Speaking of avoidance, another thing I was doing my best to avoid was hitting the second-hand markets. That's because I know myself too well. After being deprived of a decent market scene for 3 years, it was all too easy to picture myself going wild. But since part of my DIY list includes a pair of seat cushions for our vintage dining chairs, I finally found a decent excuse to visit the fabric market at Westermarkt.
I took the tram to Marnixplein and trailed the crowd of women with large eco shopping bags to Westerstraat, which lies behind this lovely canal. Westerstraat is home to the Westermarkt, a Mondays-only street market that's mostly known for fabric and notions...
... but also carries everything else from clothes to cheese, from everyday household items to curious novelties. (Or an interesting combination thereof, such as these psychedelic palangganas from a stall manned by an African man.)
It seems all of Amsterdam comes to squeeze through this single narrow aisle in the middle of Westerstraat: the fur-clad doyennes of the Oud Zuid with their Gloria Swanson-esque turbans, gangly Turkish teenagers and pram-pushing Moroccan moms, the nerdy-chic hipsters of the Jordaan, and more.
Walking the entire length of the Westermarkt will lead you to the Noordermarkt, held on a small square fronting Noorderkerk. It's a farmer's market on Saturdays, and a second-hand clothing and antiques market on Mondays.
Oh, Noordermarkt. You have become my new favorite way to zap the Monday blues (which I don't even have because I don't work anymore... but still). Second-hand shopping is my weakness, and declaring a shopping list to Marlon the night before wasn't as powerful to ward against it as I thought. Because though my list was composed of three simple things ("fabric for seat cushions, a vase and glasses"), here's what I actually ended up coming home with.
1) Fabric for seat cushions (yay!), a graphic floral-print canvas for €16/meter
5) A faux fur vest for €5! Either I've been watching too much Rachel Zoe or reading too much Man Repeller, I love the fact that I can now wear faux fur without looking like a pretentious tool.
6) A gray leopard print beret to replace the one that I bought at Zara last Christmas and promptly lost without ever wearing, boo hoo. This one is a better deal because it's 60% rabbit fur for only €10!
Lilian once told me that cats love rabbit fur, and I know now that it's true. Rogue went for that hat like it was a long-lost lover.
7) Two vintage glass vases in hues of smoky purple. One is €25, one is €3; I'll leave you to guess which is which ;)
8) And my find of the day... an entire box of mounted antlers.
KIDDING! I'M JUST KIDDING!
I think it needs to be a long time (and a few freelance gigs) till my next visit to Noordermarkt. It will be my ruin, I tell you!
I took the tram to Marnixplein and trailed the crowd of women with large eco shopping bags to Westerstraat, which lies behind this lovely canal. Westerstraat is home to the Westermarkt, a Mondays-only street market that's mostly known for fabric and notions...
... but also carries everything else from clothes to cheese, from everyday household items to curious novelties. (Or an interesting combination thereof, such as these psychedelic palangganas from a stall manned by an African man.)
It seems all of Amsterdam comes to squeeze through this single narrow aisle in the middle of Westerstraat: the fur-clad doyennes of the Oud Zuid with their Gloria Swanson-esque turbans, gangly Turkish teenagers and pram-pushing Moroccan moms, the nerdy-chic hipsters of the Jordaan, and more.
Walking the entire length of the Westermarkt will lead you to the Noordermarkt, held on a small square fronting Noorderkerk. It's a farmer's market on Saturdays, and a second-hand clothing and antiques market on Mondays.
Oh, Noordermarkt. You have become my new favorite way to zap the Monday blues (which I don't even have because I don't work anymore... but still). Second-hand shopping is my weakness, and declaring a shopping list to Marlon the night before wasn't as powerful to ward against it as I thought. Because though my list was composed of three simple things ("fabric for seat cushions, a vase and glasses"), here's what I actually ended up coming home with.
1) Fabric for seat cushions (yay!), a graphic floral-print canvas for €16/meter
2) Back-up fabric in case Marlon doesn't like the floral print, map-printed canvas at €18/meter
3) Back-up fabric #2, purple and yellow herringbone in case we decide we've had enough of maps, and since, hey, it's just €2/meter!
4) Scarves, 3 for €5! Scarves are like shoes, they know no fatness and are therefore irresistible. I got one in gray leopard print, one in an emerald green chunky cable knit (the type that you can wind into one of those huge neck braces), and another in colorful ikat-print cotton (because spring is now on my mind).
5) A faux fur vest for €5! Either I've been watching too much Rachel Zoe or reading too much Man Repeller, I love the fact that I can now wear faux fur without looking like a pretentious tool.
Lilian once told me that cats love rabbit fur, and I know now that it's true. Rogue went for that hat like it was a long-lost lover.
8) And my find of the day... an entire box of mounted antlers.
KIDDING! I'M JUST KIDDING!
I think it needs to be a long time (and a few freelance gigs) till my next visit to Noordermarkt. It will be my ruin, I tell you!
The beret looks good on you.
ReplyDeleteFabric prints are lovely. Since they look like they belong to the same color family, pwede na i-mix & match.
OMG I totally love 2nd hand shopping too! And I love the finds!!! Yes you almost gave me a heart attack with the antlers! =P But hey at least over there you only get to buy what you can carry home right?? Can you imagine if you had a car! I would totally fill it! =P
ReplyDeleteI vant the faux fur vest. But by the time I get there Spring na. :)
ReplyDeleteCutty, thanks! Marlon liked the floral print I chose. The others we'll use to make new pillowcases for the living room.
ReplyDeleteAyessa, sa dami ng binili ko, when I got home it felt like my arms were being torn out of their sockets. I couldn't stretch my arms for two whole days! That's what you call suffering for shopping's sake.
Ate, for that itatago ko ang vest when you visit!