We all have different signs that means the year is coming to a close, for some it’s avoiding Mariah Carey screeching what she wants for Christmas, for others it’s the phone call from family asking what they want for presents this year; for me, it’s when Perth holds it’s November Polka Dot Vintage Market. The final Polka Dot Vintage Market means I have a chance to start looking for unique gifts for friends and family as well as an opportunity to treat myself to a little (or a lot) of vintage shopping. The Polka Dot Vintage Markets are hosted twice a year (April and November) at the Claremont Showgrounds and are a 3 in 1 type market; vintage, hand made and antiques. I was kindly invited to check out last weekends market and I really found some unique treasures. If you’d like to see previous Polka Dot Vintage Market hauls, check out those here and here.

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I like to get to the markets early in the morning and even then, there was quite a line out the door waiting to get in. My first stop is the vintage hat stall where I was spoilt with a smorgasbord of beautiful hats to try on and purchase. I may have gotten a little carried away as I came away with 4 new hat purchases but I tried to choose wisely filling colour gaps in my wardrobe. I found a small straw woven cap with sage green ribbons, a small navy calot, a white mesh hat with red trim and a cream velvet calot hat with velvet flowers which looks a little like a turban when worn. There were a few other gorgeous hats available but I tried to be selective and only choose hats that were unique to me and my collection. I often look for hats in unique colours to fill styling gaps in my wardrobe and I’m really happy with my little haul.

Connected to the stall were a few other vintage treasures for sale where I picked up a pair of orange vintage gloves (one of the hardest colours to find I think), a rhinestone hat pin and three vintage sewing patterns. I’m really excited by the sewing patterns as I am wanting to challenge myself a little more ext year with my sewing and try out some vintage patterns and not just collect them pointlessly. I am most excited by the vintage Vogue pattern 7831 as the shape of the bodice is lovely and the dress hopefully shouldn’t be too difficult (famous last words I know). I also managed to find a white woven handbag; something I’ve been keeping an eye out for for quite some time. This one was in great condition and all the weaves were complete and the inside was well constructed and clean.

Although not vintage, Deluxe Creations has a stall at this market so I picked up a super cute little sun catcher featuring two gold moons and a sun pendant. I’ve always loved these things and have a few hanging in my bedroom window, I like to watch the rainbows move around the bedroom walls in the afternoon. I call it rainbow hour.

A special feature at this years markets was a group of pinup friends getting together to share a stall and sell pieces from their small businesses and support other creatives. Miss Rosie Rabbito has just ventured into the world of creating vintage style hats from her new business Vintage Dreaming by Rosie. I scooped up a pink mesh hat with flowers and a few sparkles; it really is a treasure and believe me when I say it was hard to pick just one. Miss Rosie is an amazing crafter, seamstress and all around adorable person so I’m looking forward to picking up a few more treasures as time goes by. The effervescent Miss Joycurve was selling on behalf of other small woman run business Coup de Colere, originally from Brisbane. Coup de Colere sell resin jewellery with stunning designs and adorable collections. I have a few of their pieces already so I was very happy to add a small resin red bow brooch to my collection; it will come in very handy for the upcoming holiday season. Next, Miss Perky Platinum was selling some of her incredible crochet creations. I couldn’t resist a tiny crochet pumpkin which will now live in my study room as a stress pumpkin; I’m keen to add a little lavender oil to it to help me relax when stressed.

The last stall I picked up a few treasures from was The Vintage Side who make the most incredible vintage inspired aprons and accessories. I couldn’t help but pick up another apron (I already have a few at home) but they are just so incredibly made and the colours on this one were stunning. Before I left I also grabbed a little pink rose corsage to go with a few items I have ready for spring.

There’s always so much to look at at these markets and you can easily spend the whole day there. It does get pretty crowded in the afternoon so I try to get most of my shopping done first thing in the morning as crowds can get very overwhelming for me. As always, the highlight of my day was seeing so many familiar faces and getting lots of big squishy cuddles from everyone. Before you ask, yes a few gifts were picked up for friends and family but I cannot show them for obvious reasons. If you are in Perth, I’d definitely recommend checking out the Polka Dot Vintage Markets yourself and finding a few treasures of your own. The next one will be in April 2022 and I cannot wait!

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.