Is it possible to talk to somebody without touching them? Because Yaba boys!
I’m on my own...going about my day like a normal person but somebody is shoving clothes in my face and telling me I need to follow them to their store. A lot of them even say so many offensive things and you don’t even have to be buying anything to get words and clothes thrown at you. So many times, they’ve talked about my body in ways that just makes me want to throw up my intestines all in the name of making sales.
One time, a friend even told me one of them hit her in the butt but today we’re not discussing disgusting people. We are going to be talking about THRIFT SHOPPING aka BDB.
I feel like at some point, a very large majority of us have gone thrift shopping or at least gotten a fairly used bag/shoe (or any other thing). What I don’t understand is why people feel the need to lie or pretend.
Although, when I was much younger, my mum used to take me to the Bend Down Boutique before Abule egba in Lagos and I used to be caught between fear and shame. Fear because there were so many people and I could easily get lost or someone could easily take my phone or money without my knowledge, and shame because well...people could see me.
As I grew older, I started feeling different about it. I mean...a lot of people don’t even have the opportunity I have. Some people don’t have clothes to wear at all and there I was feeling ashamed about paying for new clothes. I didn’t grow up poor (we weren’t rich but definitely not poor) but my mum would suggest buying things from the BDB and her reason was that they were better. I still have this beautiful red hoodie she got me from way back...she didn’t lie. A lot of people have asked for the hoodie, I bet they don’t know where it’s from 
.
“Na mumu dey go boutique!!!”. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this line and honestly sometimes it’s true. I’m not saying we shouldn’t patronize clothing brands (like durrh...I have one so why won’t I want you to buy?! PS: follow me @stitchesbythehive). Of course you’d definitely need to buy new outfits and sew your asoebi but we should do things with wisdom. I’m not about to pretend I can afford a dress of 10k when I most definitely cannot (well...I’d probably just sew it cos I’m a tailor ✂️). Well, this level of pretense is more of an attitude problem that only you can solve. But the point I’m trying to make here is why owe when you can get something as nice or maybe not as nice but just good for a lower price at a thrift store. To be clear, I’m not saying you should be stingy or not get quality products. If you can afford it, please buy it! Barney Stinson’s one rule is that “New is always better” (if you don’t watch How I Met Your Mother...I’m sorry).
Personally, I don’t feel like I need to be ashamed because I bought what I could afford. In my next post, I would be sharing my experiences as a well as the experiences of other people with you. Also, I would be pointing out the negative sides of thrift shopping because there’s definitely a not so good side to everything.
Thank you for reading and do not forget to show me love by sharing and dropping your comment so I can know what you think.
5 Comments
I think people are scared to buy fairly used clothes for medical reasons but in Nigeria you can't get a Nigerian made quality bedsheet without breaking the bank,the usual ones are of terrible quality,and the colours even fade easily so BDB to the rescue. But in general, I like new better lol.
ReplyDeleteI think people are just ashamed because they're used to presenting themselves as something orbl should I say someone they're not. And sometimes new is not always better(thanks to igbo boys, if you know what I mean)😁
ReplyDeleteI tried the Yaba market shopping for the first time when I was going to serve. Needed white shorts, not enough time to get it elsewhere. I also got an extra pair of combat shorts, those shorts lasted like crazy! I literally wore the life out of it. Lol
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's anything to be ashamed of tho...if you look good, you look good, irrespective of where you shop.
Hehehehe I grew up knowing the best days to go to katangua. Heck I still go there, clothes I wear casually are usually new clothes that I dont think I should wear out anymore or BDB. Live smart, flex but live according to your pockect too, thats my perspective on this subject, nice post!
ReplyDeleteI still dey go there
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