In addition to our Dose Market outing, we recently visited the The Vintage Bazaar with our beloved summer brunch club. This monthly market occupies Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom and spills over into a nearby lot with many vintage and antique vendors, as well as a few food trucks and stands.

We started our adventure in the lot, where we were greeted by a cute, retro camper and a plethora of vintage clothing. I found a beautiful blue floral dress on the cheap (maybe I’ll show you later…), and Caitlin snagged a cool pair of tan woven shoes for a pretty good deal. I think our other partner in crime, LB, made out with a sweet vintage slip for a few bucks. I’d say were were fairly happy with our finds!

There was a good sized crowd — not too busy, but not dead.

This is my favorite thing I didn’t buy — a magnificently embroidered, vintage Ethiopian dress. It was, very sadly, a tad too small and more than a tad out of my price range.

One of my favorite things about the Vintage Bazaar is the setting. The exquisite details of the historic Aragon — the intricately adorned ceilings, the mosaic tiled floors, the chandeliers — were quite distracting in the best possible way.

I saw several other attendees stop to take pictures of the space.The entrance to the women’s bathroom (aka the Ladies Lounge) appeared to present the most popular photo-op. I think I’m going to start using the term ‘Ladies Lounge’ to refer to all restrooms. “Pardon me… I need to powder my nose in the ladies lounge.”

And fitting with the old-timeyness was a traveling barbershop, complete with a retro “tiled” floor mat. I tried to get Brian to sit down for a shave, but he wasn’t havin’ it. I don’t think he trusts anyone else with his prized beard hairs…

After snapping a few ridiculous photos at the Smilebooth (who is that dude?!), it was time for our summer afternoon naps…

If you’re in the area and want to experience The Vintage Bazaar for yourself, the next one will be Sunday, August 12th!