On weekends growing up, my sisters and I would spend Saturday's in the Summer scourging through bins of second hand clothes from an old converted barn called "The Clothes Barn" just down the way from our old farm house (pic below). The Barn wasn't too far from the house so we would walk down "Hwy 20" - yes it was a highway in the middle of the country- but it was less than a block away so it wasn't too far. It was a very fun memory in my childhood. Clothes were only a dollar a pound and there were lots of them. But you had to find the good ones and it took time. All the clothes were categorized into bins labelled shirts, pants, winter coats, shoes and jeans. You rummaged through the big bins (we usually were inside of them because you can do that at 14 years old) searching for something that was your size. I liked paying attention to fabrics and searching for something I could "use" somehow. It didn't have to be my size, I just had to find a way to use it right and it would have a purpose. There was always an array of fabrics, and most times we came home with some great cheap finds! I wouldn't doubt that there would be some people who would pay killer coin for some of the phenomenal finds that were picked out of that place.
As me (and my sisters) all grew up and moved apart, vintage shopping still kept is shine. Value Village, Goodwills and small vintage shops would never see us coming. But we would come ready to shop, ready to find the deals and ready to try on the entire store full of potential great finds. We would revamp our wardrobes with only $100. I usually come out of the day with an array of accessories (belts, shoes and purses) and would sometimes find great clothing, but in most cases, I banked (and still do bank) on the fact that accessory and shoe shopping is usually the most successful and accountable in the second hand world.
Vintage clothing shopping is definitely another one of my hobbies (outside of regular shopping and of course drinking wine). I really love the thrill of finding a deal, not to mention having more clothes. I also love the idea that odds are no one has what you have. Your wardrobe becomes completely unique and your very own.
I asked my sister [Teresina] what she remembered about the barn and she said the bullets below...
"Hey Ange, here are a few things that I remember from "THE BARN":
- Hot summer days, when we were bored and had nothing to do, we would either walk or ride our bikes down the road to the barn (we would always try to bring a garbage bag filled with clothes back so that the guy running the place would give us a better deal because he knew we were his neighbours and that we were walking/biking back home)
- It always felt weird coming back from the barn carrying a big garbage bag - like we were homeless or something. But we knew we got the best deals in town, a garbage bag was a small price to pay
- The best items were always found in the box labeled "vintage", right on the end, we would spend hours sifting through all the clothes trying to find the "good stuff". We always had a sorting system where we would put all the "discarded" clothes to one corner of the big bins until we reached the bottom, then push them all over to the other side and look through the other side - just so we didn't miss anything.
- The best was when all the clothes were in bins and we paid a $1 a pound SO CHEAP!!! - but if you got a coat or shoes (which were heavy) it seemed like you were paying too much (which, looking back now was still dirt cheap, but when you get paid 3 bucks a week for allowance, you wanted to get as much as you could for your money)
- Every year we always found at least 1 leather jacket/coat that we both loved and would "share", but it always looked better on you (I'm so not even making this up! LOL)
- We loved to go to the Barn right before school started in September to try to find some "new" clothes that we could wear with out "new" clothes that mom/dad bought for us for the new school season
When I started in wine, it was vintage 1998. The summer of 1998 was a pretty great vintage for Ontario wine. I still have a bottle of 1998 Meritage from Vineland Estates Winery (which I will be opening on the eve of May 1st ). This is the second bottle of Vineland Meritage from 1998 that I will be opening. This bottle fortunately has been well taken care of cellared well - unlike bottle number 1 and I am really looking forward to it.
When it comes to wine, a "vintage" is the year of which the grapes have grown in the vineyard. Each and every vintage has it own unique style, tasting profile, set of climatic differences, and winemaker decisions. Just as vintage clothing is known for its one of kind nature and its exclusive allure, wine is also, and very often, one of a kind. When you find a wine you love, odds are it won't taste the exact same each and every year - there are many unpredictable things that could happen with each new vintage. Of course there are wines that are steady eddy's every year that produce the same wine, but to me, it is all about the vintage. From my shoes, to my belts, to my wine.
Some of my personal favourite vintages are:
1998 - My work in the Wine Industry began
2001 - Graduation from South Lincoln High School
2005 - Graduation from Brock University
2007 - One of the best years of my life and a historic vintage when it comes to wine
When I think about Vintage I also think about vintage music (Madonna & Whitney Houston), 
vintage TV (Golden Girls, Gilligan's Island, MASH) and vintage photography. All of which I also love and appreciate. (yes I have a MASH t-shirt that I probably bought at the barn still to this day!)
When you search "Vintage" in Wikipedia the immediate definition has to do with wine. Which I thought was very interesting and quite 'ange' related. My other dream job - other than drinking and marketing wine for a living - would be to a vintage shopper. I wonder if there is a way to do both and make a healthy living?
As I drink a glass of Tawse 2006 Pinot Noir, its earthy notes and medium to full bodied flavour, mild leather and black fruit (mostly blackberry) as well as anise (I can see the sediment too!) brings me back to my vintage days of playing on a tire swing, late night bonfires and childhood "vintage" memories. Somehow, all related to wine... which motivates me to open another bottle :)
Cheers,
Ange
