Fancy a Flea?

I could distinctly remember gaping in disbelief. ‘You bought that dress for only 5 bucks? FIVE BUCKS?!’

That was the first time I heard about flea markets around Singapore, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Around 75% of the things in my closet now are hauls from fleas, mostly steals really, ranging from 2 to 15 bucks (ssshhh!). 

For bargain-hunters who haven’t caught whiff of these pop-up bazaars yet, there’s one almost every weekend at *Scape near the Somerset MRT (here’s a good rundown of flea events around town). My favorite fetes are the ones held in Zouk and in Old School, Mount Sophia, for the better chances of scoring unique finds (true story: I got lost on my way to a friend’s party near Dhoby Ghaut when I literally stumbled onto the Old School Flea Market. I swear, these things are now stalking me!).

After a few months of amassing loads of clothes and what-nots, I was only half-kidding when I said, ‘We could start our own flea stall!’. Fast-forward to yesterday, when Sheng, Nicole, Marge & I finally signed up as merchants in the Flea Wolves shindig in *Scape. ‘Everything must go!’ became Sheng’s battle cry. It was utter chaos starting from hour one — people started to rummage among our stuff even before we had time to take them out of the luggages! Haggling on the other side of the table felt a bit funny; I could see myself in the customers who were trying to make away with my stuff for just a dollar (I know that trick!). It was a bit flattering as well when shoppers, who already had loads of our peddled goods hanging from their arms, would approach us to ask, ‘Don’t you have more stuff?’ Win!

My favorite moment was seeing the look on a tweener’s face when Sheng told her that the Zara blazer went for only 3 dollars. I could have sworn her face turned white; she must have stood there gaping for a good 5 seconds. Her sister explained to Sheng, ‘God bless your soul — she was looking for that jacket for 2 years now!’. My heart felt light, as I could totally relate as to how satisfying it feels to walk away from a bazaar cherishing a treasure bought for a song. Priceless.

So what am I going to do with the cash earned from stuff I almost threw away? Well, my closet’s feeling a bit underfed now… I think it’s time to refill and repeat cycle!