Reaching into your wardrobe only to grab thin air? Or that tattered old coat you always shove back in? Forget your walks with your light wallet, softly sighing gazing into those lovely shiny shops full of pretty things with price tags you thought were for April fools day and sit straight, listen up (or read up) and get the deets on Sydney’s markets; where, when and as for why, well we all know the answer to that...that unique parrot umbrella, right? No? Just me?

Starting us off at number 1 is Finders Keepers (May 20-21 and December 2-3 2011)

Held at CarriageWorks, Finders Keepers showcases local and regional contemporary art and design. A great hub and milieu for emerging designers, with their beautiful creations and ethical production (more and more up and coming designers are going ‘green’ which is great to see). At FK you’ll see stalls from Rebound Books, Able & Game, TMOD and a grand collection of other objects and precious possessions otherwise undiscovered at other markets.

Number 2 is the good ol’ Rozelle Markets (Every Saturday and Sunday, 9am - 4pm)

Rozelle Markets is a big circle of recycling, from vintage, antiques and just the regular cast-offs everyone has but no one really wants unless a friend says ‘oh go on, that’ll go nicely with that oversized pink wool jumper...’ Um.... Yeah, sure, why not. Why Rozelle is number 2 instead of Glebe or Paddington (which are both great, don’t get me wrong) but they’ve clambered up from the traditional flea-market character, scrubbed up and now possess the mass-produced alternative hipster chic products which are good and all, but not nestled in the traditional markets’ roots enough. Rozelle however, is still a flea haven, with piles of clothes, books, records, and that strange figurine you saw and loved and don’t know exactly what it is, is all about what flea-markets should be about; taking another’s junk and loving it as if it were your own.

Our third contender is Surry Hills Markets (First Saturday of each month)

Ahh Surry Hills, bless you and your trendy go getters, your well-dressed crowds and street-fashion photographers (well, who am I to talk...) you’re so effortlessly cool, comforting yet enlightening with emerging artists, designers and general vintage lovers. At Surry Hills Markets (held at Shannon Reserve on Crown Street) you’ll experience all of these wonderful things and fingers crossed, get that parrot umbrella, or if you’re looking good enough, be asked to be photographed...good Saturday if you ask me.

Fourth in line is the elusive Bams & Ted (Ad hoc dates throughout the year)

Bams & Ted started in Autumn 2010, and it’s been a vintage dress-up party ever since. It’s more of a vintage pop-up store, than a market per say, so when it does pop up, you have to catch it. Every market takes an inspiration from a fictional character, last year commenced based on the ethereal Miranda from A Picnic at Hanging Rock with delicate trinkets and floaty dresses, perfect for breezing away into the wilderness. Other collections have been inspired by Francie from Hitckcock's To Catch A Thief, Jessica from Murder She Wrote and the teddy-bear toting Sebastian of Brideshead Revisited. Past locations have included Surry Hills and the slightly less predictable Alexandria.

And finally, there is the unbeatable Becky Sharp's Vanity Fair Markets (Second Saturday of every month, 10am - 3pm)

Becky Sharp’s ‘Vanity Fair’ Markets is one of Sydney’s best monthly vintage markets. It’s of the highest quality vintage paraphernalia you’ll be able to collect and there are such beautiful pieces on offer; dazzling 1950s dresses, one-off clip-on earrings and brooches, and of course hats and briefcases for you vintage-loving gents out there too. Depending on the piece, where it came from and what condition it’s in, prices vary, but it’s all real and it’s all available every second Saturday of the month upstairs in Paddington RSL.

So good treasure-hunting, friends, may your pockets empty of coinage and fill up with vintage treasures.