Road Trippin With Rachael

One of the things that I dearly love to do is go antique shopping in cities that are new to me. It becomes an adventure of what new shops will I find, what will the town be like, and am I going to find anything that I actually need in my home?

I got to check out three different antique shops while I was in Sedalia, Missouri. Now, I am a Missouri girl, through and through. I had a brief period where I lived out of state, and came back to the Show-Me State as soon as I could.

For those of you who aren’t from Missouri, Sedalia is the home of the Missouri state fair, and is located probably about 45 minutes away from the state capital, Jefferson City along Highway 50. Sedalia has the cutest historic downtown area that really speaks to the fact that Missouri is full of history from settlers who were either planning to go further west and decided to stay, our town are quinessentially midwestern. There is no doubt that you are in the Midwest when you are in a small town in Missouri. Anyway, I checked out three of the stores that were in Sedalia.

Stop and Shop

Located on the Eastern side of the town along Highway 50, the Stop and Shop Antique and Flea Market has a variety of dealers that will let just about anyone find something. They have everything from collectables (there were some very nice Shireley Temple dolls) to the oddities (I found a Bootlegged Barney – yes that is what it was actually called), to items that are useful to have in your home. I ended up finding a large 2 Gallon glass jar for $18. I didn’t find anything that was outrageous in price They were all fair or actually below market value. Small, but it was clean. We’ve all been in those antique, thrift, or flea markets that leave you feeling like you need to go and take a shower.

Chelsea’s Antiques

You can find Chelsea’s as soon as you make a right into Historic Downtown Sedalia. It’s a great show that is full of antiqu clothing, shoes, jewelry, and local nostalgia. There are also old records, and delicate home decor.

There is a collection of both retro clothing that is meant to be purchased for costumes, and there are more expensive clothing items. Several of the items that I looked at are well made, and have a price that justifies the cost for the items. Some are true antiques – closer to the 100 year mark – while most of the items would have been considered retro, being from the 1940’s and forward. Both men and women should be able to find something that they would like. Although, I will say that clothing that is older is less likely to be in the sizes for those who are plus sized, so if you are a Big and Tall man or a Curvy lady, you might now what to bother with the clothing items.

I did find a room that was in the back that had kitchen items, that were well taken care of, but weren’t on the level of Pyrex or some of the other more well established brands from the early to mid-1900s.

Nostalgia Vintage Apparel and Market

Nostalgia…it’s exactly that. When I walked it, I was immediately hit by the feeling that I was in my grandparents or great-grandparents home in the 1990’s.

There are a variety of items to be found, with independent dealers there is bound to be a variety of different items. Several of the dealers really did specialize in retro clothing. I think the 1940’s were the oldest clothing items that I saw (there could be older and I didn’t see them), and they are not of the same quality as what you would have found in Chelsea’s Antiques. To be honest, many of the clothes in Nostalgia are meant to be purchased and worn. As I came in there were several younger adults – late high school and early twenties – who were making purchases. With the styles of the 1980s and 1990s currently trending with the younger millenials and Gen Z-ers, Nostalgia has the perfect items for that style.

Like any good vintage market, there are items for those of us who aren’t looking for clothing from the 80’s and 90’s (mainly becuase we remember when they came around the first time). I was able to find a variety of different collectables, books and home decor.

I actually put a poll on my Instagram of whether I should buy a cast iron wok that I found. I decided against it, mainly becuase I don’t have teh space to store such a thing, and I don’t typically have a use for a wok on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts

As a whole, it was totally worth my Saturday to go down and do something different. I had a great time driving down to Sedalia, driving around the town itself, and then looking at these three antique and vintage stores. Sedalia has other stores beyond what I went into, so if you check out any of the other ones, let me know because I’d love to plan a trip back in to see the other stores. If I were to offer one criticism as a tourist in Sedalia, it was that the independent coffee shops all closed up early, forcing me to to go to a chain coffee shop. Although I thoughly enjoyed my coffee, I prefer to get tto support the smaller companies – that’s personal preference, not a make or break situation.

I hope that you find this blog helpful as you are looking for fun places in Missouri to visit. If you want to see my adventures in video format, I do have a YouTube channel – the video is linked above. Join me as I road trip through the Bible, Life, and my times out on the road!