Yesterday was the opening day, and two of my friends and I set out for an adventure.  To top off the shopping , we are all named Anne.   I love these clothes. . . simple yet elegant and I also love the prices. The most expensive are $40 for coats and dresses! Just rummage through a box marked by size and type, and then find a free mirror after  you try it on.  Other shoppers will say either nothing if they don’t like the style or color, or something affirmative if they think it is for you .  It is an adventure  not for the faint hearted shopper.

A short power outage didn’t stop shoppers at the annual Flax Barn Sale in Ithaca April 15 . While waiting for the mercury vapor lights to come back, shoppers pulled out their smartphones, turned on their flashlight apps and kept digging.

The annual Flax Barn Sale in Ithaca is a rite of spring for some. For others, it’s a nightmare best avoided.

The three-day sale of generously cut flax linen clothes draws thousands each year to Ithaca, where the clothing line got its start as Angelheart Designs in the late 1980s in a renovated dairy barn. The site varies from year to year.

There are no racks or pretty displays. Shoppers dig through large cardboard boxes with sizes ranging from petite to 3X printed on the side with marker.
Retail prices begin at $40 for a scarf, and climb.

At the barn sale, however, prices begin at $5 and generally top out at $40-$50. A short-sleeved shirt at the barn sale was $20. Tee shirts are 3 for $10.

Although both men and women of all ages came to the sale, most were middle-aged to older women.  Many  simply tried on the clothes as they were pulled from a box. Strangers shared opinions while jockeying for space at the mirrors.

“That’s not a good color — for anybody,’’ one woman said to another who was trying on a dress with red polka dots on a khaki background.

“That color looks great on you,” a woman said to another trying on a purple linen jacket.

The sale is staffed by volunteers, who are paid in money or clothes. One woman flies up from Florida every year to volunteer.

One woman digging through boxes said that last year she shopped only in the dressing room, going through piles of clothes discarded by others.

This shopping for me is a memory  of Feline’s Basement in Boston  with tables piled high with samples.  The FLAX SALE  is happening this very weekend in Ithaca, New York if you are near, like to shop , and save money !

SALE DATES & TIMES for FLAX SALE 2016

• Friday April 15th: 9am – 6pm
• Saturday April 16th: 9am – 5pm
• Sunday April 17th: 11am – 3pm

LOCATION

• Shops At Ithaca Mall
• 40 Catherwood Rd
• Ithaca, NY 14850