I have always loved visiting vintage stores. I adored the feeling of getting into a store and never knowing what to expect. It was like looking through a mystery box, full of unique treasures waiting for you to discover, and every piece had its own story behind it. Back in Hong Kong, I would spend the whole afternoon in a Salvation Army, going through the items by myself. It was somewhat therapeutic for me, and a break from all the studying in med school. So, as you would expect, thrifting was at the top of my bucket list. After asking around and doing some research, I have gone to a few stores in the past couple of weeks around the city.
South Philly has become one of my favorite neighborhoods to visit: brick buildings and murals everywhere, with an abundance of small stores and restaurants, all with their own distinctive features. My friends and I went to a few vintage shops in the area, and the stuff they had in there never failed to surprise me. The gorgeous antique furniture, rows and racks of bags and clothes, quirky little decorations scattered throughout the stores and more. We also happened to pass by a record store. As an avid listener of 90s/00s rock music, I was overjoyed looking through records, posters, and t-shirts of my favorite bands! And of course, we did our own Pat’s vs Geno’s for lunch. Although Pat’s had better cheesesteaks, we were still disappointed as it wasn’t as good as we thought, overrated. We also went to the Italian market and managed to get pasta and fresh produce for dinner. The pasta was delicious! I love how diverse the neighborhood is, and I am excited to visit more stores and try out more restaurants in the area.
Another neighborhood that I loved was Fishtown. It was a pleasant and tranquil neighborhood, and an escape from the hectic center city, also the perfect place to thrift for clothes. The thrift gods were on my side that day, as I went home with a pair of True Religion jeans, a pair of Banana Republic pants, a Fossil crossbody, and a Michael Kors tote all under 40 dollars! What a steal! Would definitely visit there again sometime.
Another thing that I could not miss in Philly was the live events and concerts! My friend and I went to a Taylor Swift dance party in Center City the other night, and the place was absolutely amazing! The basement of the restaurant was a live venue: a dance floor in front of the stage and a bar at the back, and we had the time of our lives there! Everyone was so nice, we met a bunch of new friends and screamed Taylor’s songs at the top of our lungs. As I am writing this, I am definitely not crying over the fact that I could not get a ticket to see Taylor. And I am definitely not contemplating the idea of selling my kidney just to get a crazy expensive ticket on StubHub. We’ll see.
