It took two years to write this blog post. Why? It’s a long story but to make it short I was afraid of it and it was hard for me to share my wonderful experience in Singapore two years ago. I was dreaming of visiting Asia and I decided to give myself a special birthday present: a week in Singapore to celebrate it in my very first trip to the Asian continent! It was a wonderful experience shared with one of my best friends (who lived in Asia for many years and who knew the country very well) but it happened during a strange moment for me. I didn’t feel very well, I was getting a lot of weight and I started a serious diet one or two months before traveling. Once I came back, it took two more months to get ready to write about my trip and in the meanwhile I lost more weight and when I started editing my pictures I immediately felt ashamed. Ashamed of my body image. How did it happen that I allowed my body to be so unhealthy? I didn’t like my image in these pictures and I just decided to leave it there for a while.
Two years later I keep having great memories of that trip and I decided that no matter how I looked like I just wanted to share my memories with you, especially my vintage hunting in Singapore and more travel info about this incredible place that I loved a lot (this in my next post!). I feel happy that I started this journey to be healthy and happy with myself which is all that really matters now!
Ok, now that I finished my confessions I can tell you more about my first Asian vintage experience.
Wherever I go I try to find a vintage community and some interesting vintage addresses that may be useful for those vintage lovers planning to travel there anytime soon and wanting to see not only what this beautiful place has to offer but also what it is like vintage there.
Let me warn you, Singapore is not a vintage fanatics paradise but some addresses are definitely worth a visit…and some shopping!
If I had to tell you my favourite place in town it is Granny’s day out, a beautiful vintage boutique with the most amazing vintage dresses and accessories, located in the Peninsula Shopping Center (just few steps away from our hotel!). Kyra is the loveliest person that I met in Singapore and we enjoyed a good chat on vintage in Singapore. She also gave me some good advice for a few other shops and markets to visit!
The Good Old Days is probably the most “Asian” vintage shop that I visited in Singapore. Located in Jurong Gateway Road (another shop is in New Bugis Street) I loved the mixture of vintage and Asian pop accessories of this coloured boutique where I also bought a vintage 80’s belt with a beautiful golden butterfly. Their collection of dress and bags is also interesting but the sizing is a bit small for an average European body (good reason to get new accessories!).
What I noticed during my vintage hunting in town is that mixing vintage with new retro pieces and handmade is very popular in Singapore where it is quite hard to find vintage-only shops. Grammah in Haji Lane is an interesting shop with a lot of new retro inspired pieces and some vintage pieces, as well as Déjà Vu Vintage in Raffles Boulevard specialized in designer thrifted clothes and accessories and original vintage pieces.
Haji Lane is one of the most hipster areas of Singapore (much loved by Europeans visitors) with its lovely cocktail bars and retro shops, but my favourite shop in the area was definitely Dulcetfig. It is one of the loveliest places I have ever visited in my life: full of beautiful vintage pieces, printed retro dresses, handmade quirky jewellery and…three adorable ginger cats!
If you are interested in visiting one of the most interesting handmade markets in Singapore where you can also find some vintage pieces you must head to Scape Underground on Orchard Link, where I found some interesting coloured handmade pieces (earrings, necklaces and rings) at very good prices.
One of the shops that I couldn’t visit was World Savage for vintage and antiques shopping. It was recommended from local vintage lovers and it was mentioned by The New York Times as one of the best vintage shops in Singapore.
PS: I know that you were expecting to see me and I didn’t use any picture of me for this post but you will see me – two years ago – in the next post on my Singapore travel tips!
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