Mall of the Month: October

St. Charles Antique Mall

In my last post, I mentioned a new series that I was going
to be bringing to the Vintage Voyager blog.
And this is it!

I am calling it the Mall of the Month.

This is where I will visit an antique mall each month
and let you know what I think of it.

This month, I visited the St. Charles Antique Mall.

The St. Charles Antique Mall is not new to me.
In fact, it is one of my favorite antique malls to frequent.
And as such, I wanted to share it with you here on my blog.

The St. Charles Antique Mall is located at

3004 South Saint Peters Parkway,

Saint Charles, Missouri 63303

off of Highway 94.

For more information on directions since I basically do not know
the difference between East and West,
you can check out the map below.

So, what makes this one of my all-time favorite antique malls?

First of all, as already discussed, is this mall’s location.
It is close to where I live making it convenient
to quickly satisfy my antiquing urges when they come.

Also, this antique mall is, in my opinion, the perfect size.
I do not think that it is too small or too big.
I will say that I think the first time I went I was overwhelmed
by the over 35,000 square feet and 250 booths.
However, over time, this mall has become sort of my home base,
and I feel very comfortable shopping here.

I appreciate the diversity of items and prices
available at the St. Charles Antique mall.
There is always something interesting to discover.
I almost always learn something new when I antique here –
learning more about what thing was used for what purpose way back when.

Ultimately, I would recommend this antique mall
to those who I know would be interested.
In fact, I have in the past brought many friends here to join me
on my voyages to the antique mall.

So, tell me – have you been to this antique mall?
What do you like about it?
Is there something you don’t like about it?
If you haven’t been to the St. Charles Antique Mall,
would you now be interested in going?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Top Tips: Attacking the Antique Mall

Number 1: Bring a Buddy

Antique malls can be big. Like, really big. There is a lot to see.
Bringing a friend to be a backup set of eyes will ensure
that you don’t miss out on any item that you might not have seen at first glance.

This has happened to me numerous times –
I don’t see that beautiful item, but my buddy points it out to me.
Is it because I am overwhelmed or do I really need a pair of glasses?
I’ll let you decide.

Number 2: Claim the Clothespin

If you are anything like me,
you may make many purchases in one trip to the antique mall.
I will repeat it again: claim the clothespin.

An employee will offer you a numbered clothespin in exchange
for holding all of your purchases at the front counter.

Even if the mall doesn’t specifically use clothespins,
they should still offer to take your purchases off your hands
if you look more like a juggler than a customer.

Take them up on this offer.

And thank them for it.

Number 3: Diversify Your Days

If you are anything like me, you may like routine.
Or perhaps the only days you have
to even consider going antiquing are Saturdays.

These factors can cause you to stick to one set day
to voyage into the antique mall.

However, if you diversify your days
and go to the antique mall on a day you don’t usually go,
you should find that you will discover new and helpful things.

In my personal experience,
diversifying my days has allowed me to meet new people,
including the vendors of some of my favorite booths.

It also allows you to know when the booths will be stocked up on new goodies
so you can get first dibs.

Number 4: Determine Duplicates

By determine duplicates, I mean visit all the booths in the mall
and know when two of the same item is being offered
at two different prices in two different booths.

I have had this happen to me.

There was a brooch that I had picked up from one booth.
Later on in my voyage through the antique mall,
I found the same brooch in a different booth at a cheaper price.
I’m sure you can guess which one I purchased!

Moral of the story:
just be aware.

Number 5:
Don’t Buy Anything You Can Make Yourself

Oh goodness; I was doing so well with my quippy little titles for my rules…
this one is quite cumbersome, is it not?
Well, despite that…

Sometimes, there are items offered for sale in booths
that are obviously D.I.Y. projects of the vendor.

Now this is great, don’t get me wrong.
Some of these items are the bee’s knees.
And sometimes, these items may be priced well,
perhaps for less money than it would cost you to make it yourself.

However, if you know that you can make the same item for less
than it would cost for you to buy it,
and especially if you would have fun making it yourself, don’t buy it.

Go for it! Get crafty! Make it your own! Take pride in it!

I could add more, but I believe more tips will come up as I share more about
specific vintage and antique items in the future.

So, in the meantime, take the poll below
and let me know if you have any tips yourself
on how to attack the antique mall in the comment section.

This is a kind of a prelude to a series that I have coming up on the blog,
so make like a boy scout and be prepared.

Bon Voyage!

An Introduction

Hello!
And welcome to the Vintage Voyager blog.

I am Alexandra,
the Vintage Voyager herself.

This blog has been established to be a platform
to allow me to share my love of all things antique and vintage.

Why the name “Vintage Voyager”?

I am personally able to “voyage” or journey through time,
to connect to days gone by
through my acquisition of and experiences with vintage and antique items.

And so, the Vintage Voyager persona and blog have been born.

I look forward to sharing with you my love of
antique malls,
old books,
vintage jewelry,
curiosities,
and whatever else my vintage voyages throw my way.

Bon Voyage!