People always ask me how I manage to find really cool clothing from Okrika. I love shopping Okrika and my many years of doing so have enabled me to gather a lot of experience in choosing the right clothes. I decided to share my tips with you guys and that's what we will be talking about in this post.
So here are practical tips to thrift good quality items.
So here are practical tips to thrift good quality items.
How To Select The Best Quality Items From Okrika Heaps In Cameroonian Markets
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1. Tool control
- Your greatest asset/tools for thrifting are your hands and your eyes, lol. Try to make sure your hands are as free as possible. I personally don't go with my phone to the market especially if I don't have any important call I'm expecting.
It's safer and less stressful because I need my hands free to sort my clothes. The market is usually so noisy anyway, so I might likely not hear it when it rings. It's better to leave your phone at home.
Try as much as possible to free your greatest selection of tools which are your hands!
Related:
How To Select The Best Quality Items From Okrika Heaps In Cameroonian Markets
How To Dress When Shopping Okirika (Thrifts) In A Cameroonian Market
How To Stay Safe While Okirika (Thrift) Shopping In Cameroonian Markets
The Best Days to go Okrika (thrift) shopping in a Cameroonian Market
2. Quality control
- Go for new clothing. If you may come across clothing you really fancy but the quality is not good, just drop it. I know how it feels to see a very trendy outfit only to discover that it is worn out.
If you buy it you may not be able to wear it for outings. It will become a 'house dress' as we often call it in Cameroon. I can't count how many 'house dresses' I have because of this mistake. So go for the clothes that are still very new.
3. Stain control
- Clothing may be new enough but still, have faults like stains. Do check keenly for holes, stains, loose stitches and discolouration on every piece of clothing. They are second-hand clothes so problems like that are very common.
For tops and shirts, check the neck/collar, armpits, buttons and decorations. For pants/trousers check the hems, buttons, pockets and underneath the trousers (between the legs).
- Easy ways to find out if a skirt, pants/trousers will fit your waist is to zip/button it up, hold the waist on both ends and try to make it go round your neck. If both ends meet behind your neck then it's going to fit your waist. But if it overlaps or doesn't meet at all then it's not your waist size.
This works most of the time because, for most people, two times the circumference of their neck is usually the size of their waist.
But it would always be better to try it on (with the permission of the seller) to be quite sure.
- Always ask yourself why you are buying each piece of clothing. It may be just another white t-shirt or a black skirt in your wardrobe. Buying clothes feels good but it doesn't mean that you need it.
Think about the occasion you are buying every item you select or find. If you are buying for outings then be really strict with what you buy. It must fit the characteristics of what you want because what may look good in the market may not look as good to you when you get home.
6. Price control
- Sometimes the vendors announce or shout out very low prices just to attract customers. I know this is very annoying especially after choosing clothes or shoes and then you are told a higher price for the items.
Try to find out if that is the real price of the products when you start thrifting by observing payments made and asking another customer whom you met there if the price is right.
Extra Tip! - Don't judge a book by the cover. You may find some really good stuff in places you never expected.
Yeah, That's thrifting for you.
NB: Take a shopping bag every time you go thrifting. You might be surprised by the number of items you may get to buy because things could just be cheaper on some days. And also make sure you carry cash!
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