The Great Carbon Market Thrifting Adventure

Call me cheap or an insufferable snob but I hardly ever buy clothes from malls. Unless the item is really cheap or costs less than the average price of a paperback, I will look at it with either derision or suspicion.

Whenever I go malling and check out items, two things immediately come to mind: 1) I can buy something similar from an ukay place and 2) I can sew/make something better.

Let me show you one of these ukay places:

These are the ukay stalls in Carbon. Every Sunday,  they sprout along several major roads all over Carbon Market. From jeans to underwear to shoes to bedding to bags to baby clothes, these stalls offer plenty of options.

For those who have never had the Sunday Carbon ukay experience, a word of caution: shopping here is nowhere like shopping at “high end” thrift stores. You will sweat. You will haul *ss to find something perfect. You will divide your time between watching out for snatchers, avoiding vehicles, and ukay-ing. You will haggle.

That sounds like too much effort but truly, the Sunday Carbon ukay experience is fun. You may not be able to find something you planned to buy but you might go home with a wonderfully distressed vintage-inspired shirt that will look good worn with your favorite cut-off shorts. The best part: it will cost you only P35.

Mid-shopping snacks courtesy of fruits in season. Warning: must be consumed only by those who have iron-lined stomachs.

More mid-shopping snack options: all-time favorite dirty ice cream.

Google map showing where the stalls sprout on Sundays.

I would not dare end this post without showing you the best item I’ve purchased from one of the ukay stalls in Carbon.

Yes, that is a 3-foot Totoro plushie. It was brand new with tag and cost only P700 (a little less than $20) . This fetches for several hundred dollars online, by the way.

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