It is not unusual for us to see well-dressed and high fashioned millennials, be it in the streets, school, and work space, mall or food parks.
We may wonder about the price of their sophisticated skirt, trendy pair of sneakers or a stylish denim jacket. What many people are not aware of is how they are purchased from a thrift store or most commonly known as “ukay-ukay”, a store which usually sells used clothes, shoes, and other fashion items.
The access to secondhand clothing has grown massively in Angeles City. The main patrons of their items are millennials who are usually described as flexible, more focused on materialistic values and receptive to new ideas.
At every corner of every street – especially around Sto. Rosario and Plaridel in Angeles City – ukay-ukay stores are very visible. Ranging from 10php to 150 php, a customer can already buy a branded used item. Rather than spend a much higher price, millennials tend to go roam around an ukay-ukay store.
One brand new t-shirt from a high-end mall can equate to 5 or 10 secondhand clothes. A pair of shoes that costs 2,000php at a shopping mall can be purchased in a thrift store for only 300php.
One thing to consider is everything is a secondhand. It only takes a keen eye to choose the best items in the store. In order to make the most out of it, making sure there are no stains or holes is necessary. The only challenge – it takes longer to choose because there are just too many options. That is the most enjoyable part of thrift shopping – all smiles on the face because everything is inexpensive.
“I can dress up for a party using clothes I bought at an ukay-ukay store, fashionable but cheaper,” Jenina Quito, a millennial who usually buys from a thrift shop, said.
She adds that these clothes may seem ugly at first but that is where creativity works. Since she has other priorities, one way of saving money is thrift shopping. She saves more than a hundred percent of her money when she refuses to buy clothes from a shopping mall.
Disinfecting used items from thrift shops is a must. It does not only sanitize the items, for example, a second hand jacket, but it also make the jacket look like a brand new item. One effective way of sanitizing secondhand clothes is soaking them in hot water to kill the germs. Washing them with soap multiple times also works.
That is why there is not much danger in buying from a thrift store. It only depends on how creative and careful a customer can be when buying.
There’s no wonder why millennials can dress up like a pro – thrift shopping is their one key to style. — Krystalyn Bernardo and Hanna Manalo / AUF Intern