Spring Break. It feels as if it happened ages ago. I fantasized about how I was going to spend the break taking adventurous trips around the city with my closest friends, but in the end, work stopped me in my tracks. Luckily I was able to sneak away from work for a day to visit the Treasure Island Flea Market. This flea market is held on the last weekend of every month, and is well known for its fun festivities and food.
My friends and I made sure to explore every nook and cranny of the flea market. The stalls of items felt endless. They had everything from old ‘70s pictures to brand-new necklaces, handmade from the person sitting right in front of you. Still, almost everything we saw was vintage, from shoes to jackets to old furniture; the musky smell of pre-loved items floated in the air.
This is a small succulent that I bought. I named it Mary Todd, after Abraham Lincoln’s wife. She is now the cutest succulent I own.
It was hard not to buy everything I saw. I felt like a child set free inside a candy store. I absolutely adore old fashioned prints, jewelry, and antiques and this flea market was packed with all sorts of strange items. This stand, in particular, had all kinds of weird knickknacks. There were decapitated dolls, old doorknobs, and a huge variety of gorgeous white skulls. I definitely plan on coming back here to grab some home decor one day.
Lately I’ve felt an affinity towards floral and hawaiian prints so I bought myself this kids’ sized Hawaiian shirt. The tag says that this shirt is for 5-6 year-olds, but I decided to wear it as a cropped top. I like this Hawaiian top in particular because the pattern is simpler than most.
This second top is a chambray button-up, stitched with desert images. I styled it with some ripped boyfriend jeans for a more casual look. It’s rather big on me, but I just couldn’t pass up on something with a cactus on it.
And as an extra plus, the back of the shirt has a sunset embroidered on it!
This flea market is one you can’t miss out on. It was a short twenty-minute bus ride from downtown San Francisco. But get there early: by the time I left in the early afternoon, there was a lengthy line just to get in.
Words by Laura Tran. Images by Claudia Chen and Laura Tran.
