Peep Game: Poppin' Tags!

Today I did something strange . . . Two things actually (three, if you count that I did these things in Singapore).

1.  I voluntarily went shopping.
2.  I voluntarily tried on clothes inside a store.

On Sunday night, I emailed my friend Cheryl to see if she would go to a thrift store with me. See, I asked her to be a part of a challenge posted in a blog that I regularly follow:  Young House Love. Lots and lots of people follow this blog:  I am merely one in a billion. (You might remember me receiving a signed copy of their book for Christmas.)

This particular challenge caught my eye . . . I am an avid fan of hip hop and rap. And my newest crush is Macklemore (please reference my top videos of 2012 as proof). Young House Love asked viewers--blog readers, if you will--to take $20 to a thrift store, wear something referenced in the video, take pictures of self in said items, and purchase something interesting with the monies.

Sadly Singapore is not flush with thrift stores. At all. But oddly enough, amidst all of the malls and escalators, we were able to find one and it was close. As luck would have it, the Salvation Army Family Store is located right across the street from where we both teach.   

So after school, we got together and here's how it turned out.

Here's my $20. In Singapore dollars. Which means we actually spent $16.18 USD.

I brought Cheryl with me because she likes to shop (I do not). Cheryl teaches 4th grade, I teach art.

Here's the store, located right behind the Woodleigh bus and MRT station. It only says Family Store on the outside of the building. This can be deceiving as they do not--in fact--sell families. 

My goodness!! So many things were catching our eyes. But sadly nothing under $20.  

Check out those fly sneakers!  

Part of our challenge was to find actual images that represented some of the lyrics in the song. We played with this a little bit and got kinda creative . . . Like for this Hello Kitty we found stuffed in a corner:  "One man's trash, that's another man's come-up . . . " Look at poor Hello Kitty, trapped in that trash bag. (She can't breath, let her out!) 

And some of the images I just threw in this post because I liked them. Aaawww yeah, matching velvet Christmas vests and totally bejeweled denim pants!!

I actually kind of really wanted those pants. Maybe I will go back and get them. They had a real rockabilly flair to me. 

"I'm in this big ass coat . . . from that thrift shop down the road . . . " Cheryl got the close-up, I got my photo taken from further back because I had to include my "house slippers". I kept my real shoes on in this picture, just for kicks. 

"I look incredible . . . " (Seriously, how much more Grey Gardens could I possibly be?)  

"Dressed in all pink, 'cept my gator shoes, those are green . . . "

As for the purchase? Boxing gloves. Yes, boxing gloves. I went into the store searching for a nice little side table and came out with a pair of $20 boxing gloves. Holla!

Why? They remind me of the first gallery show I did in Nashville in 2011. It was a big show with two friends of mine, Allie Sultan (video) and Andee Rudloff (paintings). I created the installation element threading through the gallery, 8 miniature installations each focusing on a different social theme and resembling the image below. Now this new pair can hang next to one of the pairs from the show that I ended up bringing with me to Singapore.  

Thrift store shopping in Singapore proved to be a surprisingly quick and easy job. What a diverse assortment of goods we laid our eyes on! I'm curious what other people found. We'll find out on Friday! Can't wait!