Carrara Markets

I love going to markets. I feel like every activity that I really enjoy involves some kind of shopping. Is that almost sickeningly stereotypical of me as a girl, or what? But I absolutely love the haggling culture, brightly-coloured stands, and various different merchandise that you’ll never quite find anywhere else.

I went along last weekend with my friend and he helped me out with some of the photos. I tried my own hand at using a DSLR, I really did, but in some weird twist of fate, I feel more comfortable in front of a camera as opposed to behind it. I brought my little P&S along for the ride.

Pants and a blouse seemed like an appropriate choice. I’ve been wearing a lot of monochrome outfits recently, and when I found these high-waisted 3/4 gingham pants from Kmart, you’d better believe I snapped them up. I feel like they’ll be a very versatile piece this Spring.

I made the classic mistake of wearing high-heeled strappy sandals to the markets, but luckily I brought a back-up pair of black patent loafers–if you’re going to any kind of weekend markets, it’s probably best to wear flats. You’ll avoid the blisters and the strange looks.

There is everything you’d ever expect at these markets, including a lot of vintage shopping. This part was my favorite, but be warned it is indeed “vintage” shopping and not “op” shopping, with the key difference being the price points. If you look very hard, you may find a bargain or two, but it’s slim pickings out here! I was more focused on the new merchandise.

And hats, I tried on a million hats that day.

Besides the giant craft store in the middle of the action, I was blown away most of all by how many watch places there were. I’m a big watch fiend!

I would definitely go to the Carrara Markets again, and considering how huge it was, I may have to–I don’t think we managed to see the entire thing in the day we spent there, but I’m so not complaining. Another time, another trip, and I’m looking forwards to it.