April is the month to be green but as a chic consumer who loves interiors and aesthetics, I realize that being green isn’t always so easy. So why not chose a sustainable, fashionable way to shop that is safe for the environment? Reuse, repurpose, recycle and up cycle by styling your world with antiques and vintage finds. Real people with real businesses are making a real difference in small town Texas. Who would have thought Texas farm country could be so green?

Antiques, food, music, drinks and fresh country air set the stage for the semi-annual Round Top, Warrenton, Marburger Farms Antiques Fair, taking place now through Saturday. Designers, dealers, antique lovers and treasure hunters descend upon more than 43 acres of fields in 10 large tents and 12 historic buildings, setting the stage for an all-out buying frenzy.

A buying frenzy is green? When it includes vintage goodies and antiques, it is.

So is being green more expensive? Not at Round Top. The range of style, price and quality of antiques is as enormous as the venue. There is something for everyone including architectural, English, Continental, Asian, industrial, garden, Americana, painted furniture, fine art, early Texas, mid century modern, French, silver, jewelry, textiles, paintings and prints.

The vendors are as international as their pieces, telling stories, creating a mystique, making you feel as though you would miss out if you passed up on this “rare” and one-of-a-kind piece from a local Texas town to a European castle. The biggest hint of all: Don’t forget to negotiate and remember cash is king, after all it is green.

All roads lead to Round Top

When it comes to Texas antique shows, the original granddaddy of them all is the Round Top Antiques Fair now in its 43rd year. Talk about sustainable. Round Top, with a population of 90, according to the sign welcoming you to town, is the host.

The Big Red Barn and the Carmine Dance Hall display antiques and collectables in an informal, eclectic atmosphere differing from the atmosphere you might feel walking into a specialized and civilized big city antique store. Why buy something new made to look old when you can have the original piece and save the environment at the same time?

Pieces range with inexpensive reproductions to museum quality big ticket items in form of petite one offs to grand and spectacular. Century old antique silver, glamorous glass, coveted crystal, lovely linens and beautiful china abound. There is something for everyone, no matter what your style.

Marburger Farms & Warrenton

Marburger Farms has become a favorite of mine, offering a more culled and creatively displayed antique source for over a dozen years. I have heard the opening of the tents creates a frenzy similar to the annual discounted shopping day for bridal gowns at a New York department store where shoppers fight for the amazing piece they cannot possibly live without.

As a Round Top devotee since the 1980s I have traveled with my mom, cousin Carol and best girlfriend Lesli for years. Last Friday our pilgrimage to Warrenton continued and did not disappoint. As much as I love a uniquely styled collection of beautiful pieces, if I had to choose, I prefer looking for a needle in a haystack in the multiple football size fields of tents and booths. Admission is free and so should be your spirit.

In my years of vintage treasure hunting my all time top rare find was a pair of Chanel Doors from a Chanel Boutique in St. Louis. My most coveted vintage wardrobe piece came in the form of a vintage off-white mink and leather coat, al la Carrie Bradshaw, circa 1970’s.

Warrenton has also have provided a fair share of 1950s prom dresses and wedding dresses. By upcycling them from their initial state, making them more current, I cut off the bodice and transformed the dress to a skirt. Something old becomes new again with a little edge when with cowboy boots and T-shirts. And a day of treasure hunting would not be complete without a few special vintage jewelry finds, every style, any price, any scale.

This year my unneeded, yet obsessive find, was a silver leather settee with rhinestone button tufting perfectly suited for a boudoir setting. However the most unusual piece, I have ever found to date, came in the form of a Mardi Gras head dress, fit for any Vegas showgirl, bedazzled in sequins with a gleaming Eiffel Tower and Arch de Triumph. It makes for a fabulous piece of pop art on a wall or an amazing back drop for a Paris inspired fashion show. Talk about up cycled and repurposed.

The Round Top Antiques Fair takes place today through Saturday. Admission is $10 for all locations and all events.

Donae Cangelosi Chramosta, the owner of The Vintage Contessa , writes about travel, design and fashion.