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Shopping is a serious business in Singapore. Designer fashions, handcrafted jewelry, Khmer objets d‘art, cutting-edge electronics, Indian spices—the variety of goods sold in Singapore is likely to impress even the most seasoned shopper.
Here you’ll find an island well suited to full-day retail expeditions, from the mile-long strip of shoulder-to-shoulder mega-malls along dizzying Orchard Road to clusters of boutiques housed in the renovated shophouses in ethnic enclaves such as Chinatown and Kampong Glam. A growing number of independent shops are popping up within hip neighborhoods like Tiong Bahru and Little India, adding some welcome variety. Dempsey Hill, best known for its wining and dining, is also home to warehouse-like galleries filled with Southeast Asian antiques, artwork, furnishings, and housewares.
Bargain hunters should mark their calendars for the Great Singapore Sale, an annual eight-week extravaganza held from late May through July. At this time all of Singapore’s shopping centers and many independent stores slash prices by up to 80%. It pays to come early, though, as the biggest bargains are quickly snapped up by hawkeyed locals and zealous shoppers from around the region who flock to the island specially for the event.
Wooden planks painted like piano keys mark the entrance to BooksActually, a vintage bookstore on hip Yong Siak Street. Here you can browse an excellent selection of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to the sound of light indie-pop tunes. The back room has interesting bric-a-brac, and there's selection of book-vending machines out front, where you can purchase a "mystery" book wrapped in white paper for S$10.
Head to this long-established store inside the Tanglin Shopping Centre for an interesting selection of vintage Southeast Asian artifacts and collectibles, including original books, photos, maps, and prints.
Occupying a 5,000-square-foot space on Dempsey Hill, this store specializes in jewelry, art, and home furnishings from around the world and with a focus on natural and recycled materials. Even if, as a short-term visitor, you aren't in a position to purchase some of the larger items, it's still a fun shop to walk around, getting lost in the maze of old goods. There are also personalized services like custom-made furniture.
Funky, refurbished vintage furniture is the highlight of the fun indoor and outdoor housewares at Journey East. Such a store is best for those living in or moving to Singapore, but the staff can also arrange for purchases to be shipped worldwide.
One of Singapore’s most respected antique stores specializes in Southeast Asian pieces, which are selected from neighboring regions including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. The collection offers items dating from as early as the 7th century, with a fascinating range of furniture, art, sculptures, and more. All pieces come with certificates of authenticity and can be shipped overseas.
Housing a large collection of antiques and vintage pieces, the store displays a large banner across Tong Mern Sern, happily proclaiming to "buy junk and sell antiques." Oft-pictured and eminently Instagram-able, this three-story shophouse is home to a wealth of treasures, though you may need to spend an afternoon searching through it to find them.
It's a shame that no photography is allowed at this dusty old antiques shop. Its remarkable groupings of vintage goods, arranged in what you might call haphazard symmetry, make for one of the more photogenic mishmashes of random items in Singapore. Then again, photos might sully the surprises an hour of treasure hunting might yield. It's a great shop if you like thrifting.
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