⠀VVEEKEND 101

My favorite thing about traveling around beside getting to see places and meeting new people with different cultural backgrounds, is actually going on a shopping! People all over the world dress differently, thus I love to observe what they are wearing. Traveling, obviously, has given me the opportunity to do that, and also to encounter every vintage corners of the city that I visited. Wait, why vintage? Except from the fact that the oldies are my biggest muse in fashion, I feel like vintage stores give me a really broad choice of fashion from different styles and eras. Personally, vintage shopping is not just about finding something unique, or things that most people don't wear, but also shaping up my own style and even adding some spice into it.

April last year I was in Sydney for my sister's wedding in Hunter Valley. I spent an extra day in Sydney to travel around—although truth is I ran out of ticket home lol—and of course take a look what Sydney vintage has to offer. I visited two areas that I believe are the most famous ones when it comes to vintage here, which were Darlinghurst and (I believe it was called) Newton. In both areas I found not only vintage but also fashion stores to shop around. In between there were also book stores and coffee shops. Not to mention the areas were also decorated with colorful murals. The neighborhood themselves had caught my attention!

Although the shops here are not as beautifully decorated as the ones in Tokyo—I mean, I can never compare anything to Tokyo, really—the items were such treasures! Some of the stores curate pieces; visitors can easily pick a denim jacket that suit them the most from the vintage Levi's rack. There's even this one store that put their items according to colors. Other stores just put their things randomly, giving me all the treasure-hunting feelings!

So what were my finds exactly?

Peacock Kaftan Dress (AUD 90-100-ish?)
Got this dress from probably the most interesting thrift shop all over Darlinghurst, called Zoo Emporium. If you fancy vintage blings and sequin like me, I don't see any reason you shouldn't visit this place. They have very wide range of dresses, and I even eyed some of the platform boots, but too bad none of them matched my size. The shopkeeper was nice too that she recommended a few of other stores I should check out. Among all the colors inside the shop I stumbled upon this oddly looking kaftan with some overwhelming peacock sequin embellishment on it—guess who owned this dress before me! It was initially too long for me so I had to cut the length off a bit and added a little slit on both sides so it's more comfortable for everyday wear. Also, by the time this photo was taken I was still crazy in love with my rattan basket bag.

Levi's Denim Jacket (AUD 50-60-ish...? Maybe)
I think Cream On Vintage is one of the top stores for thrifting since it has a few branches over Sydney. The very iconic monkey logo gave me an image of this space monkey thing from Fight Club lol how is this related to anything I'm about to write here? Anywho, Cream On Vintage is the typical Tokyo thrift stores where you can easily find vintage levis denim jacket and corduroy shirts in every color possible. They even upcycled some vintage polo shirts into halter tops too, talking about vintage summer perfection! But of course I don't have enough money to buy the whole store so I ended up with this Levi's jacket. It has the perfect light blue color which I think very 1990s and we all know how much I wish I lived through that era.

Aviator-ish Sunglasses (AUD50)

I also got this from Cream On Vintage, they have a lot of vintage-looking glasses (which was new-ly produced but has this oldies vibe) and actual vintage glasses. These ones I got was from their vintage collection and truth to be told, I don't think I have worn my other sunglasses ever since I got this—which was a year ago! It has this round frames that's the right size for my face—since some of the round glasses are too small that they make your face looks weird, or too big that they loose the vintage vibe to it. Also the handles have very unique engraving! I don't find vintage sunglasses very easily, should have bought more pairs!

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Malaysia is not a stranger to me anymore. I traveled here when I was a kid, even did a summer exchange in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur back in 2016. It's safe to say that I'm already pretty familiar with the surroundings and how to get around. Although, I was still stoked to spend the week here, giving there are still plenty of places that I haven't yet visited.

Coming here for the third time now I feel like going to a new destination. Living alone for quite some time, it makes me more interested in exploring new places. Traveling around has been pretty easy nowadays, thanks to the invention of google maps and online transportation services. Still, walking around in a city without no one guiding you where to go is both challenging and fun. This time that city happens to be Georgetown, Penang.

Named as one of the UNESCO world heritage sites, Georgetown is the capital city of Penang and located in the Penang island. So expect to find inexplicable art scenes along the streets, from murals to other types of installation. Since every corner is a photo-worthy spot, I didn't really bother walking around, although the weather was a little too warm by the time I was visiting.

A couple of days before I visited, I was in Malacca city, which was also inscribed as one of UNESCO world heritage sites as well. Similarities between both cities of course can be found through their architectural style. Old, worn-out shophouses and colonial buildings with a touch of cultural diversity. An exquisite view of ancient architecture.

I came here with no expectations at all. I even put another town on the list, just in case I changed my mind. But arriving here and knowing that I'm only a walking distance away to the sound of waves and the most fresh seafood in town, my heart is so in awe. Spending an evening in the city sipping coffee or talking a walk along the jetty, is never too much.

I found plenty of art and antique shops along the streets. Some stuffs I just don't find back home. It's actually an eclectic heaven for me, even to just window shop around. And of course the art just doesn't stop there. Themed cafes and coffee shops in Georgetown are worth-visiting—not that I already am a sucker for these kind of places—and I wish I had visited more. I didn't know any city could actually draw my interest again after Tokyo, but this one surely is a catch.