Yard sales, bargain binges for the young and posh! From glossy Paris to our trimmed lawns.

The phenomenon of the yard sale—also known as a “garage sale” or “rummage sale" or, its modified version, a "sidewalk sale"—first emerged in our neighborhoods. And now, the kiddies of yesteryear are hosting their own yard sales. And these are, to be clear and precise, rather exclusive yard sales easily described as over-the-top.

Culture icon to the young and juicy fashion and music scene of Los Angeles, the sleepy-faced blog star, Cory Kennedy, has nearly single-handily lured the appeal of yard sales back into the mainstream.

A magazine camera crew followed her to Paris last month, in fact, to document bubbly guests with French accents musing over Kennedy’s out-of-date, nearly-new designer dresses and imported robot toys.

“It’s so Hollywood,” gushes one glowing shopper in the video.

Another young girl is shown holding tight onto a nondescript beanie cap, and then, with a cool expression, announces its price of 300 Euro.

The setting adds a twinkle to the scene. It seems perfect for high-dollar spending sprees, even if the goods are second-hand and are sold in what seems to be the bosom of a huge, Parisian tree. The surroundings, however, are picturesque panoramas of tall, cream-colored buildings with teeny, trademark-European windows.

It’s a sunny day at Kennedy’s Paris yard sale. Customers are lined up, and the cashier, Kennedy’s photographer boyfriend, The Cobrasnake, is happily flaunting to the camera the colorful bouquet of Euro bills he’s collecting from the shopping fans. The yard sale, he says, will be coming to a city near you.



So, are these kinds of soirees or, uh, yard sales really yard sales?

There are plenty of twists and fun elements borrowed from an otherwise swanky lifestyle, that it’s only a matter of computable time before these newly defined, new age yard things get christened with a modern, catchy term. But, for now, they are yard sales.

And the idea is smart, and it’s practical in an economy where consumers are “unsettled by continuing recession fears,” explains New York Times fashion writer Ruth La Ferla in a current report about high-end shoppers seeking spending relief at consignment shops.

The situation is unique.

Whereas our parents would prepare the details of their Saturday morning bargain retailing with posters, telling all their friends and neighbors, and then negotiating good deals, the evolution of yard sales dictate that all you need are really nice, expensive things to sell. And some sweet lemonade for the guests!

That’s exactly what art group ISM Community advertised in their sleek ads leading up to their Saturday evening “Garage Sale,” adding some color to the occasion.

“We will be serving lemonade and beer. Bring your iPod and share some songs,” said the signs. Other details suggested the goal of the night was a “fundraising effort to support future community projects.”

Lined up against the gallery walls inside Koos Art Center in the Downtown arts district, where gallery space is shared with the ISM Community, art pieces ranged in size, pizzazz and price—the most expensive item going for $5,000.

“I just wanted to do something different for the art scene,” said Kevin Staniec, founder and executive creative director of ISM.

I say, the new age of poshy yard sales has arrived to Long Beach!

Welcome to The 'It' Bit: What's in an 'It'?

‘It’ things reflect trends, and trends are blooming at all times.

Trends can be tasty. Trends can lead to disaster. Trends can be anything they want, but with a strong evident muscle of interest at work. To becoming a trend, that’s the key—people setting the patterns, setting waves of ups and downs, with hues of brightness and shadows. Trends run and they fall. They’re soothing. They make a mess. They happen. And some are fascinating to follow, right until you are a part of the flow and can’t stop.

Trend xyz wasn’t here yesterday. But trend xyz is here today.

Be careful… A trend can also be about having no interest at all.

My goal with The It Bit is to capture some of these trends happening in our world, whether they’re very local, or simply something that’s lightly tapping on our shell asking for permission of entry. I’ll introduce the trends here and probe them, asking others to probe along with me. I’ll try to answer the important question of So what?

My name is Barbara Navarro, a journalism student and assistant to the features desk at the Daily Forty-Niner (or the Summer Forty-Niner for now), the campus daily at the sunny California State University, Long Beach. We’re "The Beach" year round, looped, precisely, into a thriving port environment and attractive L.A. vivacity all at once. On campus, the scene is healthy with variety of studies and cultures.

There is much to examine. So, let’s get to it!

Welcome to The It Bit!

—Barbara Navarro
Assistant Features Editor, Daily Forty-Niner