Smith Street Bazaar

What a gorgeous shop front. Those windows! And that’s just the exterior.
Inside, it’s even better. The ground floor is full of mint condition mid-​20^th-​century furniture. Beautiful pieces of furniture in such good nick can demand a high price and they do.
Knowing I can’t afford much on this floor, I usually cast a quick glance over the goods just as a treat to my eyes, and then head up the stairs to the vintage clothes.
I’m always pleasantly surprised by the prices here. For this location on Smith Street, the stall holders could really ask for more for their vintage finds, but they don’t, and I for one, am not only grateful, but feel vindicated for being annoyed at retailers for upping the price tag just because they can.
This is how it should be done. Beautiful store filled with earthly delights for all the enjoy (and possess).

Smith Street Bazaar makes me want to sell my soul to the corporate devil just so that I can afford one of its erstwhile factory domiciled big wooden tables or sleek sixties zebra print sofas. To the vintage design junkie its mid-​century furniture is THAT good.
It took me a good long while to figure out that Smith Street Bazaar also sold an incredible selection of vintage clothing, jewellery and accessories from the mezzanine level out back, but really where Smith Street Bazaar excels is with its beautiful, beautiful furniture.
Selling a mixture of bona fide vintage pieces alongside tables, benches and so on made from reclaimed wood or literally reclaimed from industrial enterprises, many of Bazaar’s pieces have been lovingly reupholstered to give them a modern edge.
Sure, this stuff is pricey but when compared to the contemporary furniture shops around the corner on Johnston or other vintage furniture shops in Melbourne, Smith Street Bazaar’s prices aren’t that bad at all. If you love vintage furniture in mint condition you will adore the Smith Street Bazaar.

Smith Street Bazaar manages to make me feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy that a place like this exists, and sad that I can’t afford anything.
Bazaar houses pretty much everything; giant pop-​art posters, furniture, even old jukeboxes and records — all with big price tags, but all understandably worth it. However my favourite section is of course where the clothes live which I find are priced much more cheaply.
Somehow I have been lucky enough to pick up an authentic Betsey Johnson dress for a mere $ 60 (its original price tag would have been in the hundreds.) Even the store owner said «You know how good a deal this is?!» So vintage clothing lovers, listen up! Smith Street Bazaar only has the ‘good stuff’, you won’t have to trudge through racks of 90’s adidas jackets or hideous old bridesmaids dresses. There is only quality on these racks.
A guilty pleasure of mine is to pop in to Smith Street Bazaar every few weeks, check out all the new stock and make a secret list of all the things I want to buy once I’ve won the lottery.

A treasure trove of antiques and vintage furniture, if you wanted the décor of Mad Men all you need to do is visit the Smith Street Bazaar.
Beautiful tables, sleek chairs and intricate sideboards are scattered throughout the enormous store. There are also some fantastic lamps, tea sets and vases, that look as thought they belong in your grandparents houses in the 1950s and 1940s.
Up towards the back is a modest clothing section that has a great range of shoes, bags and accessories too (90s backpacks are back in people!). They also have an impressive range of costume jewellery.
It isn’t surprising that the Smith Street Bazaar always has some devoted retro fans or artists crawling through and marveling at the woodwork or kitsch posters.
Last week I was very tempted by a slick wooden chair that was low, sexy, and remarkably modern, but with a price of $ 700 (quite reasonable for a quality piece but a mere dream to a student), I unfortunately had to kiss that beautiful piece of work goodbye.
One day when I have an income and a house, I’ll buy some furniture from the Smith Street Bazaar. But until then, it’s always a pleasure to just look.