If ukay ukay was classy, this is the place to go. The items here were pre picked by the owner thus…read moretheir quality and overly done pricing. I mean you're paying almost the same price as new stuff from a bazaar for used clothing. But if you really know your shiznit and your way around vrands, you'll appreciate this cozy little spot at the entrance of expo. They have an impressive shoe selection with original but second-hand brands like Tom's, Sperry's, Guess, just to name a few. But mahal! Like a pair could be anywhere in between Php500 to Php1k depending mostly on the brand. They also have used books but nothing worth paying Php100 for.

Greenhills Shopping Center is one of my favorite shopping mall in the Philippines. I've been going…read moreto this mall since the 80's. It's known for its diverse range of stores and products like clothing, cellular phone sales, repairs and accessories, jewelry store, toys, pearls, souvenir items, restaurants, bars, video arcades, religious facilities and the ever popular tiangge that sells imported and local products for bargain hunters. A lot has changed but it is still one of the most beloved malls in the country.

It's been two years since I last visited Greenhills and their renovations have paid off. It…read moredefinitely had a nicer, modern look with a more open feel in the main mall. Restaurant row was more inviting with more sit down choices and better design. Security upon entrance was still the same. Large bags were inspected upon entry. The tiangge section (Shoppsville side) was untouched with rows and rows of stalls selling pearls, clothing, suitcases, shoes and more. Everything here can be haggled over. I was on the search for some local food items but the stall I sought out was closed for some reason. The chapel in the mall was still something unique to see but quite convenient to attend mass. The indoor garden across the way was updated and more inviting than I remember with more seating. Parking here has always been and will likely still be a challenge. Security guards still direct traffic but drop off areas by the mall entrances do get backed up frequently. Definitely enjoyed the shopping experience more than before.

There aren't a lot of local homegrown clothing brands that approximate the success of streetwear…read moreand skate brands overseas, but the closest one would probably be THE Clothing. Back in 2007, they started peddling their own designs in the curb and parking lots of local events. Their innovative designs and keen pulse on street culture eventually made them successful enough to have an actual brick & mortar store in Cubao X. One of the secrets to their success is that their products are made and offered in extremely limited batches. You aren't even assured of getting one so there's always demand. Some shirts even go as low as 25 pieces only. If you want that particular design, you have to be there early. Merch are usually sold off during events they are part of, which are aplenty. These are held in front of their store complete with bands and a lot of alcohol.

I've always lingered outside THE but never actually been inside because I'm too broke to purchase…read moreany of their shirts even if they only go below Php500. It's a great deal for limited clothing if you ask me but for one that rants about how mahal the ukay ukay shops in cubao are becoming, Php500 is like gold. I've lingered long enough for the shopkeep to notice and stare at me weirdly. So I saunter away and linger back in the day time when they're still closed t stare at merchandise I've dreamed of having. Lately, I've been staring at this uber cool and hipster tie-dye sando (no not the ones you can make at home coz that'll probably suck) with the THE emblem silkscreened handsomely on it. One day.... Also, their events are the bomb with enough chicks to make yer eyes drool and cute tattooed boys that make you grin inside... One day.... One day....

Absolutely awful. Worse customer service, clothes are super cheap extremely poor quality…read more Everything is shipped from China and the size chart is wrong. Clothes are much smaller than chart provided. Dont waste your money!

Barely respond! Requested a refund as size is inaccurate! Reported to Better Business Bureau!read more

Cubao X used to be the original hipster paradise. A decade ago, the Marikina Shoe Expo opened its…read moredoors to businesses not necessarily from Marikina and not necessarily about shoes. The compound attracted manila's artists and whatnots to form what we call Cubao X now. Back then, there were a couple of galleries and a lot of interesting curio shops and everything in between. If you were a part (or aspiring to be part) of Manila's artistic scene, this was the place to be seen. A decade later, Cubao X lost a bit of hipster cred. The galleries are all but gone, and the original shops have been replaced by newer shops that kinda still live by the same vibe the original Cubao X did. There's also a lot of antique shops here for some weird reason. Cubao X may not be as cutting edge as it used to be, but it's still here and it does deserve a visit.

My earliest memory of this horseshoe-shaped complex is being hauled by my mother in order to shop…read morefor school shoes. Perhaps some, if not most of the younger millennials do not realize it but Cubao X used to be called Marikina Shoe Expo, a project spearheaded by the former First Lady Imelda Marcos in the late 70s meant to showcase world-class footwear locally crafted in the City of Marikina. These days, it is still an expo of sorts, but this time of Filipino youth culture that follows similar movements happening in other parts of the world, but in a distinct way that remains firmly grounded on local flavor. Although there are still a few shoe brands that persist in the enclave, it is now also home to other different subcultures, with art galleries, and shops that cater to surfers, skaters and musicians. You want to look at surfboards, skateboards and street wear? How about some vinyl records or a new bag for your ukulele? Cubao X. There is even a popular Itallian restaurant owned by a former Itallian paparazzo and his Filipino wife, which sits a few paces away from a boutique run by a divinator, though one has to make an appointment to have fortune read. But more than a shopping gallery for curious knickknacks and quirky finds ranging from the progressively artsy to the vintage indie, it is at night that this place really teems with life. Crowding within and spilling from its smallish diners and watering holes are animated conversations about hardcore philosophy, puppy love, high and pop literature alike, and the next super hero film. Every now and then, small music festivals are held here where both renowned and up-and-coming performers take on the spotlight, drawing together budding artists, their muses, starting patrons and just the generally bored. Literally, anyone and everyone, all coming together to partake of cheap alcohol, specialty food and generally great music. So the next time you find yourself wanting to explore new ideas over a few bottles of beer, or to just chill in a place where being vastly different from the guy in the next table is the most normal thing to be, just step into the menagerie that is Cubao X.

There's one stall in the SM women's clothing department that I always look at when I'm in the area…read moreand it's Coco Cabana. Even when the men's resort wear line got its own label under Coco Republic, I'm always sure to be crossing over to the women's line to browse their clothes. Their style is very summery and bright, of course, which isn't exactly on the nose of the current minimalist active wear fashion, but I like that. Sure, give me a crisp, clean, black and white outfit any day, but sometimes you'll feel like having a beachy island look and Coco Cabana helps with that. Most of their stuff is women's swimwear and kaftans and short shorts and summer dresses, which I'm not so invested in as much as their mesh and sheer overlays and tops, which I am in love with. The colors might be a little garish sometimes, but there are a good number that can be part of your closet. I'm always at SM Cubao, but I do prefer this branch over the others as they seem to have much more of the stuff I like than the SMs in Makati or Megamall, even if their stall here is smaller. I also appreciate that there are often fewer people in the department store, which is great for me to be looking through women's resort wear in peace.

Being the designated driver of my girlfriend on Friday nights, she dragged me to go to the…read moreApartment 8 Design House, because she heard from a friend that they really had good deals for off-the-rack dresses. Without having any other choice, I went with her to look for this place. It wasn't difficult to find the place because of our familiarity with the area, and the house that greeted us was pretty impressive. We had to ring the doorbell to be let in, and the place really felt like a design house (I don't exactly know what to expect, coming from a guy, but I guess in my head, this is what a design house should look like). The dresses on the walls were arranged well, and even the dressing rooms were fashioned after something you would see in fitting scenes on TV. In the back room, you could see the design staff was working hard, looking through the latest trends and coming up with fresh designs for dresses. I still couldn't tell the differences between most designs, or what was or wasn't trending, but I'm pretty sure that Apartment 8 deserves a lot more recognition.

I've seen a lot of Apartment 8 Clothing with their very active Instagram account…read more Not only do they make unique pieces od clothing, they also the dress with Kim Chiu being their favorite star to dress. While I've visited their Greenhills branch, I was told that their main store along Scout Borromeo offered a better selection of choices. Since I was looking for a gown to wear as a wedding guest, I decided to check them out. It was a quite Thursday afternoon and I was pretty sure they we're expecting any guests. The lights were closed, the aircon was turned off and the guard was a little shocked to see me there. But everyone hurriedly went to their places and accommodated me well. Unfortunately, they offer limited sizes which meant dresses were a lot snug on me. If I wanted a particular design, I had to ask for them to custom make if which was out of my budget. Anyhow, they do really good designs with unique patterns and nice tela.

For the unfamiliar, SM Cubao is not a mall - not in the SM sense, anyway. Usually, SM malls have a…read moredepartment store in the middle, then a whole bunch of shops extending outward, with a supermarket and foodcourt, usually in the lower ground floor. SM Cubao, on the other hand, only has the department store, supermarket, and foodcourt areas. Despite that though, it still has most of the things you ask for in malls. I used to come here for their foodcourt - they had a Pao Tsin there, and I usually have their sharks fin and rice combo. My lobster also bought my beloved stuffed lion here. I call him Mufasa - Muffy for short.

For a supposedly huge supermarket, SM's product range isn't that varied and some of their standard…read moreproduct brands can cost up to PhP10 more than those found in smaller supermarket chains. I only shop here when a) there's a product that I really really want b) that I can't really really find anywhere else, like those deliciously evil Ovaltine cookies.

When you've had your taste of ukay, every so often you'll be itching to venture out and ukay new…read moreold stuff, very much like the itching you get after you've tried on several articles of dusty clothes. It's all worth it though, when you find those few things you've worked hard to find among the sea of secondhand somethings you'd had to wade through. This particular building in Anonas houses a good bunch of ukay-ukay stores and has always been one of my go-to places to thrift, after the spots in Cubao had to close and be replaced by the condominium sites. It's really accessible to the Anonas LRT Station and a lot of the stores have air-conditioning, which is great to have when you plan to be covered in grime at the end of the day. Most of them are fashion stores, carrying clothes, bags, and shoes, but a good few would have beddings, toys, and a couple of appliances or books here and there. One of the stores only specialize in toys and collectibles, while its neighbor only housed shoes and bags. It's my personal strategy to go for the least accessible places as they'd probably have cheaper stuff, but most of the stores in the higher floors had a more limited selection, more expensive clothes, and limited air conditioning. One of the stores had tops and dresses that went for almost four hundred bucks, which is hella expensive, but I guess it was because they were pre-chosen designer and branded articles. I guess they were worth a look regardless--no doubt they'd go on sale at some point in time. Still it'd be better to just sift through the bigger stores with more varied, cheaper stuff. Arm yourself with a bottle of water, some wipes, and alcohol, and make your way to Anonas. You're sure to find something here. If not, ask when their next batch of arrivals come in (some might have a text "mailing list" or they'd just give you a mobile number), or ask if they're online. Some of them have legit, updated Facebook pages!

I think one of the things I love about one of my best friends is that despite us having grown up in…read moreprivileged circumstances, she's always been judicious about her spending habits. Now that I'm pushing 30 and making my own money, I understand its value and how hard it is to make it! It's true -- the stuff really does run through your fingers! Having said that, Celina was the one who introduced me to the world of ukay-ukays. If you're a foreigner or you can't understand Tagalog, an ukay-ukay is essentially a thrift store or a flea market for clothing items. Once in awhile, bags or shoes are on sale as well but it's mostly clothing-centered. Anyhoo, the first time that she introduced me to this specific ukay-ukay was in our college days -- so somewhere in the realm of 2006-2008. It can be overwhelming to dig through the thousands of tops, bottoms and dresses available here but if you're patient and persistent, I guarantee that you'll find something to your liking that costs less than P500. 100 percent guaranteed. There are at least 10 ukay-ukay stores in the area so knock yourself out. I think one of the things I love about one of my best friends is that despite us having grown up in privileged circumstances, she's always been judicious about her spending habits. Now that I'm pushing 30 and making my own money, I understand its value and how hard it is to make it! It's true -- the stuff really does run through your fingers! Having said that, Celina was the one who introduced me to the world of ukay-ukays. If you're a foreigner or you can't understand Tagalog, an ukay-ukay is essentially a thrift store or a flea market for clothing items. Once in awhile, bags or shoes are on sale as well but it's mostly clothing-centered. Anyhoo, the first time that she introduced me to this specific ukay-ukay was in our college days -- so somewhere in the realm of 2006-2008. It can be overwhelming to dig through the thousands of tops, bottoms and dresses available here but if you're patient and persistent, I guarantee that you'll find something to your liking that costs less than P500. 100 percent guaranteed. There are at least 10 ukay-ukay stores in the area so knock yourself out.