background you could see the famous "Hollywood" sign up on the hill. Oh yes, and another plus was that they had PLENTY of food trucks and some large Shark thing? Couldn't quite figure out what that was, lol.

me and the man in front of the LA skyline


my shopping bag full of great little gems!

Dan with his new found friend :)

Food vendors and some Shark Attack!

After a tough morning of waiting, and hunting the Mr. and I stopped at one of our all time favorite Mexican joints (El Farolito) for a tasty margarita (did I already mention it was SUPER hot this weekend?) and amazing grub.



Did anybody else go to the new flea market this weekend? I'm curious to hear what other people thought too. Whatever you did, I hope you had a great time.

xox,

Bre

10 comments:

  1. I love flea markets...They are the best! I wish I could be there:)
    Btw: You look amazing in your dress sweetie and that hat is so stylish:)
    Kisses and have a lovely day!

    ps: I am hosting a great GIVEAWAY, so please join in:) ...I bet you will love it!!!

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  2. Ooh, wow, I didn't know about this one!! Thanks so much for sharing, I'll be sure to go next time!!
    I DID go to the Long Beach Flea Market for the first time this weekend and scored some AMAZING things. It's official - I'm hooked :) I'm going to try to get myself over to the Rose Bowl Flea Market asap, as well!! :)
    Enjoy your finds!! :)

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  3. I didn't go, but now that you say everything about all that waiting I'm glad I didn't. I really didn't want to go to the grand opening because I always like to let things like this work their kinks out the first time...but I really want to go next month. Whens it on...the 15th? I'm down if you're down - we still haven't really done to a swap meet together, and it's quite overdue. :)

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  4. even though it was a gongshow getting in you looked amazing and scored an equally amazing deal on a jacket (must.see!!!)

    can't wait to hear the details...wondered how this event went over and if you might check it out. i really need to learn the flea market tips from you!

    xoxo,
    carrie

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  5. I'm glad you had such great finds! I really must start shopping at flea markets more but rarely have the patience. Need to work on that. And I absolutely love your hat here -- so chic!
    xo Josie
    http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com

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  6. that looks so fun ! and theres a gigantic shark!

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  7. Oh I so wish I lived there! You have some really great finds <3
    xo Lynzy
    http://fromskirtstoskillets.blogspot.com

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  8. I'd heard about it but I couldn't make it that day. The waiting sounds horrible! You and your man look really cute! J would never go with me to a flea market - he couldn't handle the waking up early and the heat.
    But OMG- El Farolito is like one of our favorite places among all my family!

    Check out my post today - I left you an award!

    xx Vivian @ http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com

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  9. I wish I could attend some of your stellar flea markets out in LA!

    As a side note, is that a Salvation Army carrier bag you are holding?! Swanky!

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