I wish I had the luxury of going shopping whenever I felt like it and buying whatever I want, but I don’t. Most of the pretty things that I see in the mall cost more than I want to spend for them, and I have to stick to window shopping rather than actual shopping. Everything costs so expensive nowadays! That’s why I’m a huge sucker for a sale or a tiangge, because I hate spending too much money on…well, anything. I love searching for great items at cheap prices, and unlike people who don’t reveal the dirt cheap prices of their clothes, I’m proud of declaring the prices (and sources) of my inexpensive finds.
Naturally, when my roommate Kich invited me to go shopping at an ukay-ukay, I jumped at the chance. The only other time I had been to one was in Baguio, where you can find the mother of all ukay-ukays. It was my first time ever, and I was amazed and excited to see so many clothes at low, low prices. I didn’t care if they were old, used, or overrun items. The prices were too good to be true, and there’s nothing that a go in the washing machine can’t fix. I was with my parents though, and after a short while my dad was already itching (literally and figuratively) to go. I can’t blame him – he’s a guy!
This time around, I was going with Kich and another one of our friends Jenn. No Y-chromosomes to hinder our shopping adventure! So clad in our jeans and ponytails, we took the LRT to Cubao and prepared for our trip to the "UK".
We found great-looking shoes, adorable sweaters, fashionable jackets, and fun tops. None of them look like they came from an ukay-ukay shop. The best thing about them is that they’re very, very inexpensive. Bargains take on a whole new meaning here. You can get a great blazer-cut jacket for P150 or trendy shoes for less than P500. Jenn even found a top similar to one she bought about a week before; only this top cost 95 percent cheaper than what she had already bought. That’s right, 95 percent cheaper than her original top.
Everyone knows that trends tend to repeat themselves over the years, so even if ukay-ukay shops house dated clothes, you can always find something that would still look great today. During my first trip to the ukay-ukay in Baguio, I found an adorable white bohemian skirt for P40, and lately, I’ve been seeing so many bohemian skirts in shops. I also found a cute ’80s top for less than a P100 which looks good enough to party in.
Another great thing about ukay-ukay items is that they’re unique. Sometimes, when you buy something cute at a regular store, you find that several others found it cute as well and are wearing it. It’s highly unlikely that you find someone wearing, or even owning the exact same thing you will find in ukay-ukay. Kich has these gorgeous earrings that she bought in Baguio that I drool over every time she wears them. And as much as I want earrings like that, I can’t find them in regular accessory shops. I’ll just have to borrow them from her.
It was a very successful afternoon for the three of us. When Kich and I couldn’t decide between two pairs of shoes we both wanted, Kich and I decided to buy one pair each and just borrow. Jenn kept me from buying a not-so-nice green jacket ("Okay, that looks like an amoeba!") and a pink hooded coat ("You look like little pink riding hood."). The three of us laughed over an unreadable word on an adorable pink sweater. We still don’t know what the word is, or what it means, for that matter. And we all ended up carrying plastic bags with our proud purchases. Afterwards, we had cold sodas to recharge and told ourselves to soak our items in water and salt to take the smell out, to throw them in the wash, and then to take long showers. We computed for our numerous purchases and happily discovered we all spent under P1,000. If I had gone shopping in a mall or even at a bazaar, that amount of money would never have been enough for the four tops, a cardigan, a sweater, a jacket, and a pair of shoes I bought. And I won’t be shy about telling people that I bought them all at an ukay-ukay.