Bag of bacon in one hand, camera strapped on the neck and Uniqlo t-shirt – I couldn’t be more out of place when I roamed around the sea of hipsters in Fitzroy Market that Saturday. It’s not like any market I have ever been in Melbourne before – which made it heaps more charming to check out. Firstly, it’s held in a parking lot. The Fitzroy Market is like a pop-up market, but a bit more established as I can see the sellers were friendly chatting with each other – some were even hugging – I am guessing the same setups have been going on regularly.
Fitzroy Market did remind me of the Finders Keepers Market on my first year in Melbourne, but it feels more uhm.. hipster-ey – especially with carts of vegetables laid across the second-hand clothes stall opposite the homemade beer stall. Then there were the usual ones such as soy candles, earrings and homeopathy stalls, a coffee food truck and a couple of food stalls (where I got my bag of bacon), among the many second-hand clothes stalls.
My favourite thing about exploring Fitzroy Market was the people watching part. A silver puffer jacket-wearing lady was attending to the jewellery stall who didn’t seem bothered by the same heat that made the rest of us sweat that sunny afternoon. A kind looking feather hat-wearing guy ushered his partner aside when he saw I lifted my camera to take a picture of the meat fridge. Then the flower stall guy I got some flowers from who, after asking me to take his picture, got so shy that he pretended to talk to his partner instead.
Other favourite parts include the live music band and, of course, the Eggs and Bacon stall, where I got my bag of bacon strips.
Fitzroy Market encapsulates Melbourne’s quintessential hipster culture all too well in one single parking lot. So I’d urge you to check it out if you are in Melbourne and into hipster culture or second-hand clothes or, like me, into bacon and a little looksie looksie.
Fitzroy Market, located at 75 Rose Street Fitzroy, operates every Saturday. Who knows, maybe someday you’d catch me there with a bag of bacon in my hand.
*All pictures were taken with Mjuii using Superia 400 film roll.
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A picture of the said bag of bacon would have been nice