Find Cape Cod Tourist Attractions, Activities, Events & Things to Do: Browsing for Baubles and Bargains

I’ve come out of the closet with my linens fixation, and it’s a good thing, as there’s no room in our linen closet for me. I relish embroidered guest towels, tatted-fringed napkins, doilies. I savor the textural sheen of damask tablecloths.  As with any hunger, I’ve found a way to feed it.  An inexpensive way.

 

Whether you’ve something specific in mind or just enjoy chance treasures, Cape Cod’s thrift shops reward browsers. Witness the finds on a recent cruise with my friend Landa.

 

At Wellfleet’s AIM thrift shop, even the windows displayed promise.  We admired the antique oil can for $5, considered the apple-green watering can for $1.  Inside, we enjoyed the classical music while Landa chose a 10-cent postcard for a note home.

 

Orleans’ EMS Thrift nestles beside a Rail Trail junction. Here, I nabbed some new khaki Bermudas for $1 and a sturdy spatula for 10 cents while Landa found a beach-worthy paperback for a quarter.

 

The 50-cent rack outside South Chatham’s Benefit Shop yielded  plum Levi’s. Inside, I uncovered a linen dress for $3, a fuchsia silk skirt for $1.50.  The straw scarecrow on a wooden pedestal? Irresistible at a quarter.

 

We’re often successful at United Methodist, East Harwich. I pounced on a $3 crisp linen table runner, lace-bordered. Landa scooped up an $8 vintage cast-iron cornbread skillet.

 

The $2 turquoise cotton jacket with M&M-esque buttons was my happy purchase in Brewster’s Our Lady of the Cape, while Landa and I agreed to “splurge” on a dollar box of glass iced-tea stirrers, then divide them. 

 

In Harwich Center’s Corner Thrift Shop, we admired but resisted a 1920s hand-beaded evening purse, reasonably priced at $35.  I enhanced my collection with two appliquéd guest towels: $2.  A nostalgic find: 1950s Scottie stationery—five cents!

 

Noah’s Arc, Harwichport,  netted six tall white candle tapers,  just 50 cents. Next stop, my “local,” West Harwich’s Holy Trinity.  Staffed, as non-profits seem to be, by congenial volunteers, it features seasonal sales and frequent specials.  Back in the ‘80s when the shop still carried furniture, Landa fell in love with an emerald-hued velvet armchair.  We struggled for quite some time to fit it into my compact Subaru.  That chair graced her living room until her recent move.  What a way to spend $5. Optimistically, we climbed the steps.

 

Alas, everything this day was the wrong size. The new coral L.L. Bean fleece, $4.50, was billowy.  The pristine, white Irish-linen blouse, $3, was snug.  Neither of us could coerce our toes into the new, Italian leather Talbot’s boots, tantalizingly priced at $4.

 

In 1854, Barnstable Village’s Hospice was once the village schoolhouse.  Now, three rooms offer books, miscellaneous marvels and attire.  We studied a $20 old loom but left it for someone who might know what on earth to do with it besides admire it.  The sand-dollar sale meant clothing was a dollar. We wandered the label-laden buffet: Kenneth Cole, Nautica, Wilson, J. Crew, Jones of N.Y., Gap, Hathaway, Laura Ashley. 

 

Down the hill, the Cape Cancer shop was having a bag sale:  $3 for as much clothing and shoes as would fit.  After admiring a mahogany dining room set with a leaf and eight chairs for $3,000, I purchased a folk-art painted wooden letter-holder for $1, Landa, another book. 

 

Osterville’s Rainbow’s End consignment option leads to upscale prices but quality goods.  Among antiques and collectibles, an angel-embossed silver hairbrush, $195, gave us pause.  In household goods, I passed up a sturdy Madeleine pan for $5.  A mistake.

 

The back room contains clothing, lamps, tables, paintings, and a few—dare I say?—linens.  On a previous jaunt, another friend had beaten me to a silk Tommy Bahama tropical dress, a steal at $9, although she promised I may borrow it.  Now I quickly perused the dress rack but found it Tommy Bahama-less.  My consolation: a plush Jeanne Pierre sweater in rich mauve for just $3. 

 

Falmouth’s Hospital Auxiliary often yields great baby clothes, lamps and appliances. We stroked, then resisted, a honey-hued Scottish cashmere sweater set, a steal at $15.

 

I coincide Nantucket visits with the operating hours of its India Street thrift shop.  In its 77th year, merchants often donate items, at one point Coach handbags, and there’s an August vintage sale. One could redecorate with its array of art, lamps, dishes. I traced the marble top of an antique bureau, reasonable at $500. I chose instead a new, gray Nantucket sweatshirt for $3 to give to a fisherman pal.

 

Today while I was on an errand, my car suddenly veered toward a thrift shop.  There, a dainty cocktail napkin, lace-embroidered, waited in a basket for $1.50.  What could I do?  It needed a home…  Others’ finds won’t be mine, nor are their predilections.  Nevertheless, whether your stay be brief or lengthy, be sure to browse for the baubles and bargains the Cape’s thrift shops provide.