Published 26 January 2015 ● Last Updated on 6 April 2021
Don’t you just love vintage shops? They all seem to have their own little personalities that spring to life with the history behind people’s treasured belongings. The mixture of perfumed scents, sixties incense and leathery goods waft towards you the minute you enter and a myriad of colours greets your searching eyes. Perusing shelf upon shelf, rack upon rack in a second-hand shop is a true adventure; knowing that you will exit your favourite little Aladdin’s Cave with unique finds will allow you to spend hours searching guilt-free. Shopping at a vintage shop may not be as straight-forward as a visit to H&M; chances are, items may not necessarily be ordered by size or category, so it really does take time and a good eye to find what it is you’re looking for. But more likely than not, you will find something completely surprising, something you’d never even bothered trying to find because it’s so rare. So what are the best vintage finds? And where can you go find them?
Home/Interior Design
A lot of vintage shops depend on house clearances for their stock. A move is a chance to reinvent yourself and your surroundings, so people often tend to throw out home and interior design items they might feel are outdated, such as lamps, tapestries, etc. People from an older generation especially are eager to get rid of their old school home phones and 70’s style lamps – and what a treat that is for us! There’s nothing cooler than adding a little quirk to your living room decor with some retro style interior design pieces, whether it’s a lamp, a chair, a statue or old signs (CocaCola, bar signs, license plates, sigh!).
Tong Mern Sern Antiques [51 Craig Road] is a small but wonderful delight for vintage knick-knacks within the CBD. We simply love the backroom of Books Actually [9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru]. But if poking through dust to find a diamond fazes you (and you can loosen your purse strings!), try Lorgan’s [100E, Pasir Panjang Road] for their mixed bag of vintage and reproductions. For truly one-off conversation pieces, head to Fred Lives Here [#2-14 Orchard Central Mall, 181 Orchard Road]. All stores in Singapore.
Vintage Shoes
Shoe shopping can be a bit of a nightmare ever since Sex and the City got us all hooked on Manolo Blahniks and other ridiculously expensive and high-heeled shoes. It’s hard to find the perfect in-between: Walk into any shoe shop and their heels are either over the top with glitter, bows and bling, or they’re so plain, simple and boring they look like the preferred style of a history teacher. If you have a Europe trip on the cards, add visiting a local second-hand shop to your to-do-list – you’ll be amazed at the luxurious shoe brands you can find! I’ve known people to pick up a pair of barely-worn Dior pumps for $15!!! Why spend a fortune when you can get stylin’ shoes for under $20?
1960’s Fashion
‘Tis the age of neo hippies; shops like Desigual have taken over and while you can find lots of colourful, bohemian style clothes and handbags in there, you just can’t find the real deal. You know what I’m talking about – bell-bottom jeans, Mexican embroidered blouses, leather bags from Morocco and flowery Dr. Martens, the authentic Woodstock-style outfits. Snoop around any vintage shop and I can guarantee you will find the type of 1960’s style retro dress you’ve been dreaming of ever since you saw the video to Jefferson Airplane’s Embryonic Journey!
For vintage clothing, shoes and accessories in Singapore, we recommend an afternoon out exploring the boutique stories of Haji Lane [Arab quarter]. We also love the collection at Deja Vu [Millennia Walk].
Beads/Craft Supplies
If you’re crafty and like nothing more than to spend your Sunday afternoon making lovely things from bits and pieces you have laying around, the second-hand shop will soon become your mecca for all things colourful and creative. You will find basket and baskets of necklaces and bracelets with shell, wooden or plastic beads that you can put to good use for crafting. The same goes for other finds such as scarves or felt bags, the material of which can be used to create book covers, flowers or for cutting out shapes to stick on cards, lamps or jewellery boxes.
Chinatown’s 3-for$10 stores lining Pagoda Street may lack authentic lineage, but they certainly carry themselves with aplomb! Pair your creativity with their bright and ethnic wares – old coins, jade beads, traditional silk patterns – just what you need to create a newly-minted antique!
Special Editions
Look up special editions of books, films or even Vinyl’s on Amazon and you’ll see that they will weigh extremely heavy on your wallet. Browse through the books and vinyls in a second-hand shop and often you will get rare books and limited edition vinyls for an absolute steal! Just make sure you’re not walking into the private collection of some music and literature aficionado though – he’ll know what his stuff is worth and will sure as hell charge you for it! But most vintage shop owners do it for the love of the cause and aren’t too versed in terms of books that could be worth hundreds of dollars, so be cheeky – take advantage!
Add gravitas to your bookshelf (or your coffee table!) at Gohd Books [#1-37 Burlington Square, 175 Bencoolen Street].
– Roxanne, with Singapore recommendations by Secondsguru.
Roxanne is a German/British Journalist/Author based in Spain who shares our passion for all things old and quirky. Here, she shares her favorite vintage hunts, and we dig out spots in Singapore for our readers to follow through.
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