Since a lot have asked me where I ukay and how come I get to find those fab pieces, here's a little primer on how I do my ukay. Remember, it may not work for you and you may have your own style but it surely works for me:
HOW
Firstly, I plan where I go. This way I won't just be zooming from one place to another. If you plan to ukay in the Cubao area then make sure that you stick to that area for that day. Be adventurous. Check every nook and every shop. Ask the tinderas in the ukay stalls where you can find more ukay. Usually, they are friendly enough to tell you where's the competition.
SUNDAY LOOK
Top: Vest with removed buttons and gray&yellow stripe shirt from the ukay
Pants: Energie from the ukay
Bag: Vivienne Westwood
Shoes: K-Bond
Then I decide how much time I'm going to spend rummaging through racks of clothes. You need ample time to ukay. An hour is not enough for me coz I tend to check every item at hand. In ukay, patience is all you need to survive. If you don't have it then I'm sorry to tell you you won't find those 'fabulous top', those 'fabulous skirt', and all those fabulous items na nahahanap ng mga nag-uukay with extreme patience. I am one of those human beings who can just ukay ayaw. Two hours is just regular, non-marathon ukay time for me. I can spend the whole day just looking for ukay!
OFFICE LOOK
Top: Two Percent Homme kafiyee print tee from the ukay finds of Bo Parcon
Vest: H&M
Pants: Evisu from the ukay
Shoes: K-Bond
Decide how much money you want to spend for your hobby. Having enough datung ensures that you won't have to let go of a piece just in case you'd get lucky and find loads of stuff you like. And it's also wise to have a budget since it also ensures that you won't get overboard especially for those who tend to impulsively buy everything. Heller! Hindi kaya lahat ng ukay worth na bilhin so be very discriminating. Depending on my mood, I can be very stingy, all-out splurge or not buy at all. The cheaper tthe price of the item, the less guilt I get when I suddenly feel like, ' What the hell was I thinking buying this piece of crap?!'. My budget for a piece is usually P200.00.
Know what you want. Coz I know what I want. I want the best branded clothes at the lowest possible price. If that is my goal then I have to be knowledgeable in finding out what kind of brands, what are the labels to look out for, how does it look, what's real and what's fake and all those details. You may say that masyado namang obsessive yata yan for just some ukay. Well, how will you know na you are looking at a Chanel top if you don't even know what Chanel is, what kind of style they have or at the very least, what's the label. If you don't care for brands then you won't get to have fabulous finds because we all know that branded clothes from the ukay generally gets the most comments especially if it's bought for like nothing.
AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY
Top: Net International from the ukay that I reworked
Pants: Levi's 501 from the ukay
Shoes: Giordano Concepts
Socks: H&M, with all days of the week
Find out the schedule of bagsak and new stocks. Same with sales or promos that they may have. If you are not paranoid of leaving your number then do so. Ask them to update you of arrivals. Tsikahin mo ng tsikahin ang mga tindera.
And speaking of tsika, I have my suki mag-uukay reserve some of the brands I really like or look out for. If they see that you buy a lot then they would usually associate you with the pieces you get. I really love black, complicated patterned pieces so usually they reserve those pieces for me.
GOING AROUND TOWN LOOK
Jacket: Black and matte gold knit jacket from the ukay
Top: black H&M tee
Pants: People are People jeans
Shoes: Muji sneakers
I hoard and select. I pick out those pieces I like first and then during payment time I edit the pieces. There were a few times when I've gotten first to a nice item but then decided to just leave it first coz I thought nobody will like it. When I returned for it somebody bought it already.
Make friends with fellow ukay addicts. The sisterhood of ukay at multiply is a great way to start. I'm friends with Titser May and weve kinda agreed to look out for the pieces we are both obsessed with (Ang problem na lang namin is when kami magmi-meet or at the very least mag- exchange ng pieces that we found, we'll work things out). I also involve all my friends and ask them to find pieces for me. In turn, I look for fun stylish ukay for them. Even Kiks promised to give me some very special ukay pieces (Pressure! hehehe) and he's in Hong Kong. There's no boundaries to my ukay network. And yes, Kawadjan, I'm still waiting for your ukay report from Bangkok. Asan na?
The frequent you ukay, the more you will discover great ukay pieces for your collection.
WHERE
I ukay everywhere ; )
Nightout
Top: Stella McCartney from the ukay
Pants: Levi's 501 from the ukay
Shoes: Giordano Concepts.
7 comments:
wonderful post honey. i'm really inspired to go back to ukay because of you. will post something about that sometime. i'm so crazy over your red shoes.
the red shoes - the red shoooooes!
i have a dark brown one - pero hindi giordano concepts. but i like the point in this one. not too murderous.
at dyusko, tumimbre na ako sa mga bakla sa japan. pumila na sa H&M ngayong nobyembre.
nakakabaliw kayo ni chuvaness - wid dat, i was compelled to visit PageOne and check all them fashion books. Haaaay, Rei.....
Sana Kawakubo na lang ang apelyido ko.
With all your talks about 'aliens', and looking at your pics, you actually remind me of the B-rated movie called 'The Critters' which has about 3 or 4 sequels to it apparently.
They are actually furry 'gremlin-like' balls with very vicious looking eyes and HUGE mouth that when they open them, all you see is their huge FANGS and they gobble anything and everything!!
You look exactly like them!!! And here you are laughing and mocking other people!
First, look at yourself!
Anonymous, i wonder why you exist.
If you are so good at criticizing people, then why did you not have the chutzpah to show yourself, give your name and all that shite?!
Er, didn't you get the real drift of the post on Rei Kawakubo?
Go back and read. And re-read. And re-read.
Bongga pala ang Made In U-Kay na toh! Sana meron din dito. Salvation Army ata ang katapat nitoh ditrek!
(Thanks pala for taking part sa aming Project Runway-LTE. Salamat sa supporta!)
Anonymous - Thanks for the visit and comment. I'm allowing you to voice your opinion and i hope you respect whatever opinion i have, also. You know, you can't go on blaming everybody if your miserable little life is not as fab as you want it to be. Try being nice, sometimes. :)
Kiks - Thanks! Don't mind the hater. Alam ko naman kung sino sya. Not worth your time. Ganyan talaga pag bobo. Pagpasensyahan mo na.
Lyka - Ay! Hanapan mo naman ako ng mga designer duds dyan. I love Helmut Lang, Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garcons, Martin Margiela and Yohji Yamamoto.
(welcome. anovah! winner show nyo)
I'm loving your red sneaks...
Post a Comment