BREAKING THE STIGMA: WHY UKAY IS THE NEXT BIG THING

Are you someone who wants to stand out and be unique? Or perhaps, do you love the idea of sales and enjoy being fashionable, but wants to spend less on clothing? Have you ever thought of buying from an ukay-ukay? Guess what? Ukay-ukay is the next big thing!

If you love to dress well, like me, but do not want to spend that much in clothing, then thrift stores are the answer to our estudyante fashionista needs! An article posted by Rappler entitled “The University of Ukay” says that, Ukay-ukay is originally based from a Filipino word which means “hukay” or “halukay” (UK for short), simply because it translates to digging up treasures from flea markets and finding a goldmine in them. One can relate it to exploring a cave and finding precious treasures inside of it.

Sadly, there is bad blood against thrift stores that makes some of us withdraw from purchasing items from these kinds of shops. But wait, before you think of shenanigans about the stigma of ukay-ukay, let me break to you some of the famous OMG! notions about UK getups.

First of all, items found in these thrift stores do not come from the grave! Whoever told you that must be from the generation of our mothers, fathers, or even our grandparents. My mother always tells me that I shouldn’t buy from ukay-ukay, because of the belief that the old garments sold in these thrift stores came from dead people. For some time being, I admit, I used to think the same way as my mother. Ukay-ukay smells musty and musky, and a lot of the items there look old. Little did I know however, that it is practically a jackpot for apparels that are branded and items that are still wearable. It’s not always dusty or musty, you just have to be patient to dig deep in order to find treasure from the mountainous piles of cheap clothing.

Em Elopre, an Ukay salesman in South Emerald, says most of the items inside UK shops are those clothes that have been left, and clothes that have worn out already. He says that this does not necessarily mean that it comes from the grave. Clothes from ukay also came from old stocks that are ready for bargain. He stated that they get their supplies mostly from the US. Another ukay shop owner named Jennifer Sison, shared that they get their stocks in Batangas for their store in Target Mall. In UK shops, brands like H&M, Alfred Dunner, Lykettes, Levi Strauss & Co., F21, Uniqlo,and etc, can be bought for a low price. In South Emerald, they even have a promo in which you can get items for as low as 20 pesos. Isn’t that amazing?

Second, buying from ukay-ukays does not make you cheap! You can find a lot of the clothes that are sold there in very good shape and quality. Items can also be overruns. Overruns are clothes which are branded as Class A - meaning there is just a slight imperfection on the clothing, though they still are original. There might be fixer-uppers like loose threads or buttons or something else but, hello, they could be really easy to repair.

Third, if you’re thinking of health risks because of the second-hand aspect of ukay items, then there are solutions for that. Of course, before wearing ukay-ukay clothing, you must wash them first. You must put the clothes in a large basin filled with hot to moderate water and let them soak for about 30 minutes before washing the clothes with an antibacterial detergent. Doing this would kill the germs or bacteria that may be in the garments. After that, you can hang them in the sun to dry. This would double the anti-bacterial power and will ensure that your UK items are germ free!

Fourth, ukay contributes to the environment. Did you know that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world? Well, if not, now you know. As a solution to this, we should then start sustainable fashion. This concept is about being eco-friendly and using or creating clothing in the most sustainable manner. You can either recycle your clothes and do DIYs, do-it-yourself reuse and repair. Green Strategy, in 2014, says that sustainable fashion is about producing clothes, shoes and accessories in environmentally and socio-economically sustainable manners. It is concerned with the product’s life cycle, from design, raw material production, manufacturing, transport, storage, marketing and final sale, to use, reuse, repair, remake and recycling of the product and its components. From an environmental perspective, the aim should be to minimize any undesirable environmental effect of the product’s life cycle by: First, ensuring efficient and careful use of natural resources (water, energy, land, soil, animals, plants, biodiversity, ecosystems, etc); second, selecting renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc) at every stage, and third, maximizing repair, remake, reuse, and recycling of the product and its components. Therefore, ukay -ukay is sustainable. The notion of using second-hand or old stocks that are ready for bargain, is sustainable fashion.

So where can you start your first ukay haul? Go to these places:

1. Anonas Mall, Cubao

2. South Emerald, Mamatid, Laguna

3. NJ Shop, 2nd flr Target Mall, Complex, Laguna

4. Olivarez Place, Tagaytay City

5. Carousell, an online app for 2nd hand items

On another note, there are lots of challenges surfacing the social media community like the spicy noodle challenge, try not to look away challenge, 500 pesos make-up challenge, and of course, the ukay-ukay challenge. Laureen Uy, a fashion blogger, was also up to the challenge and she even went to Anonas Mall in Cubao for this. That’s why today many of the millennials are engaging themselves in buying UK items.

I stumbled upon an ukay hub recently near our place in Mamatid. At first, I was very hesitant if I should go in, but knowing me being an adventurer, I told myself that maybe I could atleast give it a shot. Luckily, it was a month end sale, so all items were only for 20 pesos! Shorts, blouses, skirts, sweaters, jackets, and others were sold for 20 pesos. As I browsed through piles of racks, I was amazed to see items that are still brand new and are branded. Back then, I thought ukay stores only sell old worn out items, yet I was mistaken. In the end, I ended up buying a lot of sweaters and I thought that it was all worth it. Next thing I know, I was always shopping in UK stores for costumes and of course, for my everyday wear.

A friend of mine, Lira Dime, started thrift shopping back in 2010. She told me that, “Masaya kasi na everytime na pupunta ka may bago kang makikita. Parang treasure hunting.” (It feels like she is in a treasure hunt every time she shops in UK stores.) A tip she shared is to be patient and enduring because most thrift stores are not air-conditioned. Despite that, it all boils down to the treasure-worthy finds she uncovers inside the cave of UK wonders.

Another thrift shopper and Youtuber, Vlanca Vitto, said, “Actually, I have started buying from ukay-ukay when I was 15. My mom told me there were good finds there. And I wasn’t sure of it until I tried it out myself! Syempre na-SHOOKT ako.” She was amazed on the amount of items that are branded and are pretty good. She even said that with ukay, she was able to open her own online shop because of it.

Ukay is also a place to go when shopping for costumes because of the variety of style pieces that are present in the store. Two of my best friends, Almira Liao and Lorenz Diamante, shared their UK story of how they got their awesome costumes. Almira told me that she went to Buendia and bought a top and a bottom for only 50 pesos each! She even made it her profile picture 3 years ago. Lorenz told me that for his Halloween costume, he went to an ukay near his place and bought a red cape. For our play in Lati-an Elementary School, he bought costumes for us - a tiger costume and a bird costume.

It’s really a matter of how you see ukay. UK is great especially because it’s budget friendly and you can find anything inside from costumes to gowns to shoes to books to everything. You just really have to be ready before you go to UK stores, and to help with that, here are some quick tips from me and Mr. Em Elopre, UK shop salesman:

1. Be patient. You’ll never know what you will get unless you dig for it. You’re almost there just like what they say in the movie, Princess and the Frog.

2. Check the quality of the fabric. When buying clothes, you should be able to feel comfortable wearing it. Based on my experience, I choose my UK finds by touching and feeling the fabric. Next, I pull it out and examine the pattern. Then, I look for damages like stains or loose buttons, or loose threads, and if I see that it is easily solvable, then I add the item to my cart. After choosing the items you like, trim your selection down. Double, triple or quadruple check your items, then sort them out.

3. Check the brands! You might be surprised if you find items that are from H&M, Forever 21, and etc. Also, the best ones are always placed or hanged on the lonely corner. Check the corners!

4. Make sure to wash them before wearing them. We still need to be wary and careful. Again, soak it in hot to moderate water for 30 minutes. Wash the clothes with an antibac detergent powder. Hang the UK clothes under the sun too!

5. SLAY. Don’t be ashamed to wear apparels from ukay-ukay. They’re awesome and they cost less. Be confident.

Therefore, try going to your nearest ukay-ukay stores. You’ll never know what great finds will surprise you on your way there. Being fashionable doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to go broke just to look awesome. You’ll just have to be a daredevil to scout different thrift stores and be creative in wearing different style pieces. Give UK/ second hand items a chance at fashion because just like in love, everybody deserves a second chance-kidding aside, be sustainable as well and be eco-friendly! Break the stigma and support your local thrift stores. Then, you’ll never see ukay-ukay the same again!