Last Sunday, Malaysia celebrated Hari Merdeka (Independence/Freedom day) which commemorates the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule. The holiday was extended to Monday, September first, and since my husband had to make a quick nip (ok, not that quick – he was there from 8:30am until almost 4pm) to the embassy because the whole team as well as our Ambassador needed to rush a few things for our President, I was able to get most of my chores out of the way before he got home and we decided to check out the Kuala Lumpur Vintage Festival.
We left the condo at around 4pm and took the Monorail to the Maharajalela station which was basically connected to Stadium Merdeka – the festival’s choice of venue.
Upon entry to the stadium are walls filled with photographs of the Malaysians’ heroes and revered leaders.
The stadium grounds itself was filled with tents selling vintage finds – from clothes, to vehicles, down to Coca-Cola kitchen signs.
This stadium is very important to Malaysians as it was the place where the power to govern the country was transferred from the British to the Malays in 1957. The stadium was constructed especially for that event and can accommodate up to 25 thousand people.
I love almost anything vintage – be it clothes, home decor, toys, glasses, etc. So prepare for a photo overload of all the quirky things we saw at the fair.
Vespa! Can’t bring myself to learn how to ride a motorbike but if ever I do, I would love to try one of these.
This combi van is so 60s! And yes, my sticker mask says hi. My face looked weird cos I was practically blinded by the sunlight. Haha.
Totally loving the Obamafied Marilyn right there. And it was just so cheap at RM50! We don’t have a wall for it though. 🙁 The rooms have already been planned out. Maybe when we redecorate in a couple of years? 😉 Hee.
Adidas fans in the festival had a field day. There were limited edition sneakers on sale. Loved the Star Wars series. Bummed that they’re only for boys. 🙁
The anatomy of an AT-AT.
These would totally look good in my kitchen!
Combi and muscle car overload.
You know how old people say one person’s junk is another person’s treasure? I totally believe that when it comes to vintage shopping. 😀
All my close friends know how I dig vintage glasses – the bigger the better. They’re so quirky yet still classy!
What do you think? 😉
I’d love to pack lunch in these – especially on the one with the Volswagen design. Cute!
Spot the bag I was dying to buy! Yep, the green one with the gold handle. So 50s, yes? But I had to let it go because it had severe scratches. 🙁 One thing about buying vintage is that you have to check the item thoroughly for damages and decide whether you can live with it or not.
I love Gold (not a fan of the plastic ones – too kiddie) vintage Casio watches. I have one already but I’m still looking into buying this design with the calculator. My friend Armi has one and I’m practically drooling all over it every time she’s wearing it!
Sadly, no flag pins for my husband. He collects those from every country. Either he buys them himself when he visits or his travelling friends get him some.
The husband also collects plane models and for a minute, he considered this fighter jet.
Vintage trains! My husband also loves trains. He dreams of having a locomotive train set in our condo but the question is always whether we have enough space for one. I love looking at old trains. They remind me of those years when travel was a luxury and people would often dress up and make an occasion out of a journey.
A red Swatch from the 80s.
Typewriters! So googly-eyed over these. They would make for great decor!
All the stalls were colourful with clothes dating as far back as the 50s.
I died and went to heaven after seeing these styles! <3
Just take a look at that leather traveling bag. Drool.
Hello, beautiful.
There are even school and office supplies. Venus Perfect Pencils is a brand I have not seen in YEARS. Gave me the heebie jeebies to see a couple of boxes. That company started out in the early 1900s. THe pencils were very popular among Americans and eventually, they became the favourite writing tool of soldiers during WWI after the American Lead Pencil Company started supplying Germany. Why do I know these things? Haha. The company making Venus pencils has been bought by Faber-Castell, btw.
While there were branded clothes going as high as RM60 or RM70, there were also stalls selling at just RM5.
Some pricey Ray-Bans. The tortoise-shell and gold wayfarers were adorbs but beyond my budget.
A Yashica Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Camera! Thought about turning it into a part of my console table vignette but the seller says it’s still working (so it’s still hella pricey).
More planes. I’m amazed at how my husband can say the type/model of each plane we see. He is such a geek for these things. Oh, and he’s also very knowledgeable about countries. Give him a country and he will tell you about it’s history, the people, where it is exactly, the capital and its major cities, he can tell you how the flag looks like and the shape of it in a map. ANY COUNTRY. No notes. Just straight from his brain. I guess that’s what makes him really good at his job. I guess anything to do with travel, my husband knows.
C3-PO trying to go incognito behind a pair of Docs.
Cowabunga! We’re missing one turtle though.
Love this!
Not really vintage but the designs are. Would you let your toddlers wear these? I’m kind of partial to the Ramones shirt for our future kiddo. But my husband might not be too happy about it. Haha!
My girl Audrey makes an appearance.
More and more bags.
And a mini Darth Vader looking too cute for words.
Accessory overload. Not really vintage but the designs can actually fool people into thinking that they’re from your mom’s fancy jewellery box.
Cute shopping bag.
Oh hello there, husband.
A sweaty couple-selfie was in order. We were enjoying ourselves despite the heat.
There were also vintage cars on display.
As well as motorcycles that remind me of a scene from Indiana Jones.
This is so WWII.
We ended that short trip with a quick snack. We found this stall just outside the stadium and the smell is so inviting. They’re selling cheap fried chicken (called ayam by Malaysians) which you can munch on by itself.
A huge chunk of fried chicken was at RM7 (Php 96.08, EUR 1.68, USD 2.20). And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. My husband and I decided to share and ask them to chop it up for us.
Ok, the filters made it really dark but this is just one slice of the chicken. The skin is rather crispy with a spicy-salty taste and the meat, juicy. We paired it with a tangerine drink from a nearby stall and it was just divine.
All in all, we enjoyed the KL Vintage Festival. It was like taking a trip down memory lane, or more appropriately – taking the time machine out for a whirl. Looking forward to next year’s festival! 🙂
More later.
Love,
C
